Notice: If you do NOT live in California, you are not required to take this California version of the CTP® program. If you do not need to or wish to learn California tax preparation, you should take our Federal CTP® program instead of the California version of the program: click here.
With this innovative nationally recognized online California Chartered Tax Professional Certificate Program, students can become qualified as California Tax Preparers through the California Tax Education Council (CTEC), and start working and earning money while completing coursework. The CTP® certificate program is comprised of 6 courses in Federal Income Tax Preparation, plus a California supplement. After successfully completing the first two Federal courses and the California lessons in the CTP® certificate program, (most students finish in just 10 weeks or less) you will be qualified to prepare individual tax returns for almost all U. S. and California taxpayers. While you apply what you’ve learned and earn money as a California tax preparer, you continue your studies in advanced individual tax preparation which will enable you to serve clients with more complex tax situations and increase your earning potential. Next you will learn to prepare returns for small business corporations and partnerships and more complex sole proprietorships. This opens up a new, more lucrative market for you while you continue to learn to help small businesses with more complex tax situations.
As you complete the six 10-lesson courses that comprise the CTP® program over the span of two tax seasons, you will accumulate the required 500 hours of experience as a tax professional to qualify for the prestigious Chartered Tax Professional designation. There is a shortage of qualified tax preparers and therefore, a great demand for seasonal tax preparers. As long as you meet a tax firm’s employment criteria, with the tax knowledge you will gain from the initial courses, you should be able to easily get a job with a local tax preparation firm. Alternatively, you could become self-employed as a tax professional. Upon successful completion of the program, you will receive a certificate of completion from the college or university where you register, in addition to a very impressive CTP® certificate when you meet the final experience requirements. As a CTP® you will have the tax knowledge and experience to prepare for the IRS Enrolled Agent (EA) exam if you wish to add the coveted EA credential to your professional designation as a CTP®.
To help you become employed or self-employed as a tax professional, we provide a Tax Pro Career Center on The Income Tax School website where you can find information about careers in tax preparation and other valuable resources. The Tax Career Center includes links to various tax industry sites that provide valuable resources for beginning tax preparers and experienced tax professionals. You will also find a number of free articles on tax practice management. In addition, the Tax Career Center includes online classified ad directories where you can post an ad for free to let tax business owners know of your availability to work as a tax preparer. You can also read help wanted ads posted by tax businesses seeking to hire tax professionals. The job directories are promoted to thousands of tax businesses nationwide through broadcast e-mails to our database and news releases to the media and tax industry contacts. You will also find links to the websites of the major national tax professional associations which also have state chapters, such as the National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP). You can also post your ad on the NATP website classified ad section for free under “Tax Related Positions Wanted” through our Tax Career Center. Information about qualifying to practice in California is provided at the end of this section.
If you are a CPA, CFP, an attorney, or if you hold some other professional license, you may be able to satisfy some or all of your continuing education requirements through your coursework in the CTP® program. Income tax knowledge is also valuable to many professionals because financial decisions usually involve tax consequences for their clients. Providing tax preparation services is also a great way to diversify and recruit new financial services clients.
The CTP® certificate program is unique in that you will have the opportunity to earn money as a professional while you study, and to also internalize the knowledge by applying what you learn.
The best thing about being a tax professional may be that you have the opportunity to really help people to deal with the intimidating and stressful chore of preparing their taxes. Your clients will trust you with their personal and financial information and you have an obligation to maintain complete trust and confidentiality. Being a successful tax professional is less about numbers and more about people skills. It is very rewarding to help people who place their complete confidence in you and come back year-after-year because they trust you and respect your knowledge.
Tax preparation can be combined with various other professions and services such as small business accounting, insurance, paralegal, real estate and financial services to provide year-round employment or self-employment. Income tax crosses many professional disciplines.
An added bonus is that you will save money on your own taxes and tax preparation fees. The average U.S. taxpayer pays about one-third of his or her income in income taxes. Knowing how to minimize your personal tax bill can save you many times the cost of the CTP® program.
The Steps to Becoming a CTP®
1. Successfully complete The Income Tax School series of six 30-hour Income Tax Courses (four additional courses beyond the 60-hour Comprehensive Tax Course). An average grade of at least 80% must be attained (our adult students average 90% and above).
2. Meet the experience requirement of working at least two tax seasons (a minimum of 500 hours) as a tax preparer while in the program (prior tax preparation experience will count for experienced tax professionals who test out of the Basic and/or Intermediate courses). After completing the first tax course you’ll have enough tax knowledge to start working towards your experience requirement. Plus, you’ll start earning money!
