Are you a people person?
Do you aim to please?
Do you find that you excel at customer service?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, then you’re qualified to become a tax preparer. Tax preparation isn’t all about numbers – it’s about helping people during tax time. As a tax preparer, you will develop relationships with clients as they come back to you year after year for their tax needs.
If you are looking for a new career path or a way to make additional income but are short on funds, The Income Tax School is the perfect solution! Not only can you get the education you need to become a tax preparer, you can fast track yourself into entrepreneurship.
What It Takes To Become A Tax Preparer
It’s easier than you think! First, you’ll need to learn the basics of tax preparation. Our Comprehensive Tax Course can help you do just that in as little as 10 weeks. All you need to take this course is basic math skills and a computer. In this beginner tax preparer course, you will learn to prepare tax returns and research tax issues for most Form 1040 individual, non-business taxpayers and small business taxpayers (self-employed/Schedule C). The best part about The Income Tax School Courses is that they are 100% online with instructor support and you can take them at your own pace. We even have payment plans that make it easy.
Once you’ve completed your courses, you will need to apply for your PTIN (Preparer Tax Identification Number) through IRS.gov. Everyone who takes payment by preparing taxes for others must register with the IRS.
You must also apply for an IRS Electronic Filing Identification Number (EFIN) so you can e-file tax returns.
You also want to consider completing the IRS Annual Filing Season Program. The IRS Annual Filing Season Program (AFSP) is an annual voluntary IRS program for return preparers. It consists of an Annual Federal Tax Refresher (AFTR) course with a comprehension test, plus 15 hours of continuing education annually. Once completed, you will gain a Record of Completion from the IRS and will be listed on the IRS Federal Tax Return Preparers Directory. Please note, this is not required, but it definitely has it’s advantages.
From Tax Professional to Entrepreneur
The great thing about becoming a tax preparer? Once you have the knowledge under your belt and are registered with the IRS, you can begin your path to entrepreneurship by preparing taxes for the general public. You don’t even have to have an office. Many tax preparers work out of their home and meet clients out during tax season.
The Income Tax School has lots of great resources to help you get started as an entrepreneurial tax preparer. With The Income Tax School’s Tax Practice Management Manuals, you can learn the business secrets that national tax firms use to fuel growth. Our tax practice manuals cover tax business marketing, tax office operations, tax business personnel, and tax business expansion.
In addition to the manuals, we have lots of free resources on our website here: Free Whitepapers.
Continue Building On Your Tax Knowledge
Once you’ve completed the Comprehensive Tax Course you can prepare tax for the general public, but that’s not all there is to learn about taxes! The more you expand on your knowledge and learn to prepare more complicated returns, the more money you will make as a tax preparer. We have a variety of Advanced Tax Courses to choose from to help you do just that. The best part is you can take these courses at your own pace while you are already earning money as a tax preparer.
Learning to prepare taxes is a very rewarding career that is recession proof. People will always need their taxes files no matter what the economy is like!
Further Reading
The Advantages of Taking the IRS Annual Filing Season Program