Tax preparers are allowed to prepare tax returns for a fee at the discretion of the IRS. The IRS has practices and procedures that regulate tax preparers to assure they meet certain professional standards and fulfil professional responsibilities to their clients. This course covers practices that should be followed in the event of tax related identity theft and the safeguarding of taxpayer data. Tax preparers can lose their ability to file tax returns if they are not in compliance with these procedures.

In addition, tax preparers have to meet due diligence requirements in some situations. A tax preparer must know when those situation arise and when due diligence is required. Tax preparers will also learn about Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) and when they are used and who needs to use them. Tax preparers can be penalized for not being in compliance with IRS practices and procedures. Penalties can be very large in some cases. Preparer penalties are covered by this course.

The majority of returns filed by a tax preparer must be electronically filed so electronic filing is a must to learn about. This lesson covers electronic filing in detail and then introduces tax preparers to the IRS Annual Season Filing Program (AFSP). Every tax preparer should be familiar with this IRS program that gives participants additional authority when dealing with the IRS on behalf of a client.