photo credit: mdid
In spirit of tax season being upon us once again, I recently came across an article located on The Small Business Watchdog that informs of new recommendations that the IRS is making for future filing seasons. These new changes will not be in effect for the filing of 2010, but here is a quick look at what you can expect to change in the filing years to come.
Requiring virtually all paid tax return preparers to register with the IRS and obtain a preparer tax identification number (PTIN). These preparers will be subject to a limited tax compliance check to ensure they have filed federal personal, employment, and business tax returns and that the tax due on those returns has been paid.
The requirement of continual education classes for all professional paid tax return preparers with the exception of ones that already undergo ongoing education classes such as tax attorneys and accountants.
The extending of rules dealing with ethical issues that tax return preparers have to abide by. These rules currently only apply to those such as tax attorneys and CPAs, however, the new rule would enable these ethical rules to apply to ANYONE who prepares tax returns.
And finally, the requirement of ALL paid tax return preparers to undergo competency tests and training in this field. Once again this rule currently applies to just CPA’s and tax attorneys and later will apply to everyone who is paid to prepare tax returns.