Tax prparation business and enrolled agent.

I am interested in starting a tax preparation business. Is it necessary to be a CPA or will accredidation as an enrolled agent be sufficient? Where do you get your first clients from?

As for enrolled agent. How can I start studying for the exam. I may be a little bit overly ambitious because I don't know business taxation yet. How can I learn this?

Thank you both for your informative answers. I think that about covers it.

Jack

Soncera LaMar in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania said: Hello Jack,

I am the owner of a tax business called TaxTime Financial and if you need help opening your own business and would like to become a part of TaxTime Financial please check out our web site at TaxTimeFinancial.com or give us a call M-W 11 am to 4pm.

I am planing to open tax preparation business. I will be interesting in any business opportunity. Please response g042@hotmail.com

I AM A TAXPREPARER IN FL I NEED INFO ON WHATS THE BEST BANK TO USE FOR RALS AN OTHER BANK PRODUCTS,SINCE HSCB DOES NOT PARTICIPATE ANY MORE. RAY JONES MAIL RAY JONES114@YAHOO.COM

I used Gleim study materials for the EA exam and I passed. Don't try to study for the exam using the IRS pubs, it's much easier using a study guide.

Todd in Huntington Beach, California said: I used Gleim study materials for the EA exam and I passed. Don't try to study for the exam using the IRS pubs, it's much easier using a study guide.

Hi Tod,

This is Tad in Huntington Beach, California. Really that's my name and I work here. I want to become EA and thinking of using Gleim study for the EA exams. I don't have any tax preparing experience at all and this is career change for me. Can you tell me how long it takes to complete the Gleim study and pass the EA exams.

Thank you Tod,

Tad

Hi Tad,
When I took the exam, you had to take all 4 parts at once. Now, you can take one at a time. I didn't have any tax preparing experience either and I studied for a few months using a CPA study guide because that was all I had. I then found the Gleim study guides online and crammed for 6 weeks using the Gleim guides. I was unemployed at the time and studied about 6 hours a day and I passed all 4 parts. It's really not possible to say how much study time you will need as everyone learns at a different pace. If you study hard and retain quick, I would say a month or less for each of the 4 parts of the exam. Good Luck

I just took part III today and passed. I used Gleim study book and CD ROM. It certainly helped and I probably wouldn't have passed it without it, but I was a little disappointed in all of the questions that "weren't" included in the study materials. I think a few years ago the IRS stopped giving out the questions from previous tests, so I don't think Gleim has as good of idea of what the questions will be. Many moons ago I passed the CPA exam on the first attempt after taking the Becker CPA review course and it was much better at preparing for the test than Gleim is, at least in my opinion. I don't know if Becker has a EA option. Anyway, good luck. Study hard.

Hi Tod,

Thank you so much for your reply. I really didn't expect any response from you. It was a kind gesture to encourage a complete stranger like myself. I am really excited about studying and preparing for the EA exam. I will study hard for at least 3 months and am determined to pass it the first time. I hope all is well for Tod of Huntington Beach. Much success and hopefully I get to meet you someday.

Thank you again,

Tad

Im currently taking a tax course in my University. but I also want to take the EA exam in February 28th. I have the Gleim study guide with the CD rom I only have Dec thru Feb to study is possible that I can still pass just by doing the study guide and the CD rom without reviewing the irs publications.

Yes, it's possible, but I would review the IRS pubs too. If you have full time to study you might get it done by Feb 28th. I have parts 1 and 3 done. Part 2 will wait until next year. I studied probably 35 hours for part 3 and probably 150 - 200 hours for part 1. There is a ton of material in Parts 1 and 2.

I passed just using the Gleim study guides. I wouldn't recommend the IRS pubs, way to much material and way to boring. A good website to practice on is wiseguides.com, you can take tests for free on many areas of tax.

I agree that the pubs are boring and have too much information, but I learned a lot by reading them. Gleim's "outline" way of presenting the material is not the easiest to read and comprehend. If you read Gleim and then the Pub's it seems to make more sense. Especially, the parts that are new to you.

