Becoming a Certified Tax Preparer

A tax preparer is supervised by consultants or accountants.

A Tax Preparer

A license allows a person to legally prepare income taxes for individuals. Tax preparers are not the same as tax consultants or certified public accountants. Under most circumstances, a tax preparer works in a company supervised by consultants or accountants.

A tax preparer can become a tax consultant after working a certain number of hours as a preparer. At that point, tax preparers are able to charge fees for services and will not have to work for someone else.

Schooling

Certain things have to be accomplished to become a tax preparer. A person must be a high school graduate, be 18 years old and have knowledge of tax laws. They must also go to school for tax preparation. Classes can be taken at community colleges, vocational schools or at a tax service companies. Many states require a certain number of hours of class work before someone will be eligible to take the licensing test.

States require a tax preparer student to pass the course work with a certain percentage. The percent varies by state, but a person will be told what the percent is during course work. To apply for the license, the certificate proving the course work is completed will need to go with the application.

Profession Association

Once the license is obtained, the tax preparer will need to join a professional association to stay current. Laws change annually with regard to taxes, and it is required to have many hours of continuing education to keep the tax preparer license.

Resources

• National Association of Tax Practitioners