Your CTP® Designation Can Be Earned in Months
All courses are offered online via the Internet and can be completed anywhere, anytime, 24/7. The affordable tuition includes instructor support plus a hard copy of each tax course student text with all necessary tax forms at no additional cost. Each module consists of ten 3-hour lessons and can be completed in 5-10 weeks (one or two lessons per week). The entire program could be completed in less than eight months, but many students will take 18-24 months, during which time they will also gain experience and earn money as tax professionals.
You will be awarded a CTP® Certificate
Upon completion, you will be awarded a certificate and the designation of Chartered Tax Professional — CTP®. Acceptable experience completed prior to enrolling in the CTP® program by tax preparers who have tested out of the first two courses will satisfy the experience requirement. Peoples Income Tax School trading as The Income Tax School is certified to operate as a private career school by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV).
After completing this comprehensive certificate program, you will be well prepared to handle almost any individual and small business income tax situations you encounter. You will also be ready to take the next step in your career as a tax professional by preparing for and taking the IRS Enrolled Agent (EA) exam. The EA designation is the most significant credential in the income tax preparation industry; even more relevant than the CPA designation.
California Tax Education Council (CTEC)
The California Tax Education Council (CTEC) was established by the California State Legislature to promote competent tax preparation within the State of California. CTEC is a California non-profit Corporation founded under the legislative authority included in the California Business & Professions Code 22250-22259.
The Board of Directors is comprised of unpaid volunteers appointed to the Board by certain Qualified Organizations. The Council includes several committees that carry out the work of the Council. The day-to-day work of the Council is carried out by the CTEC Administrator under a contract awarded by the Board of Directors.
Tax return preparers who wish to prepare returns for a fee must become registered through CTEC. Attorneys, CPAs and Enrolled Agents are already licensed, therefore they are not required to be registered through CTEC.
In order to register with CTEC to become a CTEC Registered Tax Preparer (CRTP), an individual must:
1. Complete a 60-hour qualifying education (QE) course from a CTEC approved provider.
2. Purchase a $5,000 tax preparer bond from a surety bond company.
3. Complete and submit a CTEC New Provider Application by mail or register online, www.ctec.org
The CTEC registration fee is $25.
More information is available at www.ctec.org or by contacting CTEC at 1-877-850-2832 or
info@ctec.org
Chartered Tax Professional for California Residents
GES 220 -- 200 hours
Course Overview/Description
Notice: If you do NOT live in California, you are not required to take this California version of the CTP® program. If you do not need to or wish to learn California tax preparation, you should take our Federal CTP® program instead of the California version of the program: click here.
With this innovative nationally recognized online California Chartered Tax Professional Certificate Program, students can become qualified as California Tax Preparers through the California Tax Education Council (CTEC), and start working and earning money while completing coursework. The CTP® certificate program is comprised of 6 courses in Federal Income Tax Preparation, plus a California supplement. After successfully completing the first two Federal courses and the California lessons in the CTP® certificate program, (most students finish in just 10 weeks or less) you will be qualified to prepare individual tax returns for almost all U. S. and California taxpayers. While you apply what you’ve learned and earn money as a California tax preparer, you continue your studies in advanced individual tax preparation which will enable you to serve clients with more complex tax situations and increase your earning potential. Next you will learn to prepare returns for small business corporations and partnerships and more complex sole proprietorships. This opens up a new, more lucrative market for you while you continue to learn to help small businesses with more complex tax situations.
As you complete the six 10-lesson courses that comprise the CTP® program over the span of two tax seasons, you will accumulate the required 500 hours of experience as a tax professional to qualify for the prestigious Chartered Tax Professional designation. There is a shortage of qualified tax preparers and therefore, a great demand for seasonal tax preparers. As long as you meet a tax firm’s employment criteria, with the tax knowledge you will gain from the initial courses, you should be able to easily get a job with a local tax preparation firm. Alternatively, you could become self-employed as a tax professional. Upon successful completion of the program, you will receive a certificate of completion from the college or university where you register, in addition to a very impressive CTP® certificate when you meet the final experience requirements. As a CTP® you will have the tax knowledge and experience to prepare for the IRS Enrolled Agent (EA) exam if you wish to add the coveted EA credential to your professional designation as a CTP®.
