Press Room

IRS Approved Continuing Education Provider

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
Salinas, CA (December 9th, 2011) The Internal Revenue Service has approved the Latino Tax Professionals Association (LatinoTaxPro.org) as an IRS approved continuing education provider for Registered Tax Return Preparers.  IRS approved provider number: 15G0B.

LatinoTaxPro.org has been a provider of IRS Enrolled Agent Continuing Education (OPR-approved Provider # 736) and California Tax Education Council (CTEC Provider #2080) for several years.

"This is great news to our thousands of students and members across the nation who need to complete their 15 hour requirement next year" said, Kristeena S. Lopez, Education Director, LatinoTaxPro.org.
 
Starting January 1st, 2012 LatinoTaxPro.org will be able to offer official IRS approved continuing education hours to help tax return preparers meet their annual 15 Hour requirement.  LatinoTaxPro.org will offer an array of courses including Ethics, Child Tax Credit, Adjustments to Income, and many more. 
 
Per Treasury Department Circular 230 (Rev. 8-2011) §  10.6 (E) (3): "A minimum of 15 hours of continuing education credit, including two hours of ethics or professional conduct, three hours of Federal tax law updates, and 10 hours of Federal tax law topics, must be completed during each registration year."
 
LatinoTaxPro.org has been approved to offer these courses online, in person, and self-study. LatinoTaxPro.org will continue its efforts in assisting tax professionals meet all new IRS requirements.

"Many of our members and employees will be taking the IRS RTRP Competency Exam in the next few weeks; their feedback will give our education department a clear picture as they begin to design our RTRP Practice Exam Simulator. We are very excited!" said Carlos C. Lopez, EA, Executive Director, LatinoTaxPro.org.
 
For more information on the Latino Tax Professionals Association, its membership and education products, please visit
www.LatinoTaxPro.org or call 866-936-2587

From the Desk of the Executive Director – November 18th, 2011

November 18, 2011

From the desk of the Executive Director,

The NPL Liaison Meeting in Washington DC and the afternoon reception hosted by David Williams and the IRS Commissioner at the IRS headquarters went very well yesterday and there are some very important updates I need to share with our membership.

The first issue we discussed covered the IRS dealing with identity theft.  This is becoming a very large problem and the IRS is taking measures to curtail the fraudsters.  The IRS will be sending out letters to about 250,000 taxpayers who have suffered identity theft advising them they will be receiving an Identity Protection Personal Identification Number (IP PIN).  This IP PIN must be used when the taxpayer is filing their tax returns this coming tax season.  If the IP PIN is not used the the tax return will be rejected.  Please be ready to advice your clients during tax season to use their IP PIN if they received one.

The next important matter for our members involved the RTRP and PTIN updates.  PTIN renewal has started and you will need to renew or apply for your PTIN before you start preparing 1040 tax returns for tax season 2012.  The IRS has registered almost 750,000 preparers to date.

Now for the latest on testing.  Testing is ready to start any day now.  The IRS is waiting for the final regulations to be published and testing will be under way.   Currently if you go to www.irs.gov to the PTIN page and go to competency testing the IRS has posted a candidate information bulletin and a short tutorial covering the broad aspects of the test, however, no sample questions have been released.

The first 2,400 tested will not receive their results at the testing center.  Instead their results will be mailed to them some time later.  The purpose of the delay is to allow Prometric and the IRS to review the results to gauge the testing experience and quality of the testing.  Initially there will be about 150 testing centers available, other centers will be added daily.  The IRS is considering adding mobile training sites in hard to reach areas, e.g. Hawaii has a testing site in Honolulu and it will be a burden for Hawaiin preparers to travel to Honolulu from other islands to test.

Currently there is no fingerprint or background check requirement.  The felony question is still intact as well as the tax compliance check.  If an applicant has a felony tax conviction they should self identify during the PTIN process to speed things up.

The test will cover 2010 federal tax law and will follow the same schedule as the SEE exam and tax law updates for testing.

I have a a plane to catch and will continue this article in our next newsletter.

Thank you,

Carlos C. Lopez, EA
Executive Director
Latino Tax Professionals Association
www.LatinoTaxPro.org

Latino Tax Pro Making History at the IRS Tax Forums

Latino Tax Pro Making History at the IRS Tax Forums

Will you be attending the IRS Tax Forums this year?

If so, be a part of history as Mr. Carlos C. Lopez, EA, Executive Director of Latino Tax Professionals Association, leads the first-ever IRS Seminar completely in Español! For those of you who have Spanish-speaking clients and/or employees, this is the seminar for you! Latino Tax Professionals Association, dedicated to those who serve the Latino community.

Details, Locations, and Times:

Spanish - lead Seminar!

CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER TRACK (F)

BONUS SESSION:
Schedule C/Sole Proprietor (en Español)

42. Schedule C/Sole Proprietor
NEW! (P) (F) This seminar provides all tax professionals, whether new or experienced, with all the necessary information to prepare Schedule C.  This presentation also provides information on how to avoid common errors in the preparation of Schedule C, how to substantiate sales, as well as, ordinary and necessary expenses.  The session covers the five parts of Schedule C in detail.  Presented by the Latino Tax Professionals Association, wwww.LatinoTaxPro.org.

Anexo C/Propietario único
Este seminario proporciona a todos los profesionales del impuesto, nuevos o de experiencia, con toda la información necesaria para preparar el anexo c.  Esta presentación también proporcionara información sobre cómo evitar errores comunes en la preparación del anexo c, como comprobar ingresos y los gastos ordinarios y necesarios. Este seminario cubre las 5 partes Del anexo C en detalle. Presentado por Latino Tax Professionals Association, wwww.LatinoTaxPro.org.

CLICK HERE FOR THE DATES AND TIMES!!!

1st Annual Community Appreciation Day

Latino Tax Professionals Association - 1st Annual Community Appreciation Day

Salinas, CA (April 2, 2010) — Latino Tax Professionals Association proudly announces its First Annual Community Appreciation Day taking place Friday May 7^th, 2010.

Lopez Tax Service, Inc. of Salinas, CA has been the first to sign up to be part of this great event in which members of LTPA will offer a day of free individual tax return reviews to their community where they will review the Individual 2009 Tax Returns to ensure they were done correctly. 

“We’re really glad to be part of LTPA’s first annual community appreciation day, it’s great to see how much the association has grown and everything they have to offer; I’m really glad to be a member” said Josue Rojas, General Manager of Lopez Tax Service, Inc.

With an increase of 20 percent in online and self tax preparation across the nation, there are many people who have doubts if their taxes were completed correctly. Many individuals have also become very skeptical of the professionalism of their current tax preparer as the IRS currently does not require any certification for individuals to prepare tax returns for a fee.  

“This is a great way for our members to give back to their respective communities who might have doubts if their taxes were done correctly” said LTPA President Carlos C. Lopez.

Latino Tax Professionals Association was formed in 2007 with a purpose of promoting entrepreneurship, education, diversity, and knowledge amongst Latino/Hispanic Tax Preparation Businesses across the nation, a number which is growing every year. LTPA also seeks to provide guidance, education, and support for tax preparers who seek to open up their own tax preparation business or for current business owners who seek to expand their business. For locations of participating members and for more information about our association please visit latinotaxpro.org or call (866) 936-2587