From October 20 – 26, TAS is joining the IRS in celebrating Tax Professional Awareness Week (TPAW).

TPAW is a week dedicated to ensuring that tax professionals have all the information they need to have a successful filing season. This year, we’re highlighting resources for protecting you and your clients from evolving tax scams, ensuring your client’s refund rights and appeal rights, and delving into what happens when return preparations go wrong.  Tax professionals can also find resources to help them prepare for the 2025 filing season.

We start off the week with a refresher on Tax Professional Certifications, and you can find more articles published throughout the week.

Tax Professional Certifications

Are you gearing up to prepare and file federal tax returns this upcoming filing season? If so, the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) wants to stress the importance of Tax Professional Certifications before the start of the 2025 filing season for 2024 tax returns. 

Anyone who prepares or assists in preparing federal tax returns for compensation must have a valid Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) before preparing returns.  Thus, having a PTIN is crucial. A PTIN not only safeguards your professional standing, but also contributes to a secure and efficient filing season.  Learn more about specific requirements for Enrolled Agents (EA), Certified Public Accountants (CPAs), and Attorneys.   

 Tax professionals can also join the Annual Filing Season Program and be included in a public database of return preparers on the IRS website. Learn more about requirements and how to apply.  

Remember: any paid tax return preparer is generally required to have a PTIN and is required to renew it annually. Refer to TAS’s Get help page on PTIN’s and the IRS’s PTIN Requirements for Tax Return Preparers for further guidance. 

TAS wishes all tax professionals the best of luck during the 2025 filing season. Make sure to visit the TAS website frequently, and follow us on social media for updated blogs, tax tips, and other helpful resources to make your filing season easier.

Additional information available on Tax Professional Awareness Week on irs.gov