What an Enrolled Agent is
The credential behind every return and every case at GN, in plain words.
An Enrolled Agent is a tax professional licensed by the federal government to represent taxpayers before the IRS in any matter: an audit, a collection case, an appeal. The IRS calls it the highest credential it awards.
What the license takes
To become an Enrolled Agent, a person passes a three-part examination on federal tax law (individuals, businesses, and representation), or qualifies through years of work at the IRS. Either way they pass a suitability check that includes their own tax compliance.
To keep the license, they complete 72 hours of continuing education every three years, with ethics every year. They practice under Circular 230, the Treasury Department’s rules for everyone who represents taxpayers before the IRS.
The IRS’s own words for the designation: enrolled to represent taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service.
Enrolled Agent, CPA, attorney
All three have what the IRS calls unlimited representation rights: any of them can represent you before the IRS on any matter, including audits, payment and collection issues, and appeals. The difference is what each license is for. In the IRS’s words:
| Enrolled Agent | CPA | Attorney | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Licensed by | The IRS | A state board of accountancy | A state court, or its designee such as the state bar |
| The license covers | Federal tax: preparation, planning, and representation | A range of services; accounting study and the Uniform CPA Examination | A range of services; a law degree and a bar examination |
| Tax | The whole license | Some CPAs specialize in tax preparation and planning | Some attorneys specialize in tax preparation and planning |
| Standing before the IRS | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Continuing education | 72 hours of federal tax every three years, with ethics each year | Continuing education and ethical requirements set by the state board | Continuing education and professional character standards set by the state |
Many CPAs are excellent tax professionals, and so are many attorneys. The Enrolled Agent license is the one that tells you, before you ask, that the person was examined and licensed on federal tax and nothing else.
Preparers with no credential
Anyone who prepares returns for pay must have an IRS Preparer Tax Identification Number, a PTIN. A PTIN is a registration, not a credential.
Since 2016, a preparer with a PTIN and no credential can prepare your return but cannot represent you before the IRS at all. A preparer in the IRS’s voluntary Annual Filing Season Program can represent you only on a return they prepared, only before examiners and customer service, and never on an appeal or a collection matter.
That is the gap that opens when a letter comes: the person who prepared the return cannot stand in front of the IRS for you, and you start over with someone who can.
What it means at GN
An Enrolled Agent prepares every return and works every case. So the person who knows your return is the person who can represent you if the IRS asks about it, with no handoff.
James Paige IV is enrolled to represent taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service. He also holds the Certified Tax Representation Consultant designation from Tax Rep Network, a program in IRS examinations, collections, offers in compromise, payroll tax cases, and innocent spouse claims that is open only to Enrolled Agents, CPAs, and attorneys in good standing.
You can check this, and we would rather you did. Enrolled Agents with an active PTIN are listed in the IRS Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers (opens in a new tab) (a new enrollment can take a few weeks to appear), and any Enrolled Agent will show you their enrollment card when asked.