Student FAQs
How can I get more information on the course?
If you have questions that are not answered on our website, please feel free to contact us at (800) 984-1040 or at info@theincometaxschool.com. We will answer your questions promptly.
What are the prerequisites for taking a course?
Other than a high school education or equivalent, there are no prerequisites for enrolling in one of our beginner tax courses – Basic or Comprehensive. 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. 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.
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?
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.
After successfully completing the first two courses (Basic and Intermediate) course you will be qualified to prepare individual tax returns for the general taxpaying public. You can gain practical experience while completing the advanced and small business tax courses.
How up-to-date are your courses? I’m looking into obtaining training for the current tax year.
We are currently updating our courses to reflect current tax laws.
The most current tax laws usually become final in the last couple months of the year. Therefore, our courses are based on the prior tax year. We will issue tax law updates sometime around the beginning to mid-December of each year to current students. The updates will detail the tax law changes for the current year. This allows you to take the current tax law course and become familiar with the tax laws as they are enacted. 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.
Do your courses qualify for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credit?
Yes. All of our courses qualify for CPE credit for CPAs and CFPs.
What makes your course different from your competitors?
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.
How would you compare your school to other tax schools?
The Income Tax School is certified 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 governed by SCHEV. We are also a sponsor of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) 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.
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.
Are you approved by CTEC?
Yes. Our California courses include curriculum approved by the California Tax Education Council (CTEC) for qualifying education required for tax preparers to become licensed to practice in California, and continuing education required for tax preparers to maintain their license in California.
What course should I take to become a tax preparer in California?
The CA Comprehensive course (our Basic and Intermediate courses combined with California content) is approved by CTEC as a qualifying course for California. There are additional requirements to become a tax preparer in CA. We also offer continuing education courses that are CTEC approved. Learn more about our CTEC approved courses now. Please visit CTEC’s Website for additional information.
Are you approved by OSBTP?
Yes. Our Oregon courses include curriculum approved by the Oregon State Board of Tax Practitioners (OSTPB) for qualifying education required for tax preparers to become licensed to practice in Oregon, and continuing education required for tax preparers to maintain their license in Oregon.
Do you have income tax courses for Canada and other countries?
No, our courses only cover U.S. taxes at this time.
When can I start the course?
The course starts when you register. Our courses are all open enrollment. You can register and start the course as soon as you are ready.
What does interactive mean?
Interactive courses include instructor support and feedback.
All assignments and exams are graded instantly. Does not include video at this time.
What does online mean and how will I know how I am doing?
Online means via the Internet. With the online courses, students receive instant feedback on the accuracy of each homework assignment, quiz, and exam. Students must successful pass each chapter (70% is passing) before they can move on to the next one. An average of 80% or better is required for the Chartered Tax Professional certificate program. When students have a question or comment, they have a direct link to send an e-mail to their assigned instructor. Instructors will respond within two business days – maximum.
How much time do I have to complete a tax course?
The maximum term for each 30-hour course is 4 months from date of registration and 8 months for any course over 30 hours from the date of registration. 3-hour courses/seminars are allowed 1 month each. For more than two 3-hour courses/seminars and up to five purchased at one time, we allow 3 months for completion from the date of registration. For six to ten 3-hour courses/seminars purchased at one time, we allow 4 months for completion from the date of registration. Students who do not finish the course within the allotted time frame may extend their term for a nominal reinstatement fee.
How long will it take to complete a tax course?
You are able to set your own pace. We recommend that you complete at least one lesson per week, which would require ten weeks for each 10-lesson course. However, you could complete two lessons per week while also working full-time and finish each course in just 5 weeks. If your other commitments are less, you could finish even sooner.
Is there a time frame that I need to finish each chapter or assignment?
All of our online courses are completely at your own pace. The maximum term for each 30-hour course is 4 months from date of registration and 6 months for any course over 30 hours from the date of registration. 3-hour courses/seminars are allowed 1 month each. For more than two 3-hour courses/seminars and up to five purchased at one time, we allow 3 months for completion from the date of registration. For six to ten 3-hour courses/seminars purchased at one time, we allow 4 months for completion from the date of registration. Students who do not finish the course within the allotted time frame may extend their term for a nominal reinstatement fee.
How much time should I allow for each online lesson?
The time spent on each chapter will vary however; you should expect to spend 5-6 hours per chapter to read the chapter and the reading assignment, to complete lesson problems, and to complete homework assignments.
How many chapters should I complete a week?
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. You should try to complete at least one lesson per week.
What if I need to exceed the time frame allowed to complete the course?
You may request an extension for another term for a nominal fee.
Do I have to buy additional materials?
All tax course text material and required reference material is available online with access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All online courses (30 hours or more – except for the Advanced I, II and Small Business I and II courses) include a hard copy of the tax course material at no additional cost. These hard copy materials (which include all necessary tax forms for homework, quizzes, etc.) provide students the option to read offline.