To help you become employed or self-employed as a tax professional, we provide a Tax Pro Career Center on The Income Tax School website where you can find information about careers in tax preparation and other valuable resources. The Tax Career Center includes links to various tax industry sites that provide valuable resources for beginning tax preparers and experienced tax professionals. You will also find a number of free articles on tax practice management. In addition, the Tax Career Center includes online classified ad directories where you can post an ad for free to let tax business owners know of your availability to work as a tax preparer. You can also read help wanted ads posted by tax businesses seeking to hire tax professionals. The job directories are promoted to thousands of tax businesses nationwide through broadcast e-mails to our database and news releases to the media and tax industry contacts. You will also find links to the websites of the major national tax professional associations which also have state chapters, such as the National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP). You can also post your ad on the NATP website classified ad section for free under “Tax Related Positions Wanted” through our Tax Career Center. Information about qualifying to practice in California is provided at the end of this section.
If you are a CPA, CFP, an attorney, or if you hold some other professional license, you may be able to satisfy some or all of your continuing education requirements through your coursework in the CTP® program. Income tax knowledge is also valuable to many professionals because financial decisions usually involve tax consequences for their clients. Providing tax preparation services is also a great way to diversify and recruit new financial services clients.
The CTP® certificate program is unique in that you will have the opportunity to earn money as a professional while you study, and to also internalize the knowledge by applying what you learn.
The best thing about being a tax professional may be that you have the opportunity to really help people to deal with the intimidating and stressful chore of preparing their taxes. Your clients will trust you with their personal and financial information and you have an obligation to maintain complete trust and confidentiality. Being a successful tax professional is less about numbers and more about people skills. It is very rewarding to help people who place their complete confidence in you and come back year-after-year because they trust you and respect your knowledge.
Tax preparation can be combined with various other professions and services such as small business accounting, insurance, paralegal, real estate and financial services to provide year-round employment or self-employment. Income tax crosses many professional disciplines.
An added bonus is that you will save money on your own taxes and tax preparation fees. The average U.S. taxpayer pays about one-third of his or her income in income taxes. Knowing how to minimize your personal tax bill can save you many times the cost of the CTP® program.
The Steps to Becoming a CTP®
1. Successfully complete The Income Tax School series of six 30-hour Income Tax Courses (four additional courses beyond the 60-hour Comprehensive Tax Course). An average grade of at least 80% must be attained (our adult students average 90% and above).
2. Meet the experience requirement of working at least two tax seasons (a minimum of 500 hours) as a tax preparer while in the program (prior tax preparation experience will count for experienced tax professionals who test out of the Basic and/or Intermediate courses). After completing the first tax course you’ll have enough tax knowledge to start working towards your experience requirement. Plus, you’ll start earning money!
Your CTP® Designation Can Be Earned in Months
All courses are offered online via the Internet and can be completed anywhere, anytime, 24/7. The affordable tuition includes instructor support plus a hard copy of each tax course student text with all necessary tax forms at no additional cost. Each module consists of ten 3-hour lessons and can be completed in 5-10 weeks (one or two lessons per week). The entire program could be completed in less than eight months, but many students will take 18-24 months, during which time they will also gain experience and earn money as tax professionals.
You will be awarded a CTP® Certificate
Upon completion, you will be awarded a certificate and the designation of Chartered Tax Professional — CTP®. Acceptable experience completed prior to enrolling in the CTP® program by tax preparers who have tested out of the first two courses will satisfy the experience requirement. Peoples Income Tax School trading as The Income Tax School is certified to operate as a private career school by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV).
After completing this comprehensive certificate program, you will be well prepared to handle almost any individual and small business income tax situations you encounter. You will also be ready to take the next step in your career as a tax professional by preparing for and taking the IRS Enrolled Agent (EA) exam. The EA designation is the most significant credential in the income tax preparation industry; even more relevant than the CPA designation.
California Tax Education Council (CTEC)
The California Tax Education Council (CTEC) was established by the California State Legislature to promote competent tax preparation within the State of California. CTEC is a California non-profit Corporation founded under the legislative authority included in the California Business & Professions Code 22250-22259.
The Board of Directors is comprised of unpaid volunteers appointed to the Board by certain Qualified Organizations. The Council includes several committees that carry out the work of the Council. The day-to-day work of the Council is carried out by the CTEC Administrator under a contract awarded by the Board of Directors.
Tax return preparers who wish to prepare returns for a fee must become registered through CTEC. Attorneys, CPAs and Enrolled Agents are already licensed, therefore they are not required to be registered through CTEC.
In order to register with CTEC to become a CTEC Registered Tax Preparer (CRTP), an individual must:
1. Complete a 60-hour qualifying education (QE) course from a CTEC approved provider.
2. Purchase a $5,000 tax preparer bond from a surety bond company.
3. Complete and submit a CTEC New Provider Application by mail or register online, www.ctec.org
The CTEC registration fee is $25.
More information is available at www.ctec.org or by contacting CTEC at 1-877-850-2832 or
info@ctec.org
