IRS to regulate tax firms

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http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2010/01/04/daily18.html?ed=2010-01-05&ana=e_du_pap

The Internal Revenue Service plans to regulate the nation’s tax-preparation firms, including H&R Block Inc., Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. and mom-and-pop shops.

The IRS will require tax preparers to pay registration fees, pass an exam and complete 15 hours of education a year.

This marks the first time the IRS is requiring the firms to meet federal standards.

The IRS plans to implement the following for future filing seasons:


Require all paid tax return preparers who must sign a federal tax return to register with the IRS and obtain a preparer tax identification number.
Require competency tests for all paid tax return preparers except attorneys, certified public accountants and enrolled agents who are active and in good standing with their respective licensing agencies.
Require ongoing continuing professional education for all paid tax return preparers except attorneys, CPAs, enrolled agents and others who are already subject to continuing education requirements.

WOW! I always thought they DID have to do stuff like that! I've always done my own until I switched to doing them online and using TaxAct. It's a shame that all those people who have gone to H&R Block etc. for years might have been paying for services from a person who didn't even know what they were doing!

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1. they do have some standards, but they need to be stronger

you have to have experience of take H&R Block's tax course in order to work for them...same with Jackson Hewitt. the problem is that after you take the course, someone may walk in with a return that is beyond your skill level, and you are expected to complete the return. i've worked for both companies, and they definitely need to beef up their QA. the new regulations should weed some of the incompetents and require tax companies to pay preparers more than minimum wage + commissions (that take years to get anyway).