EA Ethics Courses

Both FunCPE ethics courses satisfy the annual ethics requirement issued by the Director of Practice and have been approved as CE by the IRS.

Description of FunCPE ethics courses:

1  Course 900112: Ethics for Enrolled Agent-2012--$25 for 4 CPE hours

Broad overview of Circular 230 requirements including:

• Duties and restrictions relating to practice before the IRS
• Sanctions for violation of the regulations
• Rules applicable to disciplinary proceedings
• General provisions related to a tax professionals such as marketing, setting fees, returing taxpayer documents etc.

2  Course 920212:  Ethics for Tax Preparers-2012--$20 for 2 CPE hours

Focused course on tax practice regulations relating to:

• What does "practice before the IRS" mean
• Furnishing information to the IRS
• Verification of taxpayer provided information
• Setting fees
• Marketing a tax pracitce

Our ethics courses, just like all our other courses, include a Review Exam and a Final Exam.  You do not have to pass the Review Exam, and it does provide a good review of "real life" ethical questions an EA might encounter.

Can I retake the ethics course each year?

Yes, you can take the same course every year to satisfy your Enrolled Agent ethics course requirement.  While our ethics courses generally cover the same background material each year, the IRS intends for all tax professionals to review the ethics regulations on an annual basis.  In our course system, the course gets a new course number each year.

Description of ethics requirement:

The following excert is taken from the IRS Guidance on Continuing Professional Education for Enrolled Agents FAQs:

Q. If I take more than 2 hours of ethics courses in a year, does it count for the following year ethics requirement?

A. No. Section 10.6(e)(2)(ii) requires - A minimum of 16 hours of continuing education credit, including 2 hours of ethics or professional conduct, must be completed in each year of an enrollment cycle. However, the additional hours may be credited to your general CPE requirement.

Q. I'm trying to find information about what ethics courses qualify for the 2 hours requirement for my renewal?

A. The ethics course should be designed for the tax professional and cover ethical issues that arise in a tax practice. For example, courses that review Treasury Circular 230 would qualify.