California Tax Education Council
Online Registration Is Now Required
Wednesday, August 1, 2012 - 10 comments
As of August 1, 2012, all CTEC Registered Tax Preparers (CRTPs) are required to register online. Applications will no longer be accepted by mail after August 1, 2012; however, CTEC will allow some exceptions to registrations by mail depending on the case or issue.
CTEC has conformed its federal continuing education rules to the IRS’ so CRTPs are not forced to complete “double” requirements.
California Senate Bill 944 took effect January 1, 2012 to change CTEC continuing education requirements from 12 hours federal, 4 hours state, 2 hours ethics, plus 2 hours federal and/or state to 15 hours federal and five hours state.
The new CTEC and IRS federal continuing education hours are:
- 10 hours of federal tax law
- 3 hours of updates to federal tax law
- 2 hours of ethics
To find an approved education provider who offers courses to fulfill the 5-hour state requirement, visit www.ctec.org and click on “Approved Education Providers.”
Please Note— CRTPs who attended the IRS Nationwide Tax Forum in San Diego had the chance to earn up to three state hours. CRTPs who attended the IRS tax forum in Las Vegas had the chance to earn up to one state hour.
CRTPs who plan to attend the IRS Tax Forums in other cities will have to renew their CTEC registration by mail (This is one of the few exceptions to the new online registration requirement). The IRS only electronically submits education hours earned from the San Diego and Las Vegas Nationwide Tax Forums.
To renew online, CRTPs will need:
- 20 hours of completed continuing education that has already been uploaded into the CTEC database.
- A valid IRS Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN).
- Up-to-date $5,000 surety bond.
- Visa or MasterCard to pay the $25 registration fee.
Education providers have 45 days from the date the course was completed to report the hours to CTEC so please do not wait until the last minute to complete the continuing education requirement.
Please remember CTEC and IRS still have different rules and deadlines for tax preparers. CTEC rules are not going away. CRTPs are still required to renew their CTEC registration by October 31, 2012.
Also, don’t forget that as of November 1, 2012, CTEC will increase its late fee from $15 to $55.
For information regarding the new IRS requirements, visit www.irs.gov/taxpros.
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Is there a way to get the Matrix of what CE Credit apply to what category. Seem like some others has the same problem, find that out in LinkedIn. Providers may upload incorrectly too. We, tax preparer, are consumer too, and CTEC has NO regulation on that?
Yes, you should be able to get a breakdown of the courses and categories. Call our office 877-850-2832 so we can discuss this further with you...
Is there a way to get a list of the course number correspondent to the category of requirement. e.g. CE-3545 belong to what? Tax update or Tax Law? CE-3533 is Ethic, right?
I completed two courses through the National Association of Tax Professionals in May and June. These are not showing up on your site. I have written asking for them to upload the credits to your site. Can I just mail you copies of the Certificates? It is difficult for me to phone as I am in Europe.
Unfortunately it is the education provider's responsibility to report your hours so we can only accept hours that come directly from them. You can try emailing us the certificates to info@ctec.org, explain the situation, and if appropriate, staff will contact the education provider to help push this through faster.
I did all the credit in June/12, but the credit not showing up yet for some reason, what is the exception for me to send in the proof, and how to do it?
Call your education provider and tell them you need the hours uploaded. They have 45 days from the date the course was completed to do so... obviously it is past due. If you still have troubles, call the CTEC office (877) 850-2832 for assistance.