WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service plans to start regulating paid tax preparers, requiring them to register with the government, pass competency tests and adhere to ethical standards. The new ...

How often would you expect paid tax return preparers to make mistakes in their client's returns? It would be unrealistic to expect 100% compliance — nobody is perfect. However, a 2014 study from the ...

The Internal Revenue Service reminded taxpayers on Thursday that it's important to carefully choose a tax professional. There's an accountant shortage in the U.S., so finding qualified tax prep help ...

The IRS has issued a crucial reminder to over 800,000 tax preparers across the U.S. about the necessity of maintaining a valid Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN). This requirement is vital for ...

Most of us don't do our own tax returns. My husband did ours for years. He finally surrendered, too frustrated with the never-ending task of keeping up with the many changes to the tax code. We now ...

A decade ago, a Pew Research Center study found that 33% of Americans claimed that they did their own taxes while 56% said someone else prepared their returns. Over the years, as the IRS implemented ...

When you hire someone to help prepare your federal income taxes, the IRS wants you to make sure they are not a “ghost preparer." Read on for tips to recognize and avoid a problem. A ghost preparer is ...

Free tax software is elusive. The biggest tax companies tend to keep their free options hidden, while companies that ...