Professional Tax Preparer
100 Hours/6 Month Access/Instructor Support
Course Overview:
Each year, nearly every adult in the nation is faced with the daunting task of determining whether they will owe taxes or receive a refund. Since taxes have become an ever-increasing part of a family's budget, they receive a lot of attention, making knowledgeable tax professionals some of the most sought-after individuals in the U.S. today.
As the tax laws continue to increase in complexity, individuals that have done their own taxes are now looking for someone to help them resulting in annual growth for tax preparation firms.
In response to the increasing demand for income tax professionals, we offer The Professional Tax Preparer™ (PTP) Designation that certifies individuals fully in personal and business returns. Upon certification, qualified individuals receive the PTP designation, assuring potential employers and clients that they are qualified to take care of all their income tax needs expertly. Fittingly, those with the PTP designation find better, higher paying opportunities.
Module 1 - Establishing the Tax Foundation
During this module, you learned the entire process for determining income and adjustments to income, which will factor into the Adjusted Gross Income. In fact, you have covered all the information necessary to prepare Page one of the Form 1040.
This module acts as an introduction to the topic of Tax Preparation. From what your role is as a Tax Preparer to the nuts and bolts of preparing the most common Tax Returns. Learning this material first not only gives you a solid foundation in your understanding of the process of preparing tax returns, but is also very helpful in that once you have a solid understanding of this material, you can begin to prepare individual tax returns. The Professional Tax Preparer™ course gets you up to speed quickly so that you can begin to put your knowledge to work in the real world and quickly become profitable. This module gives you practical experience and will enable you to prepare some of the simpler returns for family and friends.
The material is presented in a very hands-on way, showing you the process of preparing tax returns by actually doing the kinds of basic tax returns that you will do for your clients. Each session within the Professional Tax Preparer™ program ends with tax-saving tips that will ensure neither you nor your clients are paying one more dollar in tax than you should. As these strategies are understood, you can provide the type of quality professional tax preparation and consulting services that every individual needs and is looking for.
Lesson Outline:
- Getting Started
- Wages, Salaries & Tips
- Schedule B – Interest/Dividend Income
- Schedules C-EZ & F – Self-employment and Farm Income
- Schedule D – Capital Gain and Loss
- Retirement Income
- Schedule E – Rental, Royalty, Partnership & S Corp Income
- Other Types of Income
- Occupational Adjustments
- Personal Adjustments
Module 2 - Becoming the 1040 Expert
“Becoming the 1040 Expert.” The module deals with the background information and forms that go into Form 1040, Page 2. We also discuss all the adjustments that can be made to adjusted gross income, including credits that are allowed and different types of deductions and exemptions that can be taken against that adjusted gross income number.
The government has provided various tax saving tools for certain taxpayer groups. Often, simply out of ignorance, tax payers don't take advantage of these benefits and end up paying more taxes than they need to.
As one of your chief duties to your tax clients is to minimize their tax burden using legal means, this module will give you insights that will make this easy. The purpose of this module is to identify and alert you to credits and adjustments that are available for your clients. Many will apply to a large percentage of the tax returns you prepare, while others are highly specialized and are less common.
Even more importantly, you will be sought after for your knowledge of these adjustments as they plan for future changes in their individual and family lives.
By far, the most used, and abused credit is the Earned Income Credit. This beneficial credit aids those with a low household income, and can actually result in getting back more money from the government than was paid in. This course will address the Earned Income Credit and allow you opportunities to practice preparing returns for people who qualify for this credit. This course will address more credits such as the Child Tax Credit and Education Credits that can potentially save you and your clients thousands of dollars in taxes.
This course will also share the discussion of adjustments found on the front of the 1040 return [Show Lines 23-33 on 1040] including IRA's, self-employment adjustments, moving expenses, and a variety of other advantageous adjustments for your clients. As you learn how to find tax advantages for your clients that they did not know existed, you earn loyalty from them. The sales process consists of demonstrating to clients that the service that you provide is more valuable than the cost of that service. Finding tax advantages for your clients is some of the best "after sale" that you will ever do to keep your clients from year to year as you show them that they will save far more in taxes than they pay you for your services.
Lesson Outline:
- Standard and Itemized Deduction
- Taxable Income
- Income Tax Calculation
- Additional Taxes
- Credits
- Submit 1040 Form
Nine sessions comprise this module. The first three sessions will introduce you to standard and itemized deductions which are reported on Schedule A. Of course the standard deduction is the easiest way to go and perhaps the best for taxpayers with simple returns. However, itemized deductions make sense for many taxpayers, particularly as their tax returns become more complex.
