Part III - Administrative, Procedural, and Miscellaneous
Restrictions on Use of the Term Registered Tax Return Preparer - Notice
2011-45
The Department of the Treasury and the IRS are implementing the
recommendations contained in Publication 4832, “Return Preparer Review.”
As part of this implementation, the Department of the Treasury and the IRS have
issued final regulations (TD 9527) that include registered tax return preparers
as practitioners under 31 CFR Part 10 (reprinted as Treasury Department Circular
230).
The Department of the Treasury and the IRS have also published final
regulations under I.R.C. § 6109 (75 FR 60309) providing that attorneys,
certified public accountants, enrolled agents, and registered tax return
preparers who prepare all or substantially all of a tax return must obtain a
preparer tax identification number (PTIN). In Notice 2011-6, 2011-3 IRB
315, the IRS identified two additional groups of individuals who are eligible to
obtain a PTIN: (1) specified individuals who are supervised by the attorney,
certified public accountant, enrolled agent, enrolled retirement plan agent, or
enrolled actuary who signs the tax return or claim for refund prepared by the
individual, and (2) individuals who certify they do not prepare or assist in the
preparation of all or substantially all of any tax return or claim for refund
covered by a competency examination. Notice 2011-6 further provided that
individuals who are not attorneys, certified public accountants, enrolled
agents, or registered tax return preparers may obtain a provisional PTIN before
the date that the registered tax return preparer competency examination is first
offered. After the competency examination is offered, only attorneys,
certified public accountants, enrolled agents, registered tax return preparers,
or the additional groups of individuals identified above will be eligible to
obtain a PTIN. The IRS began issuing PTINs at the end of September
2010.
To become a registered tax return preparer, an applicant must pass a
competency examination and tax compliance and suitability checks. The IRS
has selected a vendor to develop and administer the competency examination, but
the examination is not yet available. Additionally, the IRS is currently
in the process of developing the suitability check. Because the conditions
for becoming a registered tax return preparer are not yet able to be satisfied
by any individual, no individual may represent that he is a registered tax
return preparer. An individual with a provisional PTIN may not represent
that he is a registered tax return preparer or has passed the competency
examination. Once the competency examination is available, only an
individual who has met all of the conditions to becoming a registered tax return
preparer, including passing the competency examination and the tax compliance
and suitability checks, may represent that he is a registered tax return
preparer.
An individual who becomes a registered tax return preparer must comply with
the applicable rules in Circular 230, including section 10.30 regarding
practitioner advertising and solicitation. Section 10.30 will be amended
to require a registered tax return preparer using any paid advertising involving
print, television or radio, in which the individual represents himself or
herself to be a registered tax return preparer to display or broadcast the
following statement: “The IRS does not endorse any particular individual tax
return preparer. For more information on tax return preparers go to
IRS.gov.”
The principal author of this notice is Emily M. Lesniak of the Office of
Associate Chief Counsel (Procedure & Administration). For further
information regarding this notice contact Emily M. Lesniak on (202) 622-4570
(not a toll-free call).