The new ID number is part of the IRS move to begin regulation of those who make it a business to prepare returns for others.
Later, they will also be required to take an IRS competency test and complete continuing-education courses to be eligible to charge for tax-preparation services, said David R. Williams, the IRS official in charge of the new regulatory program.
“All must have a preparer ID number as a first step in identifying who is preparing tax returns,” Williams said today in a conference call with reporters.
“We are trying to get the message out” to people whose business it is to prepare returns, he said, “and get a broader message to consumers that we are taking steps” to make sure that tax preparers are qualified.
Tax-preparers may apply for the ID number online at www.IRS.gov, The process takes about 15 minutes, and has to be completed by everyone who prepares returns for a fee, even those who already had an IRS tax-preparer number in the past, Williams said.
The ID number is officially known as the Preparer Tax Identification Number, or PTIN, the IRS said.
Sixty percent of taxpayers use tax-return preparation services, the IRS said, and an additional 30 percent use tax-preparation software programs.
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