I am interested in taking a course for entry level tax return preparation. Does anyone know about any on line course? I am not interested in credits, just to learn how to work on it. There are two schools that I have found, but do not know anything about them. Any suggestion and advice is more than welcomed. Thank you. Affordable Online Tax Courses -The Income Tax School Income Tax Course School preparation courses
I don't know if H&R Block has online courses, but they probably offer B&M courses in your area. If you do well in the course, there's a good chance that they will make you a job offer. You may or may not want to spend your career working for H&R Block, but it's a good way to break into the business regardless.
Thank you for your replies. I am in NYC. (and I am not military's spouse). HR Block sound like a good idea, but they have courses from mid August when I will not be in the USA. Probably I would lose several classes and do not know how it would work with them. Does anyone have any experience with it or with any other school? Thank you again
There are cheap and fast AS programs in Accounting that cover the basics of tax prep and then some. I would check out Penn Foster if your on a budget, if not look at some other online schools.
If you just want to learn how to do your own tax return why not just download the instructions from the IRS web site. Instructions are easy to understand for basic returns including those for a small business. IRS Publication 17 gives a great overview of basic tax preparation. Anf if you take an accredited course for credit, then you can get a tax credit.
The IRS has the VITA/TCE program. The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) and the Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) Programs offer free tax help for taxpayers who qualify. The IRS provides FREE training and certification to these individuals online. For more information, check out THIS site Link & Learn Taxes, linking volunteers to quality e-learning. I am going to go through the course, mostly to learn more about the tax preparation process, and in preparation for studying for the Enrolled Agent exam. While the IRS course will train you to prepare taxes, it will also help me decide if I like working in tax enough to study for the Enrolled Agent exam.
I can say that the tax return prep business is about to be turned on it's head!! The IRS is looking at ways to "license" the preparers, where they will have to pass certain tests, etc before you can be a paid preparer. (CPAs, Enrolled Agents, etc are exempt) Because of that, I suspect this will be a hot topic in the next 5 years with all SORTS of programs cropping up to teach this exam!! Look at the certification industry and all the books you can buy for GMAT, etc. So, be careful, and watch for this coming from the IRS! (Jackson Hewitt's program is on the computer, not sure if they will allow online access to their training!?)
I have also heard about licencing, but nobody is sure if it will be soon. I am interested in doing tax preparation as a seasonal job and would like to start from this coming year. Since I do not have any previous experience, I was wondering which way would be the best and the fastest
