Contact: Gigi Thompson Jarvis, CAE
202.822.6232, x119
gjarvis@naea.org

For Immediate Release

NAEA Responds to
IRS Return Preparer Oversight Proposal

EAs Applaud Higher Standards for Unenrolled Preparers

Washington DC, January 4, 2010—The National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA) has heartily endorsed IRS’ long-awaited return preparer oversight proposal. In its game-changing 50+ page report, IRS announced that return preparers who are not enrolled agents, certified public accountants or tax attorneys will be required to pass competency testing and complete 15 hours of annual continuing education. All signing paid return preparers will be required to register with IRS and receive a tax preparer identification number. The ethical rules that currently apply only to enrolled agents, certified public accountants and tax attorneys will be extended to all paid return preparers, allowing IRS to suspend or discipline preparers who engage in unethical conduct.

“This document makes sweeping changes to the return preparation landscape, and at the same time is largely consistent with tenets NAEA has been promoting for over five years,” said NAEA President Sandra Martin, EA. “I believe that this proposal will create a world in which taxpayers may reasonably expect competent, ethical return preparation and in which enrolled agents will no longer have to compete against fly-by-night kitchen table preparers.”

Regulation that would require return preparers to adhere to professional standards has been one of the primary goals of NAEA’s advocacy efforts. In testimony on tax preparer regulation before the Senate Finance Committee on April 4, 2006, NAEA’s then-President Frank Degen, EA stated on the record that “…most people would be astounded to find that while their barber or manicurist is licensed, their preparer may not be. Comparing the downside of a bad hair cut to an incorrect tax return, it is time to establish federal standards to ensure basic competency and ethical behavior.”
IRS has pledged to enforce these standards vigorously, using registration data and other means to identify and sanction individuals that fail to comply. In the future, a searchable database of return preparers who have met the new standards by registering and passing the competency exam will be included on the IRS website. In the meantime, taxpayers seeking a preparer who is already licensed by the federal government, required to complete continuing education credits and comply with strict ethical standards may locate an enrolled agent in their area by accessing the National Association of Enrolled Agents’ website and clicking on the “Find an Enrolled Agent” link.

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About NAEA
The National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA) is a professional society whose members are dedicated to honest, intelligent and ethical representation of the financial position of taxpayers before the IRS. Its efforts are supported nationwide through a network of affiliated state and local chapters. Members of NAEA must fulfill continuing professional education requirements that exceed the IRS’ requirements. NAEA membership also entails stringent adherence to a Code of Ethics and Rules of Professional Conduct, as well as compliance with the Treasury Department’s Circular 230 regulations. NAEA members are experienced, well-trained tax professionals who effectively represent their clients and work to ensure the tax code is fairly applied and reasonably enforced.