IRS Circular 230 Final Rules Align Standards For Advice, Incorporate New Tax Preparers

Long-awaited final rules (T.D. 9527) governing practice before the Internal Revenue Service for certified public accountants, attorneys, and enrolled agents align the professional standards in Section 10.34 of Circular 230 with the civil penalty standards inInternal Revenue Code Section 6694 for tax preparers.

In addition, the final rules bring a whole new class of unlicensed tax preparers—newly registered under an IRS oversight program—under the jurisdiction of the Office of Professional Responsibility for the first time in that Treasury circular’s history.

While IRS revised its guidance on standards of practice in 2007, (T.D. 9359), it left open ...