Two CPAs in Washington D.C. have filed a class action lawsuit against the IRS for requiring a yearly registration and related fee in order to maintain a preparer tax identification number (PTIN). The suit, which involves 700,000 practitioners, seeks to recover $150 million in fees that the IRS has collected since the regulation passed in 2010. Four years ago, the IRS put the new rule into effect as a ...

  The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) recently sent a letter to the IRS calling a proposed “voluntary” certification program for unenrolled tax return preparers “unlawful and improper”. In a recent ruling, Loving, No. 13-5061 (D.C. Cir. 2/11/14), it was held that the IRS does not have the statutory authority to regulate tax return preparers. In the aftermath, IRS Commissioner, John Koskinen, stated ...

While CPAs and tax attorneys must currently meet professional standards for tax preparation and other services, a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has ruled that the IRS has no authority to force continuing education or similar standards on tax preparers.  The case stems from a 2011 IRS proposal of a system that would have established tax preparer registration and re ...