Tax Professional Center

Plain-English reading of the federal rules that reach paid tax work: who the definitions catch, what each identifier is, who may deal with the IRS for someone else, and what the practice rules require. Every statement is linked to the text it came from.

Two people with the same business card can sit under different rules. What the authority looks at is conduct, compensation, the identifiers that exist, and the status a person holds under the practice rules. A title on its own decides none of that.

What do you do in the work?

Federal tax law attaches nothing to a job title. It looks at what a person did, whether they were compensated for it, and for practice questions what status the practice rules place them in. A title is a description of work, not a grant of authority.

I prepare returns and I am paid for itA description of the work. It does not decide what any rule permits.
I keep books or do accounting workA description of the work. It does not decide what any rule permits.
I am an enrolled agentA description of the work. It does not decide what any rule permits.
I am a licensed CPAA description of the work. It does not decide what any rule permits.
I am a licensed attorneyA description of the work. It does not decide what any rule permits.
I completed the Annual Filing Season ProgramA description of the work. It does not decide what any rule permits.
I hold a preparer identifying numberA description of the work. It does not decide what any rule permits.
My firm holds an electronic filing numberA description of the work. It does not decide what any rule permits.
I own or run the firmA description of the work. It does not decide what any rule permits.
I supervise other preparersA description of the work. It does not decide what any rule permits.
More than one of theseA description of the work. It does not decide what any rule permits.
Something else, or not sureA description of the work. It does not decide what any rule permits.

What are you trying to look up?

Start with the thing you came to look up. If you are not sure which definitions reach your work at all, start with the preparer definition, because several of the other rules run through it.

Whether the preparer definition reaches what I didConduct and compensation, in the order the text asks about them.
What a preparer identifying number isWhen the Code requires it, and what holding one does not settle.
How electronic filing participation worksA firm-level programme with a firm-level identifier.
Who may deal with the IRS for a taxpayerEligibility and authorization are two separate requirements.
What enrolled agent, CPA and attorney each meanSide by side, in the regulation's order, with no ranking.
Whether the practice rules reach mePart 10 is written with a scope, and the scope is part of the rule.
How IRS discipline works, and how to check itThe three sanctions, the process behind them, and what a published record does and does not say.
What due diligence requiresThe professional standard and the statutory requirement are not one rule.
What each preparer penalty reachesTrigger, standard and defence, stated separately for each one.
When client information may be disclosed or usedDefined terms, consent, and the exceptions the rules state.
Where bookkeeping ends and preparation beginsWhat the federal definitions look at, which is not the job title.
How this centre works and where it stopsThe limits we hold ourselves to, including the state boundary.
The authority behind all of itEvery source, what it was read for, and the date it was read.

An identifier is not a permission

An identifier answers the question who is this, for the purpose the rule names. Practice before the IRS, electronic filing participation and preparer status are separate objects with separate requirements, and holding a number for one of them settles nothing about the others.

How we research this

Every source on this page shows the body that issued it and the date we read it. The text behind this centre was last read on 2026-08-24.

We do not decide anyone's status, authority or exposure. Nothing here produces a finding about a person or a firm.

This is general education for people who work in tax, not legal or tax advice, and not a determination about anyone's status or obligations. Rules change and facts matter. For a decision about your own situation or your own practice, take advice from a licensed professional.