California Tax Education Council

IRS Update: Annual Filing Season Program

CTEC Registered Tax Preparers (CRTPs) who wish to participate in the IRS voluntary Annual Filing Season Program (AFSP) for 2016 must complete the requirements by December 31, 2015.

The AFSP- Record of Completion is for one tax year. Participants must meet the requirements each year in order to receive a record of completion and to be included in the IRS public database of tax professionals.

Participants are required to obtain a valid IRS Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN), pass the Annual Federal Tax Refresher (AFTR) course and test, plus meet federal continuing education (CE) requirements.

Some tax preparers, including CRTPs, are exempt from the AFTR course and test. CTEC federal CE hours can also be transferred to the IRS to fulfill its educational requirement for the program.

CRTPs cannot participate in the IRS program until their registration is current with CTEC. 

Are you a new to CTEC?

November 1^st is the first day new tax preparers can apply for CTEC registration for the 2016 tax year. New CRTPs who are also interested in applying for the IRS AFSP- Record of Completion, will need to complete 15 hours of federal CE from an approved education provider, in addition to CTEC's 60 hours of qualifying education (QE) requirement.

The IRS does not accept QE hours as a substitute for federal CE hours. New CRTPs will need to complete initial registration requirements and federal CE hours by December 31, 2015 to participate in the IRS voluntary program.

Click here to learn more.

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