Thought that maybe the required continuing education hours might change this year? Well they have not. The requirements for 2016 continuing education are still here. I would say that, the hour requirement, if left to the last two weeks of the year, can be a bit daunting. The requirement for continuing education is really a good thing for our industry. We all know preparers who do the exact same thing each year not realizing that there really has been some change. Changes to the due diligence are also important to stay informed of.
How many hours do I need? That is the golden question. If you are a tax preparer and did not take the Registered Tax Return Preparer test, then you need 18 hours of continuing education. If you did take and pass the Registered tax return preparer test, then you only need 15 hours a year.
Thought you needed to go to a class to get your hours? Well – that is not the only way, but it is a good way. Another way is to take your courses online. You can then take the required hours at your leisure and meet the requirements.
UltimateTax provides professional tax software and we also have a relationship with an approved continuing education company. You can click this link to use our approved vendor. The pricing of the education is very reasonable.
For all the IRS requirements for continuing education for the Annual Filing Season Program click here to take you to the IRS website.
For enrolled Agents, we can also provide you the required hours. The link to our website will guide you to the hours you need.
You can also visit the IRS site as well.
To see how many hours and how many returns have been prepared under your name, go to your PTIN account and there it will show you your hours earned for continuing education.
Contributed by Mike Steele, owner of Ultimate Tax, a Professional tax software company. Visit us at www.ultimatetax.com or 866-686-7211.
