Leaderboard

I so agree. I always have felt that education is knowing the right book or website to look up the answer. We cannot remember everything!

CPAs have complained forever about how much of the material they have to learn for the CPA exam they will never ever use. I did the same thing when I took the EA exam 10 years ago. Not different from PhD candidates. The studying and testing process is a series of hoops you have to jump through to have enough sweat equity in your credential to value it. That said, don't be so quick to dismiss the esoteric things you have to learn as never usable and a waste of time. Someday, somewhere a situation will come up where something still stored in a brain cell will emerge and tell you there is some sort of reg or pub that addresses it. You won't remember the details, just that guidance is out there, so you will go and look it up. Paying medical expenses for nondependents? Optional method of calculating SE tax? How about recapturing depreciation claimed under ACRS? It may in fact come up. And just maybe the fact that EAs have the ability to learn all this stuff and pass the horrid exam does give the credential some sheen.

I passed the paper exam but I didn't file the form or paid the $30 fees. 5 years later, I had to take the computer exam which is much easier. But the time people take exam 3, they don't remember much form exam 1. On paper, you sat for 2 days taking 4 exams for thee hours each which made you more knowledgeable and you had to remember more stuff for longer periods of time. At that time the IRS used to say that an EA would know more about taxes than a CPA but now that statement might not be correct. Even though they have made the exam so easy now (you can take 1 exam every 4 months), I have seen tax preparers doing taxes for 5 years or more, not able to pass the exams. That's like being a cook for 5 years and not being able to cook a steak. Some of the arguments about the EA exam above are like a cook stating "I am an Italian cook and why will I learn how to make quesadillas or how to cook hamburgers since they are not in my menu". I wished the IRS had a masters on taxes and a phd. So the EA would the bachelors degree and harder exams for people wanting to know more. By the way, in August, I attended the HR block beginners class, unfortunately my instructor didn't know much but their book is EXCELLENT.

Doing long division on the paper and pencil they provided -- hadn't done that since third grade. Two solid days at a site far from home. Waiting months for results. Good thing I passed all four parts on the first try, because I'd already decided I'd never do that ever again!

Some of you weren't even around when you had to pass the exam the old fashioned way - you had to learn it. There were no things as software programs to assist, or education programs to attend, no online programs - you had to read Pub 17 and (at that time) Pub 34, and Circular 230 and remember them. You had to know the formula for Gain on Sale of Personal Residence (Form 2119) which was a deferral of gain, Maximum Tax on Earned Income calculation, zero bracket amount, no Education credits - and it was a multiple choice hand written exam - no calculators were available.

TAXMAN, I went thru the process in 2016 with my buddy Debbie. I took the tests in order and feel like that's probably best. I read TheTaxBook to prepare for Part I, and it was perfect. I used the Passkey books for Parts 2 and 3. Ordered them on Amazon. Very reasonable. Each study guide has sample tests and there is also a book with six "big" sample tests, two for each part. I also joined the FaceBook group, thanks to Debbie. I started by reading all the stuff I could find online. Here are links to places that really helped me. Best wishes, you'll be glad you did it! https://www.irs.gov/tax-professionals/enrolled-agents https://www.prometric.com/en-us/clients/SEE/Pages/landing.aspx http://www.nsacct.org/blogs/nsa-admin/2016/06/14/24-tips-for-passing-the-enrolled-agent-exam-part-1 http://www.nsacct.org/blogs/nsa-admin/2016/06/20/24-tips-for-passing-ea-exam-part-2

Maybe they have a good tax gal, y'all.

Update -- I ordered and installed the HP ScanJet Pro 3000 s3. I have used it some, and i'm very impressed. It's slightly larger bur feels very substantial. And lightning fast. Let's see how it holds up starting in January!