What is an Enrolled Agent?

An Enrolled Agent (EA) is a federally licensed tax practitioner who has technical experties in the field of taxation and empowered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to represent taxpayers for:

• Audits
• Collections and Appeals
• Appeals before all administrative levels of the Internal Revenue Service

What are the Differences Between Enrolled Agents and Other Tax Preparers?

Only enrolled agents demonstrate their competence in matters of taxation and report their hours of continuing professional education to the IRS. Enrolled agents are the only taxpayer representative who receive their right to practice directly from the U.S. government (certified public accountants and attorneys are licensed by states and their licenses are state specific). Unlike attorneys and certified public accountants, who may or may not choose to focus on taxes, all enrolled agents specialize in taxation.

What is Representation?

Taxpayers who find themselves in trouble are allowed to represent themselves before the various administrative levels of the IRS. However, most taxpayers facing collection action, an audit of any sort (whether the IRS askes for mounds of documents by mail or requests an in-person examination) or an appeal of any collection or examination action would be wise to send a qualified tax expert in his or her place. Taxpayers who are represented have a guide who can lead them through the process, someone authorized to speak on their behalf and fight for the best possible outcome.

How can an Enrolled Agent Help You?

Enrolled agents advise, represent and prepare the tax returns of individuals, partnerships, coporations, estates, trusts and other entities with tax reporting requirements. EAs prepare millions of tax returns each year and their experties in the continually changing field of taxation enables them to effectivly represent tax payers audited by the IRS. IN addition to tax preparation and tax representation, many Enrolled Agents offer other business-related services:

• Bookkeeping
• Budgeting
• Payroll Services
• Financial Statement Preparation