CTEC Tax Education Requirements

You have come to the right place if you want to be registered as a legal preparer in the state of California and meet the CTEC tax education requirements. To start a new career as a legal preparer take our classes in taxation that meet the CTEC tax education requirements. When searching for a school to learn taxes, make sure that that school is registered with CTEC and that it meets the CTEC tax education requirements.

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Our CTEC approved preparation courses will satisfy the CTEC tax education requirements and give you the education you need to succeed in the fields of accounting and taxes. The CTEC tax education requirements are not complicated. As a CTEC tax preparer, you are legally able to preparer returns. Meeting the CTEC tax education requirements is part of the legal process to legally prepare taxes. Please do do taxes unless you are registered with CTEC and met your yearly CTEC tax education requirements. CTEC lists the tax education requirements on their website. CTEC wants you to be aware of the new state laws tax education requirements regarding the preparation of taxes. Before you prepare any returns, you must be sure that you know the new CTEC tax education requirements. Not complying with the CTEC tax education requirements, could cost you.

There is a purpose for the CTEC tax education requirements. These requirements exist for a reason. They are not just a set of rules set forth by California (CTEC) to make your life more difficult. You may remember that there were taxpayers who where victims of unscrupulous preparers or preparers who did not possess the adequate know how to perform this sort of work. Now there still exist a few of these but not as many as before CTEC and its tax education requirements and enforcement tasks have come along. CTEC is enforcing its tax education requirements more and more every year. Before CTEC tax education requirements came along, there were actually cases of preparers promising taxpayers large refunds and deflauding taxpayers. At least taxpayers are now more protected because preparers are current with the CTEC tax education requirements. This is thanks to CTEC and its tax education requirements.

In addition, thanks to the CTEC tax education requirements, now other states are following California. California has become the leading state in making laws to govern the preparation of taxes and the education of it. Other states such as New York, Maryland and Oregon have come up with tax education requirements exactly alike or similar to the CTEC tax education requirements. Recently, even federal has enacted new federal laws to make registration and the completion of continuing education mandatory. As it turns out, the federal government has also come up with tax education requirements similar to the CTEC requirements. These tax education requirements are overseen by the Office of Professional Responsibility. Funny how these tax education requirements are almost identical to CTEC, that CTEC personnel at one point was not even sure if CTEC would continue or cease to exist. Well, as it turns out, the federal tax education requirements are in addition to the CTEC tax education requirements. However, you kill two birds with the same stone upon completion of the yearly CTEC tax education requirements. This is so because for federal you are only required to complete 15 hours of tax education and for California or CTEC you need 20 hours. So in fact, the 15 hours of the federal tax education requirement are included in the 20 hours of the CTEC tax education requirements. Oregon has a similar concept, where they require 30 hours of tax education and thus the 15 hours of federal tax education requirements are included in the 30 hours of Oregon tax education requirements. Now it seems like CTEC has expanded to the other 49 states.

Yes, indeed, it was a great thing the state of California (CTEC) started. Did you know that some sort of tax education requirements were actually already in effect even before CTEC came into existence? These tax education requirements were only enforced to a lesser extent when CTEC was not around. CTEC was established in California as a non-profit Corporation for the benefit of better preparation of taxes. Now they are authorized to oversee the tax education requirements of preparers. If preparers don't comply with CTEC requirements, they could be cancelled. If they continue to offer services, they could be penalized. It is not a great thing because of all these negative things, but rather because it is expected that everyone follows the tax education requirements that CTEC so vigorously enforces, everyone wins. The preparer wins because everyone knows that CTEC is doing its job of enforcing the tax education requirements. The taxpayer wins because if the preparer is a CTEC preparer that abides by the tax education requirements, then they can be assured that they will be given an excellent service. This is assuming the preparer has abided by the CTEC tax education requirements.

So as a preparer of taxes, please comply with the CTEC tax education requirements and guidelines not because it is the law but because you want to do things right. You need to learn the work you must perform every year anyways. So you are complying with CTEC tax education requirements because you want to be within the law. There are so many reasons you want follow the CTEC tax education requirements. The list can go on and on about the benefits of meeting the requirements.

Even if taxpayers are not obligated to complete CTEC tax education requirements or to abide by the CTEC tax education requirements, they should still update their skills on a yearly basis. Hopefully even the consultants who are exempt from registering won't take that exemption of the requirements to mean that they don't need to update their skills on a yearly basis.