IRS Enrolled Agent (EA) CPE Requirements

Reporting Period Duration: 3 years

Reporting Period Calendar Year:  1/1 - 12/31

Reporting Period:  The reporting periods for Enrolled Agents are based upon the licensee’s SSN or Tax ID number.

1. Licensees who have a social security number or tax identification number that ends with 0, 1, 2, 3:
   
   • Recent and Upcoming Cycles:
     
     • 1/1/2016 - 12/31/2018
     • 1/1/2019 - 12/31/2021
     • 1/1/2022 - 12/31/2024
2. Licensees who have a social security number or tax identification number that ends with 4, 5, or 6:
   • Recent and Upcoming Cycles:
     
     • 1/1/2014 - 12/31/2016
     • 1/1/2017 - 12/31/2019
     • 1/1/2020 - 12/31/2022
3. Licensees who have a social security number or tax identification number that ends with 7, 8, or 9:
   • Recent and Upcoming Cycles:
     
     • 1/1/2015 - 12/31/2017
     • 1/1/2018 - 12/31/2020
     • 1/1/2021 - 12/31/2023

For a quick reference chart for current renewal and CPE reporting dates, please refer to this IRS page:  https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5186.pdf

Proration for New Licensees: 

During your initial license period, you will (most likely) not have a full 3-year period to earn your credits.  As a result, your overall requirement will be reduced by 2 credit-hours per month into the cycle.  Said another way, you'll need to earn 2 credit-hours for each month remaining in your cycle, which is determined by the last number of your SSN, which is described above.  You must also earn 2 credit-hour for the initial month the license was earned. For each reporting year remaining in your current cycle, you must still report 2 credit-hours of ethics and the ethics requirement will not be prorated.

Credit Calculations: Credits are measured on a 50-minute hour. At least one full credit hour must be earned in order for the program to be considered for credit. Half credits can be awarded after the first full hour in 25-minute increments. All other fractions of time are rounded down to the nearest half or whole credit.

Hour Requirements: 

• Total Requirement:  72 hours every three years.
• Annual Requirement:  16 hours, two of which must be ethics.
• Annual Ethics Requirement:  2 hours of ethics credit must be earned each year (6 total for the 3-year reporting period).

Special Considerations and Limitations for Tracking EA Credit

• Qualifying CPE Courses:  In order to qualify as IRS EA CPE credit, the courses must fall into the following definition:
  Be a qualifying continuing education program designed to enhance professional knowledge in Federal taxation or Federal tax-related matters (programs comprised of current subject matter in Federal taxation or Federal tax-related matters, including accounting, tax return preparation
  software, taxation, or ethics)
  
  Helpful Tip:  Prolaera allows you to indicate whether or not a course applies to one of the above knowledge areas by selecting the "Federal Taxes" option under the "Special Topic" dropdown in the credits area when entering a certificate:
  

• Qualifying Providers:  Enrolled agents must use an IRS-0approved CE provider.  You can verify that the provider is IRS-approved by searching the public listing. Approved providers may also show the "IRS Approved Continuing Education Provider" logo. In addition, all providers are issued a Provider Number from the IRS.  Your certificate should also contain a program number (PDF).
  
  Helpful Tip:  As a result of this restriction, Prolaera's CPE tracking system will look for an IRS Approval Code when entering a certificate into the Compliance Engine.  Copy and paste this number from your certificate into the respective field and it will ensure that the compliance engine applies credit to your EA license:
  

Helpful Links:

• IRS CE FAQ Page:  https://www.irs.gov/tax-professionals/faqs-enrolled-agent-continuing-education-requirements
• One-Page Quick Reference Guide:  https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5186.pdf
• Circular 230 Full Document:  https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/pcir230.pdf