Get compliant, get certified, and walk into filing season knowing you're right.
Tax Team Pro is the 2025–2026 compliance training that takes one preparer from 'I have a PTIN' to fully audit-ready — PTIN and Circular 230 ethics, the OBBBA law changes, WISP data security, and a full certification exam that documents your competency.
"This course exists so you walk into filing season knowing you're right — not hoping you are."
— Tax Team Pro
What you'll learn
What you'll be able to do
- Obtain and maintain all required IRS credentials — PTIN, EFIN, AFSP, and EA pathway — and stay fully compliant with Circular 230 preparer obligations and penalty exposure rules.
- Apply the 2025–2026 OBBBA law changes correctly across client returns, including Schedule 1-A, the revised SALT cap, 100% bonus depreciation, updated ERC rules, and new charitable contribution limits.
- Complete Form 8867 due-diligence requirements without error for EITC, CTC, AOTC, and HOH claims, and identify the fraud red flags that trigger preparer penalties.
- Build and maintain a written WISP (Written Information Security Plan) that satisfies IRS data-security requirements and protect client data across every point in the intake-to-e-file workflow.
- Prepare accurate federal returns for the full range of individual, self-employed, and small-business client types — from W-2 filers to Schedule C, E, and F situations — using a repeatable firm workflow.
- Launch or grow a compliant tax practice: set up firm infrastructure, manage the season calendar, run intake and review processes, and pass the included certification exam to document your professional competency.
How it works
How the course actually works
This isn't a three-hour webinar that checks a box. It's a structured path from the fundamentals through the 2025–2026 law changes to a real certification — worked the way you'd actually train for the job.
Start with the non-negotiables
Credentials, Circular 230 ethics, preparer penalties, and data security come first — the foundation an IRS agent expects you to know cold.
Work through the current law and every client type
Go deep on the OBBBA changes, then apply them across individual, self-employed, and small-business returns until the workflow is second nature.
Prove it with a capstone and certification
Prepare a complete client file, sit the certification exam, and finish with documented proof of your compliance competency.
The curriculum
What's inside your school
0 modules · 0 lessons
Foundations: How the U.S. Tax System Works
Establishes the tax system vocabulary, IRS structure, and filing fundamentals every preparer must know before touching a return.
- 1.1The IRS, the Tax Code, and Where Preparers FitIncluded
- 1.2Filing Status, Dependency, and Gross Income BasicsIncluded
- 1.3The Anatomy of Form 1040Included
- 1.4Tax Vocabulary Every Preparer Must KnowIncluded
IRS Credentials and Preparer Registration
Covers every credential a paid preparer must obtain or may pursue — PTIN, EFIN, AFSP, and the EA pathway — with step-by-step registration guidance.
- 2.1The PTIN: Who Needs One and How to Get ItIncluded
- 2.2The EFIN: Applying for and Protecting Your E-File AuthorizationIncluded
- 2.3The Annual Filing Season Program (AFSP)Included
- 2.4The Enrolled Agent PathwayIncluded
- 2.5Maintaining Credentials Year Over YearIncluded
Circular 230, Ethics, and Preparer Penalties
Defines the ethical and legal obligations governing every paid preparer under Treasury Circular 230, the Internal Revenue Code penalty provisions, and fraud red-flag standards.
- 3.1Circular 230 Obligations: What the Rules Actually RequireIncluded
- 3.2IRC §6694 and §6695: Preparer Penalty ExposureIncluded
- 3.3Due Diligence and Form 8867: EITC, CTC, AOTC, and HOHIncluded
- 3.4Fraud Red Flags and the Preparer's Duty to InquireIncluded
- 3.5Ethics in Practice: Conflicts, Confidentiality, and Advertising RulesIncluded
Data Security and the Written Information Security Plan (WISP)
Equips preparers and firm owners to build a compliant WISP, defend client data at every workflow touchpoint, and respond to a security incident.
