Our mission is to empower readers with the most factual and reliable financial information possible to help them make informed decisions for their individual needs. We follow strict ethical journalism practices, which includes presenting unbiased information and citing reliable, attributed resources. EA applicants must either pass a three-part SEE or have five years of IRS experience in a tax-related field. Enrolled Agents and CPAs are trained, experienced professionals who are held to high ethical standards.

https://www.bookstime.com/articles/retained-earnings-statement-examples are tax professionals who have demonstrated special competence in tax matters and are granted unlimited rights to practice before the IRS as the agents or legal representatives of taxpayers. This debacle convinced the IRS that it needed to define parameters around representing taxpayers in front of the IRS. In 1884, The Enabling Act, also called the Horse Act, was signed into law. This act created enrolled agents, and it established a standard people needed to meet to become one of these professionals. However, your tax return may be fairly straightforward and you might just want some reassurance that you’re calculating everything correctly.

…What you are missing out on if you don’t take the exam?

Former employees of the IRS with five years of experience can become enrolled agents without completing the Special Enrollment Examination. No rigorous experience or academic requirements are necessary to get the certification. A PTIN, passing the SEE, and a suitability check are the only conditions needed to get a certificate.

You can also find some financial advisors who are enrolled agents. EAs who also hold CPA licensure and wish to investigate financial crimes might consider becoming certified in financial forensics (CFF). The American Institute for Certified Public Accountants offers CFF certification to CPAs. Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree and have completed at least 75 hours of professional education in the last five years.

How can I tell whether someone is an enrolled agent?

If you want to work with someone who has the highest IRS credentials, you should work with an enrolled agent or a CPA. Note that you can select these professionals when you work with a big tax prep company such as H&R Block, Jackson Hewitt, or Turbotax, but they are not the default option. If you want to work with an enrolled agent near me at one of these companies, you need to request that type of professional specifically. Experienced tax preparers can try to test out of the Comprehensive Tax Course to save time and money within the CTP® program. You can also check your local yellow pages or a local business directory like Yelp.

• The American Institute for Certified Public Accountants offers CFF certification to CPAs.
• EAs must pass an examination or have sufficient experience as an IRS employee and pass a background check.
• Enrolled Agents are tax professionals who have demonstrated special competence in tax matters and are granted unlimited rights to practice before the IRS as the agents or legal representatives of taxpayers.
• Before scheduling your exam, however, it’s vital to ensure you’re fully prepared to achieve passing scores.
• With the introduction of income tax, EA’s responsibilities extended to include tax preparation and addressing taxpayer problems with the IRS.

We’re here to answer common – and uncommon – questions from people like you. An international test administration agency, Prometric administers the SEE on behalf of the IRS. Test-takers can access a variety of resources through Prometric.

Step 6: Maintain and Renew Enrolled Agent Status

Each exam part covers major topics the IRS calls “domains.” The IRS releases Exam Content Outlines Opens in new window detailing these domains and the content tested in them. We’ve broken down the domains tested enrolled agent salary per part, the approximate number of questions per domain, and percent of the exam covered by each domain. An EA is someone who has passed the EA exam and earned the highest credential awarded by the IRS.