Student FAQs

Q. What are the prerequisites for taking this course?

A. There are no prerequisites for taking the Comprehensive Tax Course (consists of the Basic and Intermediate Tax Course). Many people think they need to be great at math to be a tax preparer. The math involved is really fairly basic. If you know simple arithmetic and have a calculator handy you should not have any problems. In addition, people having completed at least two years of high school usually have enough formal education to complete our entry-level tax courses. Experience and/or knowledge of bookkeeping or accounting is not necessary at all. Many of our students have no prior experience in tax, accounting or bookkeeping.

Q: Are your tax courses something that an individual can study and do at home on their own, like a correspondence course? If so, are all the materials needed included? What does each course cost? How long does it take to complete each course?

A: Our courses in income tax preparation are available for home study online anywhere, anytime - 24/7. The courses are interactive, with instructional feedback and support from qualified instructors provided by e-mail. Everything needed to complete each course is available online, including the student text. The hard copy of the course is not a requirement, as all materials needed are downloadable. However, we do include a hard copy so all students have one for future reference and also for convenience, to save time with printing forms for assignments and other reading that they may prefer to read offline.

To become a tax preparer, we suggest that you start off with the Comprehensive Tax Course. This is a 60-hour course when taught live in a classroom. We allow 6 months to complete this course. This time frame may also be extended for a small fee. The cost for this course and any additional materials is listed on our Student Pricing Guide.

After successfully completing this course you will be qualified to prepare individual tax returns for the general taxpaying public. Then, as you gain experience, you might consider completing our advanced and small business tax courses. The best way to pursue a career as a tax professional is to enroll in our Chartered Tax Professional-CTPSM certificate program. After completing the Comprehensive Course, as a CTPSM candidate, you will receive a 10% discount on all additional courses.

Q. How long will it take to complete a tax course?

A. This will depend on what course you are taking. With any course you choose you are able to set your own pace. This will allow you to finish fairly quickly, sometimes in as little as just a few weeks; or you can take more time to complete each chapter. When these courses are taught live in Richmond, VA, a 60 hour course usually takes 10 weeks with classes meeting two times a week for three hours each time. The 30 hour courses usually take five weeks with classes meeting two times a week for three hours each time.

Q. How much time do I have to complete a tax course?

A. The term for courses over 30 hours is 6 months from date of registration. The term for courses up to 30 hours is 4 months from date of registration. Students who do not finish the course within the allotted time frame may extend their term for a $65 reinstatement fee.

Q. I just registered yesterday and got my user id/password today. I am excited to get started but was wondering if you recommend I wait for my book?

A. You can if you want to; however, everything you need is available online. The book is a great tool to have while taking the course so you don't have to print everything out and everything is in one place. It is also a great reference after you finish the course. Feel free to start your course now and just download anything you need until your book comes. It should only be a few days.

Q. Is there a time frame that I need to finish each chapter or assignment?

A. All of our online courses are completely at your own pace. The only timeframe you have depends on which course you are taking. Courses with 30 hours or less - you have 4 months to finish from the date of registration. Courses with more than 30 hours - you have 6 months to finish from the date of registration. If you find that you need longer than that, you may reinstate for another term for a nominal fee.

Q. What does online mean and how will I know how I am doing?

A. Online. Students receive a username and password, within 1 business day of registration, and can begin immediately. With the online courses, students receive instant feedback on the accuracy of each homework assignment, quiz, and exam. Students must successfully pass each chapter (70% is passing) before they can move on to the next one. When students have a question or comment, they have a direct link to send an email to their assigned instructor. Instructors will respond within two business days - maximum.

Q. How up-to-date are your courses? I'm looking into obtaining training for the 2007 tax season.

A. We are currently updating our courses to reflect 2007 tax laws.

Our income tax courses have been updated to cover the 2007 tax laws. As you know, the new tax laws that will affect 2007 tax returns have not been finalized as of yet. The 2007 laws usually become final in the last couple months of the year. We will issue tax law updates sometime around the beginning to mid December. The updates will detail the tax law changes for 2007. This allows you to take the current course and become familiar with the tax laws as they are for 2006. The practice problems in our course allow you time to apply the knowledge as you learn. The tax law updates provide the enhancement necessary to prepare you for the upcoming tax year. There is no additional cost for the tax law updates. The only cost you will incur is the cost for the chosen course.

Q. Do your courses qualify for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credit?

A. Yes. All of our courses qualify for CPE credit.

Q. What makes your course different from your competitors?
A. While many tax courses available focus mostly on theory, our courses are written and taught by veteran tax professionals that work year-round preparing taxes for the general public with Peoples Income Tax, Inc. Because our courses are written by tax professionals working in the tax industry every day, the material incorporates many real-life examples and truly enables the student to prepare taxes for the general public.

