Are you Exempt from the AFTR Course?
Although some tax preparers (described below) don’t need to complete the 6-hour Annual Federal Tax Refresher (AFTR) course to qualify for the Annual Filing Season Program (AFSP) Record of Completion, they still need to complete 15 hours of approved continuing education to qualify for the program.
Return preparers who can obtain the AFTR – Record of Completion—without taking the AFTR course are:
- Anyone who passed the Registered Tax Return Preparer test administered by the IRS between November 2011 and January 2013
- Established state-based return preparer program participants currently with testing requirements—
- Return preparers who are active registrants of the Oregon Board of Tax Practitioners,
- Return preparers who are active registrants of the California Tax Education Council, and/or
- Return preparers who are active registrants of the Maryland State Board of Individual Tax Preparers
- SEE Part I Test-Passers: Tax practitioners who have passed the Special Enrollment Exam Part I within the past three years
- VITA volunteers: Quality reviewers and instructors with active PTINs
- Other accredited tax-focused credential-holders: The Accreditation Council for Accountancy and Taxation’s Accredited Business Accountant/Advisor (ABA) and Accredited Tax Preparer (ATP) programs
To view detailed requirement descriptions for all preparer categories, please click here.
NOTE: The Annual Filing Season Program is for unenrolled preparers, therefore attorneys, certified public accountants (CPA), enrolled agents (EA), enrolled retirement plan agents (ERPA), and enrolled actuaries do not need to take continuing education for this program.
18hr. AFTR Package – $75.00
15hr. AFTR-Exempt Package – $60.00