EA Valid Courses

How does the IRS define acceptable CPE course subjects?

The IRS regulates Enrolled Agents (EAs) and specifies what types of courses are acceptable for continuing education credit in the Treasury Department Circular 230.  The Circular 230 subject matter description is:

“Qualifying continuing education . . . designed to enhance professional knowledge in Federal taxation or Federal tax related matters (programs comprised of current subject matter in Federal taxation or Federal tax related matters, including accounting, tax return preparation software, taxation or ethics); and

Be a qualiftying continuing education program consistent with the Internal Revenue Code and effective tax administration.”

What is the deciding factor?

The IRS considers a course to be “Federal tax related” if at least 75% of the material relates to Federal tax.  

In other words, an accounting course with a passing reference to tax matters would NOT qualify.

In fact, very few accounting courses qualify and none of the FunCPE accounting courses qualify.


Courses that DO qualify

All FunCPE Ethics courses are accepted for EA credit

All FunCPE Tax courses are accepted for EA credit

  • Except the Annual Federal Tax Refresher (AFTR) course

The AFTR course is strictly for the Annual Filing Season Program which is for unenrolled tax preparers.  This course is considered too basic for EAs.

 


 Courses that DON’T qualify

Management courses such as “How to improve your tax practice” usually will NOT qualify, because they focus on office practices and such.  

Accounting and Auditing courses will NOT qualify.

Why do we offer courses that don’t qualify for EA CPE?

Many CPE providers such as FunCPE offer courses to a variety of professionals such as Enrolled Agents, AFSP Tax preparers, Certified Public Accountants and many others.  As a result, some of the courses offered are only valid for certain professions.

The only Federal tax course offered by many CE providers that will not qualify for EA CE is one designed specifically for AFSP tax preparers called “Annual Federal Tax Refresher,” which is a 6 hour overview course. The IRS has specific requirements for this course, and one of them is that it cannot be offered to Enrolled Agents for credit.

What if I accidentally take a course that doesn’t qualify?

All FunCPE courses indicate which professionals can take our courses for credit.  

In the unlikely event you take a course that is not valid for your professional credit, please do contact us for a full refund.  We don’t want you to pay for a course that you can’t use for your license renewal!