The Internal Revenue Service has reminded the nation’s more than 690,000 federal tax return preparers that they must renew their Preparer Tax Identification Numbers (PTINs) for 2015, since the current PTINs will expire December 31, 2014.
IRS highlighted that anyone who prepares or helps prepare any federal tax return or claim for refund, for compensation, must have a valid PTIN from the IRS. The PTIN must be used as the identifying number on returns prepared. For those who already have a 2014 PTIN, the renewal process can be completed online and only takes a few moments and fee is USD63 [USD64.25 is for the first time registration] . If taxpayer cannot remember their user ID and password, there are online tools to assist them.
PTIN holders who renew their PTIN for 2015 and have met the continuing education requirements for the new voluntary IRS Annual Filing Season Program will be contacted by the IRS with instructions on how to elect to participate and print their Annual Filing Season Program – Record of Completion. Tax return preparers who elect to participate in the program will be included in a database on IRS.gov that will be available by January 2015 to help taxpayers determine return preparer qualifications.