Hard copies save the students money and time by not having to print the text and forms. In addition, the textbook serves as a reference manual for future use when preparing tax returns. Any hard copy tax course materials will ship within 1 business day of your registration via UPS ground. Alternative shipping methods are available for a fee. You must provide a physical street address, no P.O. Boxes.
What do I have to have in order to take an online course, and what are the system requirements?
In order to take our online courses, you must have access to a computer and the Internet (high speed internet access is recommended). You can access the course contents from any web-enabled computer. You do not have to use the same computer to log-in to the course every time.
The course works with Windows, MAC and Linux operating systems.
We recommend that you have the latest versions of Internet Explorer or Firefox.
Adobe Reader is required to view the online material.
Who will be my instructor?
Each student is paired up with a facilitator for one-on-one interaction. The facilitator will be available (via email or phone by appointment) to answer any questions you may have and to provide feedback on your performance. All of our facilitators are successful working professionals in the fields in which they teach.
What is the actual response time to have questions answered by the instructor with the courses?
Usually within 24 hours. Within two business days, maximum.
I just registered and got my user ID/password. I am excited to get started but was wondering if you recommend I wait for my book?
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.
How can I be assured that no one will have access to my course information online?
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.
Will I be able to complete an online assignment more than once?
Yes. You must successfully complete each section (70% is passing) before you are able to move on to the next one. An average of 80% or better is required to receive the Chartered Tax Professional designation.
What happens if I am unable to complete my online assignment in one sitting?
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.
How will I be notified if there is a correction for my online course?
Corrections to your student text will be posted in the Student Forum.
What happens when I complete the course?
Upon successful completion of the course, you will be awarded a certificate of completion from The Income Tax School. You must obtain a final passing grade of 70% or greater to be awarded a certificate. An average of 80% or better is required for the Chartered Tax Professional certificate program.
Once I complete the course how will I receive my certificate?
Once you have successfully completed each 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 within two weeks. Your CTP® certificate will be issued after you have completed all courses with an average grade of 80% or more and have documented the 500 hours experience requirement to qualify for the CTP® designation.
Am I guaranteed a job?
The Income Tax School courses will provide you with the skills you need to obtain an entry-level position in most cases. We also offer a career center where you can post your resume and look for a career in tax preparation. Instructors will also be available to use as a professional reference upon completion of the course. Potential students should always do research on the job market in their area before registering.
If I sign up for the courses will the Income Tax School help me find a job as a tax preparer?
Yes, there is a Tax Career Center on The Income Tax School website where our students can find information about careers in tax preparation and valuable resources for students seeking to be employed or self-employed as tax professionals. The Tax Career Center has links to various tax industry that provide valuable resources for beginning tax preparers and experienced tax professionals. You will also find a number of free articles on tax practice management. In addition, the Tax Career Center includes online classified ad directories where you can post an ad for free to let tax business owners know of your availability to work as a tax preparer. You can also read ads posted by tax businesses who are seeking to hire tax professionals. The job directories are promoted to thousands of tax businesses nationwide through broadcast e-mails to our database and news releases to the media and tax industry contacts. You will also find links to the websites of the major national tax professional associations which also have state chapters, such as the National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP). You can also post your ad on the NATP website classified ad section for free under “Tax Related Positions Wanted” through our Tax Career Center. You can also contact local offices of national tax firms such as H & R Block, Jackson Hewitt, Liberty Tax Service, and others, as well as local independent tax services.
I heard the IRS may regulate tax return preparers, meaning that many preparers may need further training, certifications or licenses to continue preparing taxes. What should I do?
IRS regulation of unenrolled tax preparers by as early as 2010 is a strong possibility, but not definite, based on this IRS news release.
There is speculation that the IRS would adopt the tax preparer licensing model in place in Oregon, one of 2 states (along with California) that currently license tax preparers. The Income Tax School’s Comprehensive Income Tax Course (Basic + Intermediate) is approved (with additional state content added) to meet the licensing requirement for both Oregon and California. We are also a sponsor of Continuing Professional Education for CPAs and CFPs, and we are approved by the IRS Director of Practice as a provider of Continuing Education for IRS Enrolled Agents. We expect that our course will also be approved for any IRS tax preparer education requirement, but no one knows for certain what the IRS will require and if they will accept previously completed education to meet the requirement. We are certain that H & R Block and other providers will lobby for that. No one can predict with certainty what the requirements will be. However, I am confident that our Comprehensive Income Tax Course provides the education necessary for a person to become competent to prepare the vast majority of individual income tax returns at the entry level.
You can find a discussion of the movement toward IRS tax preparer licensing at the LinkedIn Group titled “Tax Business Owners of America” which you can join if you are a LinkedIn member or if you become a LinkedIn member. You can find complete details under the heading of “Recent Posts” on our Start Your Own Tax Business website.
