What is an Enrolled Agent?
An Enrolled Agent is a person licensed by the Internal Revenue Service (and recognized by virtually every State Tax Departments) to represent you before the IRS and/or State in tax matters on the same basis as an attorney or a CPA.
What is the difference between an EA and a CPA?
There are three significant differences between an EA and a CPA:
- Who grants the license
- What is on the test to obtain the license and
- The Continuing Education requirements necessary to keep the license.
Who grants the license?
CPAs are licensed by the various State Boards of Accountancy. EAs are licensed by the Internal Revenue Service.
What is on the test?
There is (usually) only one section on taxation in the CPA exam. The candidate can in many cases fail that section and still pass the test to become a CPA. The EA exam is 100% taxation and IRS Practice and Procedure. No part of the test can be failed to become an EA.
What are the Continuing Education requirements?
A CPA need never take a single tax update course to maintain the CPA designation. An EA must take tax update courses every year to maintain that designation. The IRS requires 16 hours of CPE a year. Dr. Tax earns at least 40 hours every year.
