The IRS has authority to charge a user fee for preparer taxpayer identification numbers (PTINs) a federal appeals court held on Friday, paving the way for the agency to reinstate the charges for obtaining and renewing a PTIN (Montrois, No. 17-5204 (D.C. Cir. 3/1/19)). A valid PTIN is required for anyone who prepares or assists in preparing a federal tax return for compensation. The IRS stopped charging a user fee for PTINs in 2017, after it lost a case in federal district court (Steele, 260 F. Supp. 3d 52 (D.D.C. 2017)) that held the IRS had no authority to charge a fee to tax preparers to obtain PTINs.