NAEA

Information on Continuing Professional Education (CPE)

The members of the National Association of Enrolled Agents understand and respect the role that education plays in providing excellent service for clients. Not only do educational seminars provide an important networking opportunity to form significant work contacts, they also allow enrolled agents to maintain their expertise with the ever-changing tax code. Continuing education provides a way to knowledgably manage the complexity of tax legislation.

NAEA requirements for membership exceed the Internal Revenue Service’s standards: members and associates must acquire 30 hours of CPE per calendar year. Members who are on “inactive retired status” under Circular 230 qualify for Emeritus status and do not need to meet this requirement.

NAEA requires members attest to the number of CPE hours taken on a yearly basis, prior to or concurrent with the renewal process. The membership year is July 1 through June 30, and so members attest to the hours taken during the preceding calendar year.  NAEA changed from a CPE year of February–January in August 2007, thus the 11 month CPE reporting period for the 2007 calendar year.  Members must earn a total of at least 27 hours in 2007 to be eligible for renewal in June, 2008.

In accordance with IRS requirements for enrollment renewal, members and associates must earn at least 2 hours of Ethics in each calendar year.

NAEA bylaws stipulate that all members meet the CPE requirement, but NAEA recognizes this may not always be possible.  Therefore, NAEA allows members to carry back (members who report less than 30 hours must earn the missing CPE hours in the next calendar year, in addition to the 30 hours required for the current year). Members may not carry forward (may not claim more than 30 hours in a year with the intention of lessening the requirement for the next year).

For those members with extenuating circumstances, a one-time CPE waiver can be submitted to the NAEA Board of Directors. For more information on the waiver, please contact NAEA’s Membership Department.

Enrolled agents who receive their card during the current year must complete a total of at least 2 hours of CPE per month for the remainder of that year. Enrollment in any part of the month (i.e., January 31 or February 28) is considered enrollment for the entire month.

To qualify as CPE for NAEA, CPE must be:

  • CPE as defined by IRS guidance. To qualify as IRS continuing education credit, a course of learning must:  (i)  Be a qualifying program designed to enhance professional knowledge in Federal taxation or Federal tax related matters, i.e., comprised of current subject matter in Federal taxation or Federal tax related matters, including accounting, tax preparation software and taxation or ethics; and   (ii)  Be conducted by a qualifying sponsor.  More information on IRS qualified CPE may be found online at www.irs.gov.
  • CPE in the areas of state and local taxation or practice management sponsored by affiliates or affiliate chapters.  Members may report up to 6 hours per calendar year towards meeting their NAEA requirement.

Please contact NAEA’s Membership Department at 202-822-NAEA (6232) or membership@naea.org with questions.

Internal Revenue Service Renewal Requirements

IRS requirements for continuing professional education differ from NAEA’s requirements. In order to maintain the license, enrolled agents must complete 72 hours within a 3 year cycle based on the last digit of their social security number. The IRS enforces a 16 hour minimum per year, and requires 2 hours on Ethics per year. To summarize:

  • For those SSN ending in 0, 1, 2 or 3: to be eligible for renewal for the cycle beginning on April 1, 2010, you must complete 72 CPE hours for the current cycle beginning April 1, 2007.
  • For those SSN ending in 4, 5 or 6: to be eligible for renewal for the cycle beginning on April 1, 2011, you must complete 72 CPE hours for the current cycle beginning April 1, 2008.
  • For those SSN ending in 7, 8 or 9: to be eligible for renewal for the cycle beginning on April 1, 2009, you must complete 72 CPE hours for the current cycle beginning April 1, 2006.
  • Foreign citizens without SSNs but enrolled to practice before the IRS along with those enrolled agents having a SSN ending in 9.

Detailed information regarding the IRS renewal process can be found on the IRS website or by clicking here.