--IRS LATEST PITCH FOR ITS VOLUNTARY RETURN PREPARER PROGRAM-- Youll see the details below, but I think it is interesting to see how IRS finesses the new, voluntary program, which as far as I can determine is take some CE and well give you lots of goodies, including the IRS imprimatur. The framing of the preparer lookup feature is especially telling, so Ive clipped that paragraph here for your reading pleasure: By participating in the program and receiving an Annual Filing Season Program Record of Completion, you will be included in a public directory we plan to launch on the IRS website in January 2015. The “Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers with Credentials and Select Qualifications” will contain the name, city, state, and zip code of the following tax return preparers: attorneys, certified public accountants, enrolled agents, enrolled retirement plan agents, enrolled actuaries, and AFSP Record of Completion holders. Suffice it to say that we remain very interested in seeing how IRS plans to distinguish between legacy Circular 230 practitioners--who actually hold credentials--and the new thingy (which they interestingly dont give a name other than AFSP Record of Completion holders but which the marketplace almost undoubtedly will call AFSP and voila, we have a credential!). Time will tell, but were going to be doing our best to make sure the distinction is made...
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 21:35:48 +0000