Paid Preparer w/No PTIN and Inc been revoked

[AZ-Tax]

New client. Looked at 2010 tax return. Tax prep firm on return is Inc. but the Inc. has been revokded 6 yrs ago and remains revoked. Tax preparer has no PTIN.

Just out of curiousity, how does this play out with the tax preparer pursuing his EA or RTRP? Form 23 #7 qustion: Have you been sanctioned by a a fed or state licensing authority? #8 question: Has any app you filed with a court, gov dept, commission, or agency for admission to practice ever been denied?

AZ Corp Commission is a commission but his Inc was revoked vs. denied.

[Gary2]

What makes you think the 2010 preparer is even contemplating an EA or RTRP? In any event, it doesn't seem that you have enough info to really comment on that preparer's situation.

[Koss]

Revoked Corporation

I don't think the revocation of the corporate charter would be considered a sanction by a licensing authority.

One thing the IRS has been fairly consistent about from day one is this:

PTIN registration, EA licensing, and RTRP licensing are all issued to individuals--not business entities.

The EFIN, however, is a horse of a different color. An EFIN can be held by a business entity, but it must also be tied to a responsible person, or a corporate officer, or partner, etc.

The preparer you are asking about may in fact be an irresponsible goofball who has been preparing tax returns using the name of a corporation that doesn't exist.

But it is at least possible that the guy was an employee of some other irresponsible goofball, and that he did not realize that he was working for a corporation that did not exist.

The new IRS regs do make it possible for the IRS to impose penalties on a firm. And under state law, the accountancy boards of many states have special categories of licensure that are issued to firms as opposed to individuals.

But a PTIN can never be issued to anyone other than an individual.

BMK