Session Four will cover calculating the tax due to or the refund owed by the IRS.
Sessions Five through Eight focus on additional taxes and credits that will impact the final determination of tax or refund due. These chapters will include a discussion of additional taxes, credits, and payments.
Session Outline
- Itemized Deductions – Part A
- Itemized Deductions – Part B
- Itemized Deductions – Part C
- Calculating the Tax
- Non-Refundable Credits – Part A
- Non-Refundable Credits – Part B
- Other Taxes
- Payments & Refundable Credits
- Closing the Return
Module 3 - Profitable Business Returns
In Module 3, we introduce you to the world of business organizations and their tax concerns. This module is a practical companion to Module 2, as it gives you experience in completing each of the schedules and forms common to business organizations.
In Session One, “Business Entities,” we will introduce you to the various business types and why one may be chosen over another.
In Sessions Two through Four you will learn tax concepts in accounting, “Elements of Business Financial Statements,” and how to report gain and loss on dispositions of business property. With the fundamentals under your belt, you will be ready to learn how to apply them on the tax forms. Sessions Five through Eight will train you in Schedule C for sole proprietorships, Form 1065 for partnerships, Form 1120 for C-corporations, and finally, Form 1120S for S-corporations.
Lesson Outline:
- Business Entities
- Tax Elements in Accounting
- Financial Components
- Dispositions of Business Property
- Schedule C
- Form 1065
- Form 1120
- Form 1120-S
At the conclusion of Module 3, you will be able to address the majority of small business concerns and successfully complete their tax returns.
You will have learned a great deal about different types of business entities. That information will assist you in helping entrepreneurs make the right choice in their business type while providing them with competent business tax preparation services.
Module 4 - Building Your Successful Tax Practice
In this module, Module 4, “Building Your Successful Tax Practice,” has been developed to give you a head start in creating and running your own tax preparation service. You will learn from the experts. Since 1979 Universal Accounting Center has been helping individuals just like you get their businesses started and running profitably in weeks, not months. The skills and strategies presented in Module IV are the result of years of experience in running a tax preparation business and incorporate the input of countless tax professionals.
You will find yourself light years ahead of the competition as you put these strategies into play. Each session in this module provides proven and practical direction for starting a tax preparation business and growing it profitably. These sessions will also help you work confidently and professionally with prospective and current clients.
Session 1, “Getting Started Right,” will provide direction in business set up, necessary equipment and software selection, and a host of other valuable topics.
Session 2, “Effective Marketing,” provides nine different marketing strategies that will build your client roster in no time at all. Each of these strategies is easy and inexpensive and can be started at any time of the year.
Since interviewing is an important part of a tax practice, we cover it in session 3, “Comfortable Interviewing Techniques.” Here your instructor will train you how to prepare and run a successful client interview. Additionally, there are three vignettes where the instructor demonstrates important parts of the interview process. Session 4, “Profitable Fee Calculations,” focuses on how to charge for your services. This is where you get your rewards for your knowledge and work. We will show you how to charge like the professionals do and, like them, earn over $100 per hour. Finally, in session 5, “Always the Expert Tax Preparer,” you will better understand your role as both a business owner and tax practitioner. Your instructor will share invaluable advice in how to properly run a business and be recognized as the expert you’ve become.
Lesson Outline:
- Getting Started Right
- Effective Marketing
- Comfortable Interviewing Techniques
- Profitable Fee Calculations
- Always the Expert Tax Preparer
The Exam
Becoming a Professional Tax Preparer™ is essential for those involved in the practical application of federal tax laws for individuals and businesses. The PTP designation is only offered to students of UAC.
The exam questions, all multiple-choice, are taken from material covered when preparing individual and business returns. The exam measures the skills and knowledge appropriate for a tax preparer that handles all the filings and responsibilities in personal and business returns. To ensure exam integrity, each test is different. The questions are randomly selected from a pool of exam questions.
Upon completion, you will receive your score immediately, along with the questions you missed. To receive the Professional Tax Preparer™ designation, you must earn a score of 90% or higher. However, to receive a Certificate of Completion, you only need a 65% (Available only to students of the Professional Tax Preparers Program). If unsuccessful in achieving an adequate score at your first sitting, you may retake the test after 7 days.
Qualified Support
In most training programs, including those found on university campuses, you are one of many students that must wait for a turn to consult with the instructor. Not so with the PB program. As soon as you enroll in the course, you have 6 month’s worth of access to coaches and a qualified CPA to respond to your questions or concerns. This includes difficulties you may encounter as you work with clients and their accounts.