If you are like most Americans, you pay taxes...but you may not have heard of Enrolled Agents, the professional tax experts who assist taxpayers with tax planning, preparation, and representation.
Enrolled Agents have been around for well over a hundred years (enrollement was established in 1884 by the U.S government to regulate agents who represented citizens with claims for Civil War losses) and the nearly 4,000 Members of the California Society of Enrolled Agents prepare more than 2 million tax returns each year!
With tax regulations becoming more convoluted and confusing each time they are "simplified," and with the enormous changes in tax law and differences between state and federal taxes, this is a good time to review your tax situation, and there is no one better than an Enrolled Agent -- the taxpayer's tax expert -- to help you!
There are only two ways to earn the designation Enrolled Agent." Once a year, the Internal revenue Service gives a very difficult two-day examination covering all aspects of taxation, including procedures and ethics. Traditionally, fewer than one-third of all applicants pass the examination, allowing them to apply for enrollment including a thorough background investigation.
The other way to become an Enrolled Agent is to be employed by the IRS for a minimum of five years regularly applying and interpreting the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and regulations. Following enrollment, EAs must maintain a stringent annual schedule of professional education in the field of taxation. Because of the difficulty in becoming enrolled and maintaining that enrollment, there are fewer than 35,000 Enrolled Agents in the United States.
