Myth #1: “You need to be a CPA or have an accounting degree to be a Tax Professional.”
Many people shy away from taxes because they think it will be too difficult and you must be a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or have an accounting degree, or the equivalent. The truth is you really don’t have to be an accountant to be a tax professional. While having an aptitude for dealing with figures is essential, high level knowledge of math and finance are not necessary and tax preparation is not accounting, it’s law. You don’t even need to have a college degree to prepare taxes.
Then what DO you need?
You will need to take at least one tax preparation course to give you a solid foundation in individual tax. In addition, if you choose to complete the voluntary IRS Annual Filing Season Program (AFSP), you would also need to complete a 6-hour Annual Federal Tax Refresher Course (AFTR) with a 100 question competency test to confirm your tax knowledge. To receive a Record of Completion from the IRS for this program, you must also complete additional hours of continuing education. The 6-hour AFTR Course and CE is a voluntary annual program of the IRS. Continuing education is a great thing and super important, as it will help you increase your tax knowledge and remain current with the tax code. If you wish to prepare business tax returns, you will also need to take a tax course on small business income tax. Learn more about the AFSP program.
Our beginner tax preparation course assumes no prior tax knowledge and the tax preparer software available today makes tax preparation a lot easier. That being said, tax preparer software is NOT a substitute for tax knowledge. It’s extremely important that you are able to complete tax returns by hand as the computer programs don’t always think of everything. You should never rely on any tax software program to train you or to prepare a tax return for you accurately. It should simply be used as a tool to improve your service and make you more efficient.
Myth #2: “Tax Preparation is for ‘numbers’ people.”
It’s amazing how many people think that tax preparation is all about the numbers, but that’s not all. Tax preparation is actually a people business. So, if you enjoy working with people, you could do very well in the tax business. It’s about building relationships and trust.
Yes, it is extremely important that you have the knowledge to prepare taxes accurately. But the experience that your clients have during the tax preparation process and after is just as important. When you are dealing with a client’s financial information it becomes very personal. Your client trusts you to take good care of him/her and hopes you have their best interests in mind. Your client is looking for guidance and has come to you because they see you as an expert in the tax industry. You could prepare a client’s tax return perfectly but if you don’t provide personal service, they may not be back. Relationships are paramount!
