cpe exam and continuing education

[debbie]

Hello,does Anyone Knoe When We Have To Take Competency Exam? I Am A Registered Tax Preparer And I Am Getting Different Answers.also What Courses Do We Take Besides Ethics To Comply With The 18 Credits We Have To Have Each Year ? Any Help Would Be Greatly Appreciated. Thank You Debbie

[Koss]

Rtrp

My understanding is that you cannot call yourself a registered tax return preparer until you have passed the exam.

The CPE requirement is 15 hours--not 18.

10 hours of general tax law
2 hours of ethics
3 hours of tax update

If you have a valid PTIN, you have until the end of 2013 to pass the exam.

But the CPE requirements are effective for 2012.

BMK

[ruthc]

As I asked before on another thread......I am seeing several people saying they are "Registered Tax Preparers". You should not be using that designation until after you receive a certificate from the IRS after the testing.

[Koss]

Continuing Education

The IRS has also announced that those who have a provisional PTIN but have not yet passed the RTRP exam can get up to 10 hours of CE credit for taking an exam preparation course.

It needs to be a course that is offered by an approved provider. But the point is that you can get CE credit for a course that helps you study for the exam. The 10 hours for such a course would correspond to the 10 hours of "general tax law." Of course you would still have to take the ethics and the update.

One of my co-workers is using an online course offered by APlus CPE that was only $69.99, and it looks pretty good, for those who prefer a self-directed method of study (as opposed to a classroom).

https://www.apluscpe.com

For the update, if you haven't done one already, I recommend the self-study course offered by the Tax Book.

http://www.thetaxbook.com/tr_tax_law.asp

BMK

[taxea]

Rather than advertising as a Registered preparer until authorized by the IRS I would include the PTIN number on my business card etc and if asked say that the qualification is up to a three year process which I am in the midst of and the PTIN allows me to prepare and file returns until the process is completed.

I tell TP's to be sure that their preparer has a PTIN issued by the IRS and that it is a requirement for preparing and filing returns this year.