Yes, you can do it by the end of February. I used the Phoenix course. I would say you should at least review the outline on the Prometric website and make sure everything is covered in your study materials.

The amount of time you need to study depends on how much tax prep experience and education you have. I actually did not study much at all. I studied the most for Part 1 because I had the most free time available before I took it, around 60 hours. I studied about 20 hours for Part 3. Then by the time I took Part 2 I didn't have much time at all, so I only studied around 15 hours.

I used the text book from Arthur's EA Review to study for the EA exam and passed the first time when IRS did an overhaul of the exam in 2006.

I strongly recommend Arthur's EA Review if you're a text book type individual. I think they even have a disk although I prefer learning by text book. By the way, I studied about 12 hours a week for 4 months before taking the exam. Good LUCK!

thank you everyone for your encourage respond.

anyone can help me with form 1099-S
How do you report it on Schedule D part II
I am not able to figure it out.
Is there any other form that should be used to.

There are a few free options to help you study for the SEE exam.
The IRS has a “study kit” for the enrolled agent exam that lists 112 separate forms, form instructions, and publications containing information that may appear on the exam. The price is right, but the IRS did not design these publications with you and other test takers in mind. Do you really intend to study thousands of pages that contain information that will not appear on the exam?

Another free option is the FREE online question bank hosted by Fast Forward Academy fastforwardacademy.com/. They managed to condense all of those IRS publications into an efficient study guide desinged to help students learn fast and pass.

The IRS provides samples of prior years' SEE exams and answers to sample questions on the IRS website at the link below.

www.irs.gov/taxpros/agents/article/0,,id=100711,00.html

I am an authorized e-file agent and I have gotten examined by the IRS for the past 2 years. Is anyone else experiencing office examinations? or Does anyone know what would prompt an examination of my small office out of the 1000 of tax office in my city? Why me?

How small is your office? Do a lot of your returns have EIC? Do all of them get refunds? There are many reasons why this could be happening. What type of examination is it- EIC, e-filing compliance, etc?

Patrick in Tulsa, Oklahoma said: Yes, it's possible, but I would review the IRS pubs too. If you have full time to study you might get it done by Feb 28th. I have parts 1 and 3 done. Part 2 will wait until next year. I studied probably 35 hours for part 3 and probably 150 - 200 hours for part 1. There is a ton of material in Parts 1 and 2.

I need to buy the Gleim books as "Used" can anyone who passed the exam sell me his books and CD if possible?
Please email me at: sdwedar@hotmail.com I appreciate your help and congratulation to all who passed the exam, good luck

The comments on this post are incredibly informative.

Thank you!

Where can I find this years schedule for the EA examination?

Thanks

Just don't every buy ExamMatrix as a study guide. It is full of typos and they do not explain why the wrong answers are wrong. The whole program runs like an 80's DOS program, very slow. Along with typos there are lots of flat out mistakes in their answers. Total waist of time and money.

I need to buy the used Gleim bơoks and EA-CD exam prep for 3 parts. If you can help, please email me: rosemarry@email.com. Thanks

kettiap in Pompano Beach, Florida said: Im currently taking a tax course in my University. but I also want to take the EA exam in February 28th. I have the Gleim study guide with the CD rom I only have Dec thru Feb to study is possible that I can still pass just by doing the study guide and the CD rom without reviewing the irs publications.

hi there
i just cleared my EA yesterday and that too on first attempt. I used only GLEIM as it covers evrything.
thanks

jas in Huntington Beach, California said: hi there
i just cleared my EA yesterday and that too on first attempt. I used only GLEIM as it covers evrything.
thanks

Hi all,

I just passed my EA yesterday. I used Gleim for Parts II and Parts III. I used Phoenix textbook for Part I. I am so happy right now. I am planning to sell my EA books. Please reply back to this post if anyone needs them.
Thanks.

