Tax Law and News PTIN Rules You May Not Have Known Read the Article Open Share Drawer Share this: Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn Written by Mike D'Avolio, CPA, JD Modified Jul 28, 2016 1 min read Anyone who prepares, or assists in preparing, substantially all of a federal tax return, or claims for refund for compensation, must have a valid PTIN (Preparer Tax Identification Number) from the IRS and must have the PTIN used as the identifying number on the return. The annual fee is $50. First time or renewal registration takes about 15 minutes, and can be done online or on paper by filing Form W-12 (takes four to six weeks to process). There are more than 715,000 federal tax return preparers. All PTINs expire on Dec. 31 and must be renewed for the following year. The IRS has established a new Annual Filing Season Program to encourage non-credentialed tax return preparers to voluntarily take continuing education courses to increase their knowledge and improve their filing season readiness. More information on the types and amounts of CE required for the program is available at www.irs.gov/Tax-Professionals/Annual-Filing-Season-Program. For additional PTIN information, click here. Previous Post February 2016 Tax Compliance and Due Dates Next Post IRS.gov, E-File and ID Theft Tax Fraud Highlight 2016 Tax… Written by Mike D'Avolio, CPA, JD Mike D’Avolio, CPA, JD, is a tax law specialist for Intuit® ProConnect™ Group, where he has worked since 1987. He monitors legislative and regulatory activity, serves as a government liaison, circulates information to employees and customers, analyzes and tests software, trains employees and customers, and serves as a public relations representative. More from Mike D'Avolio, CPA, JD Comments are closed. Browse Related Articles Tax Law and News When does a hobby become a business? Tax Law and News Is the IRS contacting your clients? Verify! Practice Management Practical uses of AI for productivity & client work Tax Law and News August 2025 tax and compliance deadlines Tax Law and News Big Beautiful Bill tax deductions for workers and seniors Advisory Services White paper: Scaling advisory services to your clients Tax Law and News Year-round tax planning tips for clients Practice Management Optimizing your firm for hybrid and remote work Grow your practice Scale your firm, your way Advisory Services Modern marriage issues: Postnup agreements