Do You Want To Become A Professional Tax Preparer?

Do you want to become a professional tax preparer?

by

Christine P Silva

Do you want to become a professional tax preparer? Perhaps you have existing skills as a bookkeeper and would like to expand your service offerings.

Offering tax services is an easy way to expand a bookkeeping business. You have the client s financial information already, so it s a natural progression to offer tax services. Tax services are more lucrative, but the work is seasonal. Most tax professionals charge an average of $150 to $350 for an individual return and even higher for business returns.

Most small businesses would love to have one place to go for payroll, tax preparation, sales tax reporting, bookkeeping, and financial statements. The best part about offering these additional services is that they generate revenue all year round. Tax preparation is a good way to generate large revenues and a steady client base. On the other hand, bookkeeping and other financial services provide a stable yearly income and generate year-round revenues.

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Why not make your practice a one-stop shop? Always explain all the other valuable financial services you offer. Have a brochure ready and make sure every potential client knows that your office is their one-stop shop. You can even consider offering insurance services and real estate representation, if you obtain the necessary licenses to do so.

In most states, you don t need any special education to become a tax preparer. However, this is going to change. In 2011, the IRS will start mandating preparer registration.

Currently, the IRS is working on a plan to require registration for all tax professionals. This is expected to start sometime between 2011 and 2012. If you decide to offer tax services, it might be a good idea to start researching your educational options right away, so you can be prepared when the new rules go into effect.

The best way to avoid this registration is to become an Enrolled Agent! Enrolled Agents are automatically enrolled to practice before the IRS and are therefore exempt from the registration requirements.

There are many enrolled agent study review courses available. I am the co-author of the PassKey Enrolled Agent Review, I can tell you that a good review program can mean the difference between a passing and failing score on the EA Exam.

The IRS Enrolled Agent Exam is exclusively offered by Prometric, which has been contracted to administer the exam for the Internal Revenue Service.

Christy Pinheiro is an Enrolled Agent and Accredited Business Advisor. She worked for two CPA firms and also for the State of California before going into private practice. She has published numerous books on taxation and finance. She is the co-author of the

Passkey Publications

Enrolled Agent Exam Review Series.

Article Source:

ArticleRich.com