Hi smitha,

Congratulations!

How much are you asking for your EA review books?

Chuck

Smitha in Washington, District of Columbia said: Hi all,

I just passed my EA yesterday. I used Gleim for Parts II and Parts III. I used Phoenix textbook for Part I. I am so happy right now. I am planning to sell my EA books. Please reply back to this post if anyone needs them.
Thanks.

I need the third part of your gleim books, how much do you need? Please let me knwo, sdwedar@hotmail.com
Thanks

Hi all,

I have the following books and the asking price is listed with each book:

1. 2009 Enrolled Agent Exam Home Study Course - Part 1 (including Flashcards): $35.00
2. 2010 Enrolled Agent Exam Home Study Course - Part 2 (including Flashcards): $40.00
3. 2010 Enrolled Agent Exam Home Study Course - Part 3 (including Flashcards): $30.00
4. 2010 Enrolled Agent Gleim Review Part II (Textbook and CD (Multiple-choice questions):$65.00
5. 2010 Enrolled Agent Gleim Review Part III (Textbook and CD (Multiple-choice questions):$65.00

All the books, CD and flashcards do not have any marks on them. They are used only once.
Please let me know if anyone is interested.
Thanks.

Hi all,

I have sold all my EA books today. Please ignore my earlier post with all the book details.

Thanks.

I'd like to talk to you about the books, please contact me at 541-4-12-9429-thanks, Lee

Smitha in Washington, District of Columbia said: Hi all,

I just passed my EA yesterday. I used Gleim for Parts II and Parts III. I used Phoenix textbook for Part I. I am so happy right now. I am planning to sell my EA books. Please reply back to this post if anyone needs them.
Thanks.

lee in Brookings, Oregon said: I'd like to talk to you about the books, please contact me at 541-4-12-9429-thanks, Lee

Hi Lee,

I have sold all my EA books. I had mentioned that on my earlier post.

Thanks.
Smitha

lee in Brookings, Oregon said: I'd like to talk to you about the books, please contact me at 541-4-12-9429-thanks, Lee

Hi Lee,

Thanks for your contact details. I have sold all my EA books which I mentioned on my earlier post.

Thanks.

lee in Brookings, Oregon said: I'd like to talk to you about the books, please contact me at 541-4-12-9429-thanks, Lee

I need your part III of Gleim books, please tell me how can I get. Please respond to sdwedar@hotmail.com
Thanks

I bought Exam Matrix at the IRS Tax Forum Orlando this past July. I agree with someone from an earlier post that it's a waste money. I purchased the Gleim books after discussions with some EA's in the MN chapter. I scheduled Part 1 for December 20, 2010 and started to study for it early December (appr 2 weeks). Passed on first try. Immediately scheduled Part 3 for yesterday, December 29th, and studied for about a week. Passed. I hope to take Part 2 middle January before tax season kicks into full gear. I own and operate my own tax service and I thought the two exams I took were difficult. You are given 3.5 hours to take each exam. It took me 1.75 hours each exam and while going through the exams I thought for sure I did not pass as the wording in the questions made it difficult and kept confusing me.

7523 in San Antonio, Texas said: I am an authorized e-file agent and I have gotten examined by the IRS for the past 2 years. Is anyone else experiencing office examinations? or Does anyone know what would prompt an examination of my small office out of the 1000 of tax office in my city? Why me?

usually these audit are triggered by the amount of self-employed returns that you do,you will notice that your taxpayers that file self employed are getting review letters or audits,check it out.