- 4.1Why Data Security Is a Preparer Obligation, Not an OptionIncluded
- 4.2Building Your WISP from the IRS TemplateIncluded
- 4.3Securing Client Data Across the Intake-to-E-File WorkflowIncluded
- 4.4Recognizing and Responding to Phishing, Ransomware, and Identity TheftIncluded
- 4.5Annual WISP Review and Staff Security TrainingIncluded
2025–2026 Law Changes: OBBBA and Key Updates
Applies every material tax law change effective for the 2025 and 2026 filing seasons to real client return scenarios.
- 5.1OBBBA 2025 Overview: What Changed and What Didn'tIncluded
- 5.2Schedule 1-A: Reporting the New Deduction CategoryIncluded
- 5.3The Revised SALT Cap: Rules, Limits, and Planning ConsiderationsIncluded
- 5.4100% Bonus Depreciation and §179 UpdatesIncluded
- 5.5ERC Updates, Charitable Contribution Changes, and Other OBBBA ProvisionsIncluded
Return Mechanics: Individual and W-2 Clients
Builds the core skill of preparing an accurate federal Form 1040 for wage-earner clients, covering income, adjustments, deductions, and credits.
- 6.1Wages, Salaries, and W-2 Income: Entering and VerifyingIncluded
- 6.2Interest, Dividends, and Investment Income (Schedules B and D)Included
- 6.3Above-the-Line Adjustments and the Standard vs. Itemized DecisionIncluded
- 6.4Credits: EITC, CTC, Child and Dependent Care, Education CreditsIncluded
- 6.5Estimated Payments, Withholding Reconciliation, and Refund vs. Balance DueIncluded
Return Mechanics: Self-Employed and Schedule C Clients
Covers the full preparation of returns for sole proprietors and gig-economy workers, including income, deductions, SE tax, and home-office rules.
- 7.1Schedule C Income: Cash, 1099-NEC, and Recordkeeping StandardsIncluded
- 7.2Business Deductions: Ordinary, Necessary, and DocumentableIncluded
- 7.3Vehicle, Home Office, and Meal DeductionsIncluded
- 7.4Self-Employment Tax and the QBI DeductionIncluded
- 7.5Estimated Tax Planning for Self-Employed ClientsIncluded
Return Mechanics: Rental, Partnership, S-Corp, and Farm Clients
Prepares preparers to handle Schedule E rental activity, K-1 passthrough income, S-corporation basics, and Schedule F farm returns.
- 8.1Schedule E Part I: Rental Income, Expenses, and Passive Loss RulesIncluded
- 8.2Reading and Entering K-1s: Partnerships and S-CorpsIncluded
- 8.3S-Corporation Basics for the Individual Return PreparerIncluded
- 8.4Schedule F: Farm Income and Ag-Specific Tax RulesIncluded
Intake, Review, and the End-to-End E-File Workflow
Establishes the repeatable firm workflow from client intake through return review, e-file transmission, acknowledgment, and post-filing follow-up.
- 9.1Client Intake: Organizers, ID Verification, and Document ChecklistsIncluded
- 9.2The Preparer's Quality Review ChecklistIncluded
- 9.3The Reviewer's Role: Second-Pair-of-Eyes StandardsIncluded
- 9.4E-File Mechanics: IRS MeF, Authorizations, and TransmissionIncluded
- 9.5Post-Filing: Amended Returns, Rejected E-Files, and Client CommunicationsIncluded
Starting and Running a Compliant Tax Practice
Guides firm owners and aspiring practice builders through entity setup, pricing, software selection, staffing, and the operational systems that keep a firm compliant and profitable.
- 10.1Choosing Your Business Structure and Registering Your FirmIncluded
- 10.2Software, Hardware, and Cloud Tools: Building a Compliant Tech StackIncluded
- 10.3Pricing, Engagement Letters, and Fee AgreementsIncluded
- 10.4Hiring, Supervising, and Training Preparer StaffIncluded
- 10.5Marketing, Client Retention, and Growing the PracticeIncluded
The Season Calendar: Planning and Executing Tax Season
Provides a month-by-month operational playbook from pre-season setup through post-season wrap-up, so preparers and firm owners never miss a critical deadline.
