"Nan Eklund" <naneklund[at]aol.com> wrote:

- quote -

Not to worry -- you're OK there. Anyone can prepare an
Oregon return, as long as you don't actually prepare it IN
Oregon. They just regulate who prepares returns in the
state.

The Tax Board actually considers themselves to be more of a
consumer protection agency than anything else, i.e. keeping
the riff-raff of the tax prep world out of business.

Bryan

------------------------ Bryan Kellar, EA
Oregon Tax Help, Inc. -- Portland, Oregon
www.oregontaxhelp.com
www.canadatax.org

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- quote -

I'm in California, EA and with the efile paperwork for Fed
and CA. We have a client in Oregon whom we have done, by
mail, including efile, for many years. I never thought we
would have to be licensed in Orgeon and hope I'm right?

Nan, EA in LA
Entrenched belief is never altered by the facts.....

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jrefactors[at]hotmail.com (Matt) wrote:

- quote -

It depends on the laws of your state. Go to your state's
web site and look for a link to the agency that issues
professional or technical licenses. It may be in a commerce
department or a department of consumer affairs.

Subject to state regulation, anyone can prepare federal
income tax returns. However, if you wish to represent
clients before the IRS, you must obtain a CAF number, which
is available to licensed CPAs, attorneys, and individuals
who have passed the IRS's Enrolled Agent examination.

Katie in San Diego
The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only and
does not constitute legal or professional advice.

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- quote -

Unfortunately, there are no requirements of any sort to hang
out your shingle as a tax return preparer. You don't even
have to take any classes to learn about taxes. But if you
don't have a thorough understanding of how the tax system
works, you are not likely to be very helpful to your
clients.

You can't represent your clients before the IRS unless you
are a CPA, an enrolled agent, or an attorney, all of which
have education and/or testing requirements.

--
Thomas E Healy, CPA, PC
1650 38th St., Ste 202W
Boulder, CO 80301
Please send email to: tom[at]tomhealycpa.com, since I block all email at my
newsgroup address.
phone (303) 443-1804
fax (720) 489-3772

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"Matt" <jrefactors[at]hotmail.com> wrote:

- quote -

There are only two states that license tax preparers: Oregon
and California.

The California Tax Education Council can be found at http://www.ctec.org.

The Oregon State Board of Tax Practitioners can be found at
http://www.open.org/~ortaxbrd/.

Since I live in Oregon, I can speak to this state's rules.
There are two levels of licensing. A person just starting
out passes an 80-hour class with a state prescribed
curriculum (I am one of the instructors) and then must sit
for a 5-hour exam. At that point, they can become a
Licensed Tax Preparer. After 2 years experience (minimum
780 hours actually preparing returns over at least 2
different calendar years), the preparer can sit for another
exam, at that point they will be a Licensed Tax Consultant.
An LTP can only work preparing tax returns in Oregon when
working for an LTC.

There are a couple of logistical problems in becoming
licensed here if you don't live here. One is that you have
to take an approved course. H&R Block here has to make a
few changes to their course here to allow it to comply with
the rules, so it cannot be just any tax course. There are a
couple of providers (one community college and a local tax
firm) who have developed correspondence versions of the
class, however, to meet the regulations for "passing" the
class, the mid-term and final exams for the classes must be
taken in person and passed. Secondly, the exams themselves
are only offered in locations in Oregon, necessitating a
visit here.

And, other than the fact you need to be licensed to prepare
returns in Oregon, no one outside the state of Oregon seems
to know that the credential exists. Of course, it's not
really needed anywhere else.

Good luck!
Bryan

------------------------ Bryan Kellar, EA
Oregon Tax Help, Inc. -- Portland, Oregon
www.oregontaxhelp.com
www.canadatax.org

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- quote -

www.irs.gov > tax professionals > enrolled agents

Helen, EA in PA
Director, NAEA; Immediate Past President, PSEA; Tax Expert, AOL
Enrolled Agents - THE Tax Professionals

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I want to know if there are any exams for certifications for
US federal and state tax return? I heard there are licenses
for people who is doing tax return preparations. If so, what
is the URL or good pointers for that?

Please advise. thanks!!

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