Some reference materials are provided when taking the exam. Prometric will provide Publication 17 as well as Form 1040 and its instructions for reference during the test. Other study materials covered in tax preparation courses are Publication 970 (Tax Benefits for Education), Publication 334 (Tax Guide for Small Business), Form 6251 (Alternative Minimum Tax), Form 8879 (IRS e-File Signature Authorization), and Circular 230.

There is no limit to the number of times a person may take the test. However, the test registration fee is payable each time. The anticipated test fee is $100 to $125. Individuals are only required to pass the competency exam one time. Tax preparers who have online IRS accounts can select a Prometric site and select one of the tax preparer exam dates.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Internal Revenue Service Circular 230, we inform you that, to the extent any advice relating to a Federal tax issue is contained in this communication, including in any attachments, it was not written or intended to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (a) avoiding any tax related penalties that may be imposed on you or any other person under the Internal Revenue Code, or (b) promoting, marketing or recommending to another person any transaction or matter addressed in this communication.

Nevertheless, professionals with an RTRP license are permitted to perform some mathematics for clients. For example, a tax preparer may accept such client information as “45 miles per week for 52 weeks” in order to determine business miles. But some questioning of this type of statement is reasonable. A tax professional receiving this response should inquire about whether the taxpayer was driving to the same locations every week for business purposes. If not, then the notion of driving exactly 45 miles every single week appears dubious.

Tax deductions are listed with associated income. Too much tax preparer time is wasted with pages of expenditures that mix together tax deductions for a business, rental property, and employee expenses. Tax practitioners can easily eliminate this by pointing out to clients that the extra time delays completion of the tax return and adds to their cost.

This is also an opportunity to explain to clients their record keeping obligations. They should understand, for instance, the necessity of keeping a record of business miles. In addition, time saving instructions to clients include an explanation that they don’t need to present the supporting documentation for preparation of the tax return. A tax preparer only needs the total. Taxpayers benefit from an explanation that they should provide such computations as unreimbursed medical expenses instead of delivering all their medical bills.

Very few issues involve calculations that are best conducted by the tax preparer. One of these cases is when people buy or sell real estate. A tax practitioner can determine the tax implications from the closing statement faster than pointing out which settlement costs are tax-deductible.

Also significant for 2012 are registered tax return preparer requirements for continuing education. Regardless of when tax preparer testing begins, the IRS has imposed continuing education in 2012. This consists of 15 hours, which includes a minimum of 2 hours for a registered tax return preparer ethics course.

The annual education requirement places all tax return preparers at a level previously only demanded of CPAs, enrolled agents, and attorneys. Individuals with these credentials are exempt from the RTRP test and CPE because they have their own standards.

Taxpayers no longer face situations of untrained small practitioners preparing a few tax returns per year from home offices. Now, every tax preparer is required to maintain knowledge of tax rules and changes in tax laws. Many tax preparation companies have their own training programs. However, for ongoing RTRP continuing education, online courses provide the superiority of self-paced training that is accessable at any time.

But, before conquering 2012 continuing education requirements, tax professionals have a larger hurdle to address. That consists of maximizing their registered tax return preparer exam pass rate.