A. Enrollment dates back to 1884
when Congress acted to regulate persons who represented citizens in their dealings with
the Treasury Department after questionable claims had been presented for Civil War losses.
Enrollment was expanded after the income tax was imposed in 1913 to include representation
in claims of citizens whose tax had become inequitable.
[ Back to top ]
A. Enrolled agents are the only practitioners who have
demonstrated competence specifically in matters of taxation. Also, they are the only
representatives for taxpayers who receive that right directly from the U.S. government.
(CPAs and attorneys are licensed by the states.)
Enrolled agents work for taxpayers! An enrolled agent is usually a tax return preparer.
In general, anyone can prepare a tax return for someone else. If there is an exchange of
money for this service, the preparer is required to sign the return, however, there is
little governmental regulation of this. Enrolled agents are voluntarily registered with
and monitored by the Treasury Department. They are required to keep current with tax law
education requirements of 24 hours each year, and abide by treasury regulations.
Enrolled Agents are often Taxpayer Representatives. All Enrolled Agents are authorized
to represent taxpayers. Some do so infrequently or not at all, while others specialize in
this area. If there is a problem with your return, your Enrolled Agent will be able to
help you, or even represent you, at all levels of the IRS, including Appeals. Enrolled
Agents are always a good source of advice in tax matters. In fact, the Internal Revenue
Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 extended the common law attorney-client
privilege to some communications between federally authorized practitioners and their
clients; specifically, non-criminal tax matters, discussed privately, outside of return
preparation. [ Back to
top ]
A. ER0 is the acronym for Electronic Return Originator. EROs
have passed suitability and background checks by the IRS and are accepted into the
Electronic Filing Program. This means that they can transmit tax returns via computer.
This is not the same thing as Enrollment to Practice. [ Back to top ]
Click here for more frequently
asked questions.
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