- 11.1Pre-Season Setup: October Through DecemberIncluded
- 11.2Opening Season: January Kickoff and Early-Season PrioritiesIncluded
- 11.3Peak Season Management: February Through April 15Included
- 11.4Extensions, Late Filers, and the May–September Off-SeasonIncluded
- 11.5Key IRS Deadlines, Notice Periods, and a Year-Round Compliance CalendarIncluded
Certification Exam and Professional Capstone
Validates mastery of the full course through a timed, IRS-aligned certification exam and a practical capstone case that mirrors a real filing-season workload.
- 12.1Exam Prep: Review of High-Frequency Topics and Common MistakesIncluded
- 12.2Capstone Case Study: Preparing a Complete Client FileIncluded
- 12.3The Certification ExamIncluded
- 12.4After Certification: CE Requirements, AFSP Renewal, and Staying CurrentIncluded
Reference Appendices
A always-available library of IRS forms, quick-reference tables, checklists, and compliance tools preparers use throughout every filing season.
- 13.12025–2026 Tax Rate Schedules, Inflation Adjustments, and Phase-Out TablesIncluded
- 13.2Form and Publication Quick-Reference IndexIncluded
- 13.3Due Diligence and Intake Checklists (Print-Ready)Included
- 13.4WISP Template and Data Security Policy SamplesIncluded
- 13.5Glossary of Tax and Compliance TermsIncluded
Who it's for
Is this you?
First-year paid preparer
She just got her PTIN and needs a clear, authoritative path from zero to confidently filing real client returns without missing an IRS obligation.
Returning preparer updating for 2025–2026
She's been preparing returns for years but needs to get current on the OBBBA law changes, the revised SALT cap, and updated due-diligence standards before season opens.
Solo firm owner
She runs her own practice and needs to get personally current and certified — credentials, Circular 230, the OBBBA changes, and due-diligence standards — so the returns going out under her name would hold up to an IRS review.
Bookkeeper or accountant crossing into tax prep
He understands financial statements cold but needs the IRS-specific layer — credentials, Circular 230, Form 8867, e-file mechanics — to legally and competently prepare client returns.
Preparer moving up from intake
He's handled client onboarding and document collection and wants to understand the compliance stakes behind every checklist item so he can grow into preparing and reviewing returns himself.
Aspiring EA building his foundation
He's targeting the Enrolled Agent credential and wants a practice-first training that covers return mechanics and Circular 230 in depth before he sits for the Special Enrollment Examination.
Questions
Frequently asked
Your teacher
A note from your teacher
Rachael Lea
If you've ever sat down at a client's file on February 3rd and quietly wondered whether you were handling something correctly — the SALT cap, the QBI calculation, the Form 8867 checkbox you weren't 100% sure about — you already know why this course exists.
Most tax training is either a textbook dumped into slides or a one-day seminar that gives you the headlines and none of the how. Neither one prepares you for what a real firm day looks like: back-to-back intakes, a Schedule C client whose "records" are a shoebox and a Venmo statement, a reviewer who catches something at 4:55 p.m. on April 14th, and a data-security obligation you're legally required to have in writing but nobody ever helped you actually write. That gap — between knowing the rules and being able to execute them cleanly under pressure — is exactly what Tax Team Pro closes.
Tax Team Pro was built the way a firm trains a new hire: start with the non-negotiables (credentials, ethics, penalties, data security), move to the current-law changes that are going to show up on real returns this season, and then work through every client type methodically until the workflow is second nature. The OBBBA provisions alone — Schedule 1-A, the revised SALT cap, 100% bonus depreciation — are going to catch preparers off guard this season. Not you. Not after this.
Here's the straight version of what this course is and isn't. It is not a collection of tips and tricks. It is not a shortcut to a credential you haven't earned. It's a full professional training — the kind that makes you someone a client can actually trust and an IRS audit can't rattle. That means it covers the uncomfortable parts: preparer penalties, fraud red flags, your duty to inquire when something doesn't add up, and the data-security obligations that now carry real legal weight. You'll do a capstone case study and sit for a certification exam. If that sounds like more than you bargained for, this probably isn't the course for you. If it sounds like exactly what you've been looking for, welcome — let's get to work.
— Rachael Lea
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- 13 modules, 62 lessons
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