New online registration for paid tax return preparers: the IRS issues final regulations to ensure that paid tax preparers are competent and qualified.

• Position: Internal Revenue Service

As part of its initiative to ensure that tax return preparers are competent and qualified, on September 28, the IRS announced the issuance of final regulations requiring paid tax return preparers to register with the IRS to obtain a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN). It also announced that a new online system to obtain a PTIN is now available.

The new online registration system and final regulations are part of an ongoing project to increase oversight of federal tax return preparation. To learn about these and other steps, visit www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=217782,00.html.

All paid tax return preparers who prepare all or substantially all of a tax return are required to use the online registration system to obtain a PTIN. See www.irs.gov/taxpros/article/0,,id=210909,00.html for instructions. The online registration system is accessed through the "Tax Professionals" section of www.irs.gov. Individuals who currently possess a PTIN will need to reapply under the new system but generally will be reassigned the same number.

"'Getting a new, industry-wide registration system in place is essential to our efforts to improve the standards and oversight of tax return preparation," says IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. "These efforts ... will create higher standards for the tax preparation community and ensure quality service for taxpayers."

Call for Technical Support

The IRS set up a special toll-free telephone number, 1-877-613-PTIN (7846), that tax professionals can call for technical support related to the online registration system.

Applicants will pay a $64.25 fee to obtain a PTIN that will be valid for one year. As part of that fee, the IRS will receive $50 per user, as authorized by final user fee regulations issued by the IRS, to pay for technology, compliance, and outreach efforts associated with the new program. A third-party vendor will receive $14.25 per user to operate the system and provide customer support.

Receipt of a PTIN will be immediate after successful online registration. An alternative is to submit a paper application using Form W-12, IRS Paid Preparer Tax Identification Number Application, with a response time of four to six weeks. Before registration, applicants should consider that the date the PTIN is assigned is established as the annual renewal date.

Individuals without a Social Security number will also need to provide one of the following: Form 8945, PTIN Supplemental Application for U.S. Citizens Without a...