Smitha in Washington, District of Columbia said: Hi all,

I just passed my EA yesterday. I used Gleim for Parts II and Parts III. I used Phoenix textbook for Part I. I am so happy right now. I am planning to sell my EA books. Please reply back to this post if anyone needs them.
Thanks.

hi,I need the book. would you please sell to me?,my email is: lydiajialee@hotmail.com

Smitha in Washington, District of Columbia said: Hi all,

I have the following books and the asking price is listed with each book:

1. 2009 Enrolled Agent Exam Home Study Course - Part 1 (including Flashcards): $35.00
2. 2010 Enrolled Agent Exam Home Study Course - Part 2 (including Flashcards): $40.00
3. 2010 Enrolled Agent Exam Home Study Course - Part 3 (including Flashcards): $30.00
4. 2010 Enrolled Agent Gleim Review Part II (Textbook and CD (Multiple-choice questions):$65.00
5. 2010 Enrolled Agent Gleim Review Part III (Textbook and CD (Multiple-choice questions):$65.00

All the books, CD and flashcards do not have any marks on them. They are used only once.
Please let me know if anyone is interested.
Thanks.

hi
are you still keeping the book?
I need them . please contact me:lydiajialee@hotmail.com

I just passed all three of the SEE exams part 1,2 and 3. I am selling my 2011 Arthur EA books. Good condition.

Part 1 $50
Part 2 $50
Part 3 $50

alisavlz@yahoo.com

ray in Jacksonville, Florida said: usually these audit are triggered by the amount of self-employed returns that you do,you will notice that your taxpayers that file self employed are getting review letters or audits,check it out.

They are considering your office to have produced an extremely high volume of questionable returns. Could be Schedule C, EIC or any other refund producing credit. Take a closer look at how you are preparing these returns.

I have passed the SEE all parts and have been admitted to practice before the IRS as an Enrolled Agent, I have the following correspondence for sale which helped me extremely...

Gleim 2009
Part I,II,III review textbook and CD whole set $180
Gleim 2010
Part I,II,III review textbook and Cd whole set $200

Both sets are in excellent condition

Todd in Orange, California said: Hi Tad,
When I took the exam, you had to take all 4 parts at once. Now, you can take one at a time. I didn't have any tax preparing experience either and I studied for a few months using a CPA study guide because that was all I had. I then found the Gleim study guides online and crammed for 6 weeks using the Gleim guides. I was unemployed at the time and studied about 6 hours a day and I passed all 4 parts. It's really not possible to say how much study time you will need as everyone learns at a different pace. If you study hard and retain quick, I would say a month or less for each of the 4 parts of the exam. Good Luck

I am currently searching for experienced tax preparers in Redlands, CA, Clearlake, CA, Boonville, NY, McMinnville, OR, Hampstead, MD and Burton, MI. If you have experience and live in one of these areas, please reply.

MEllis in Jessup, Maryland said: I am currently searching for experienced tax preparers in Redlands, CA, Clearlake, CA, Boonville, NY, McMinnville, OR, Hampstead, MD and Burton, MI. If you have experience and live in one of these areas, please reply.

My name is Rhonda and I live about 45 minutes from Redlands and am a tax preparer working toward becoming an enrolled agent. Please feel free to email me at rdobison@hotmail.com.

rdobison in Los Angeles, California said: My name is Rhonda and I live about 45 minutes from Redlands and am a tax preparer working toward becoming an enrolled agent. Please feel free to email me at rdobison@hotmail.com.

Hi Rhonda,

Thanks for responding. I would love to take a look at your resume. Please email it to me at maude.ellis@fiducial.com. I look forward to speaking with you.

I am currently searching for experienced tax preparers in Redlands, CA, Clearlake, CA, Boonville, NY, McMinnville, OR, Hampstead, MD and Burton, MI. If you have experience and live in one of these areas, please reply.

I've just passed all parts of the SEE exam, am located in Laurel, MD, got 1 year experience in 1040 and 1120S, Heamstead is about 48 miles from laurel, but I can still cope if the exposure and pay ok.

Please email me your resume as a Word attachment to maude.ellis@fiducial.com.

Hi MEllis,
Thanks. I tried several times to mail the resume to you on the address maude.ellis@fiducial.com., but the mail did not go indicating error in recepient address. You may wish to provide a link to demisoga@gmail.com., which may aid the sending. Thanks