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Happy New Year to you all. Here's to a healthy, happy, and prosperous 2018.

Well, this quickly morphed from compulsory education for practitioners into best ways to study for the EA exam. On that subject, I have no doubt that the IRS will continue to try to find a way to regulate otherwise unregulated preparers. We've had lots of discussions here in the past and I think most of us agree that these paid preparers should have to show some level of proficiency. After that, I do think that there should be some sort of CE requirement so that these preparers without other credentials are keeping up with ongoing changes, some sort of update classes perhaps. I don't know if that is up to the IRS and think that this is more of a state regulatory issue much like states regulate any other profession. As for the review courses and study guides that have been mentioned, those are excellent suggestions. The creators of these courses and books have analyzed recent tests and trends and will emphasize those areas that they think are most important and most likely to be tested. They also keep the person disciplined to study and stick to a timetable so that the candidate has completed the studies at the appropriate time. The suggestions of finding a study group, a buddy to work with, and using prior tests are also excellent ones. As for memorizing things we'll never use again, well that comes with the territory of any testing really. My thoughts on any of these tests, whether it be the EA, CPA, or now defunct RTPT, I look at these tests not only that show a certain level of knowledge and competency, but as important is that they show a level of capability. Obviously I haven't taken the EA exam, but those answers to the written essay questions and problems on the CPA were intensely scrutinized in the grading process to make see if the candidate showed the proper approach and thought process in working through the problem. Finally, and something that hasn't been mentioned here yet, is that I think work experience in the field is invaluable, maybe even more important than any testing or any amount of CPE that is imposed, when it comes to actually doing our jobs.

Duh. I went one screen beyond where I was in the client list tab - and it had options. You guys help me out without even replying.

Happy New Year to All Y'all.

Glad we could help!

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 bet we could all sit down today and make a list of the folks who will call on April 12th, asking for an extension (again) after promising in February that *this* year they'd be on time! Plus the ones who will pay late, the ones who will forget form-whatever, et cetera.

I also like printing out client list with date prepared. It's funny how clients are just creatures of habit. The same ones are early, same ones late, the same ones kept you hanging, and the same ones you have to hunt down to get paid.

Have fun, Be safe, Enjoy..... ....

You're welcome. I might be wrong but think this was the handling that we had in other years where legislation was passed very late in the year and the IRS said to keep using the existing tables until the revised ones were made available.

No comment.

Good question, Judy. I didn't open it earlier but have now. It is marked Draft. I would think it may be possible to begin preparation soon, however, but not print or efile since it is so early. I'm just happy to see 1041, even a draft, as the trust returns I do ( last year, hooray!) can be started as soon as the December statements are available. Then I just wait until the 1099's are online to double check allocations (until the corrected ones appear). It just feels good to begin something before the deluge arrives!

IRS updated with this statement 4 days ago: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-statement-withholding-for-2018

Margaret, is that form with the Nov date marked as draft, and is that Nov date possibly when ATX made it available or the date of the latest IRS draft? I'm asking because the IRS page of draft forms shows that the date of the latest draft of the 1040 is 9/29/17 on this page: https://apps.irs.gov/app/picklist/list/draftTaxForms.html Edsel, there are a couple of changes to 2017 in the new law: medical limitation on Sch A goes back to 7.5% for 2017 and 2018, and increase in bonus depreciation rate for certain assets after 9/27/17, and some rules about excessive compensation after 11/2/17.

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!

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!

Usually the words contain extra syllables. Any southern English speaker can make the word "hear" (or "here") come out with two syllables and make it sound as natural as can be.

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

@TAXMAN I used Passkey Books and their online subscription. We have an IRS Exam Study Group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/142932752497488/ or search "IRS Exam Study Group" on Facebook if interested. I took part 2 first, then 1, then 3 but part 2 had questions from part 1 and part 3 had questions from 1 and 2. This was 2016. This year group members have been reporting lots of questions on basis, farming and estates.

The funniest accent misadventure I ever saw was MANY moons ago. I was working (college era) in a small restaurant owned and mostly staffed by folks from Greece. Popular with truck drivers. We had a guy come in, truck driver from down south, and order haddock. 'Cept the way he said it, it came out not quite right. Imagine the "a" in "hat" and now say HA-dock. Well, the young Greek-speaking man taking the order heard the driver say ("y" as consonant here, not vowel) HYA-dog. (Only two syllables, not hi-yah-dog.) That's the way he pronounced "hot dog." Driver was NOT happy when his haddock came out as hot dogs. I had to go over and translate English to English for them and get it fixed. Fish, not franks!

Way, way back in the day when I took the exam (scanner card and #2 Pencil), the IRS would give you copies of the prior year examinations. I was surprised at how many of the questions did not change from year to year. If they still give out the prior exams, you should get them, and get used to the way the questions are worded. I also used Gleim study material. Tom Modesto, CA

My thoughts exactly. Was surprised how clearly he still sang. Of course, we know all they lyrics anyway. So did the young'ens in the audience.

Really, it was only 15 hours a year. I have to take 30 hours a year to maintain my Oregon LTC License.

I finally got my e-mail and called them back. Seems that there is an "issue" with the username / password system that has affected a large number of users. They told me to try again, but the message says that they have no available persons to handle the call at this time.