Q. Are you approved by CTEC?

A. Yes. We are approved by the California Tax Education Council (CTEC) for qualifying and continuing education in California for both distance (Self-Study) and interactive (online) learning.

Q. What course should I take to become a tax preparer in California?

A. The CA Comprehensive course is approved as a qualifying course for California (CTEC approved). There are additional requirements to become a tax preparer in CA. Please visit CTEC Website for more information.

Q. How can I be assured that no one will have access to my course information online?
A. Students are issued a unique user id and password that is required to enter the secure area of the website where their data is entered and stored.

Q. How much time should I allow for each online chapter?
A. The time spent on each chapter will vary however; you should expect to spend six hours per chapter to read the chapter and the reading assignment, to complete class problems, and to complete homework assignments.

Q. How many chapters should I complete a week?

A. With any course you take, we recommend that you complete 2 chapters per week; however, the course may be accelerated or more time can be taken if needed.

Q. What is the actual response time to have questions answered by the instructor with the courses?

A. Within two business days, maximum.

Q. Will I be able to complete an online assignment more than once?

A. Yes. You must successfully complete each section (70% is passing) before you are able to move on to the next one.

Q. What happens if I am unable to complete my online assignment in one sitting?

A. If you are in the middle of reading a chapter, you can simply sign off. When you sign back in you will be able to click back to exactly where you left off. If you must sign off in the middle of an online graded assignment (a quiz, homework assignment or an exam), you will have to start the graded assignment over when you return. To make things easier for our students, we recommend downloading the assignment and completing it offline. Then all a student has to do is just plug in the correct answers online. This is particularly helpful for students with a dial-up connection.

Q. How will I be notified if there is a correction for my online course?

A. Corrections to your student text will be posted in the course website.

Q: What if I need to exceed the time frame allowed to complete the course?

A: You may request an extension for another term for a nominal fee. The extension fee is listed on our Student Pricing Guide.

Q. What payment options do I have for the course?

A. You may pay for your course by credit card (AMEX, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa) or mail a check/money order. Should you choose to pay by check/money order, your order will be fulfilled when we receive your payment.

Q. Once I complete the course how will I receive my certificate?

A. Once you have successfully completed the course (your final exam has been graded), you will need to fill out the Request for Certificate of Completion, which follows your course. Your instructor will then provide you with a certificate of completion by mail.

Q. Do all students take tax courses in order to work in the tax industry?

A. No. There are many students that take our tax courses each year for a number of other reasons. Some take the course for CPE credit, while others take the course to save on their own taxes or just to gain a better understanding of them.

Q. What courses should I take to become qualified as a tax preparer and to prepare more complex tax returns?

A: You should definitely first complete the Comprehensive Course to learn how to prepare individual income tax returns for the general taxpaying public. You could then take advanced seminars on subjects of special interest to broaden the types of tax returns you would be qualified to prepare. However, you might instead consider enrolling in the Chartered Tax Professional certificate program and taking the advanced courses leading to the professional CTPsm designation. The seminars are actually drawn from lessons of the advanced courses and are intended for CPAs and other experienced tax and accounting professionals to take to complete Continuing Professional Education (CPE) requirements, without having to take an entire 30-hour course. If you officially enroll in the CTP program, you will get a 10% discount for each additional course you take after completing the Comprehensive Course. Taking the 30-hour advanced courses through the CTPsm program would be less expensive than taking a series of individual seminars and you would be working toward a professional designation. There is also a 500 hour experience requirement which you could complete during the next two tax season as your progress through the program. It is important to apply what you are learning to internalize that knowledge and continue to learn through practical application.

Q. How would you compare your school to other tax schools?

A: Our tax school is licensed by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) as a private career school and is subject to the same standards as Virginia colleges licensed by SCHEV. We are also a sponsor of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy to provide CPE for CPAs and of the IRS Director of Practice to provide CE for Enrolled Agents; by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards to provide CE for CFPs; and the California Tax Education Council to provide required Qualifying Course for tax preparers to practice in California. We are currently exploring national accreditation with the Accreditation Council for Career Education and Training (ACCET).

Our Comprehensive Income Tax Course covers the same material and is as comparable as other tax school courses. We also offer a series of advanced individual and small business courses that can be taken individually or as a series of courses leading to the designation of Chartered Tax Professional. Our courses were developed initially 18 years ago to recruit and train tax preparers for our multi-office tax practice in Virginia. Our curriculum is written and updated annually by experienced practicing tax professionals. All of our courses are provided online in an interactive format with instructor support by e-mail vs. by traditional home study correspondence. We provide learning objectives, lesson quizzes with instructional feedback and auto-graded exams. Although all of the student textbook content is online, we also provide a hard copy of the student text for convenience and future reference at no additional charge. Our courses are high-quality and designed to provide students with the knowledge necessary to prepare tax returns professionally.

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