Reaching Out to New and Experienced Preparers
Outreach and education is the first step of in our strategy to improve the accuracy of EITC claims. It is our most important tool to help you prepare high quality EITC claims. Our focus is letting you know about available resources and helping you understand your due diligence responsibilities.
Letters to New and Experienced Preparers
We use outreach and education as the first tier of our EITC Preparer Compliance program. We look at the number of returns with a high likelihood of EITC errors completed by the same preparer. And, we send letters to preparers who have a high number of these returns. At first, we sent letters only to preparers new to EITC but now expanded to include experienced preparers. New preparers are those who filed EITC claims during the year and did not file an EITC claim in the last few years. Experienced preparers filed EITC claims during the current year and in previous years.
The letters range from purely educational to more strongly worded compliance letters. These letters:
- Outline due diligence responsibilities;
- Highlight recurring errors made on EITC returns to help new and experienced preparers avoid common pitfalls; and
- Point to EITC tools, information and other resources on both this site and irs.gov.
The more strongly worded compliance letters also talk about the cost of not improving the quality of EITC claims. Click here for more information on the consequences of non-compliance.
Additional Steps
We send the letters to help preparers file accurate EITC claims in the future. We do not assess penalties against preparers because of the letters, but monitor returns filed by these preparers to ensure accuracy improves. If there is no improvement, we may follow-up with phone calls, additional letters or due diligence visits. See the additional resources links below for more information on the additional steps.
Educational and Compliance Letters for Experienced Preparers:
Return Preparers who file returns with EITC errors or questionable claims may receive one or more of the following letters: (Click on any of the letters listed below to view the letter in Adobe Reader format. You can download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader FREE on the Adobe's Web site).
- You May Have Submitted Inaccurate Returns
- You May Have Submitted Inaccurate Returns and be Subject to Penalties
- You May Have Submitted Inaccurate Returns and Your Overall Accuracy is Below that of Your Peers
- You May Have Submitted Inaccurate Returns and it is Your Responsibility to Improve Your Overall Accuracy
- You May Have Submitted Inaccurate Returns, Your Overall Accuracy is Below that of Your Peers, and You May be Subject to Penalties
Additional Resources Links (click on any topic listed below for additional information on the subject):
- EITC Preparer Information on irs.gov
- Consequences of Filing EITC Returns Incorrectly
- EITC Preparer Compliance - Targeted, Tailored and Tiered
Educational Opportunities for Avoiding EITC Error
This Return Preparer Toolkit has a wealth or resources:
- An online training course to help you refresh your EITC tax law and due diligence knowledge is available in English and Spanish. This course may qualify for continuing education for you. Click here for the Due Diligence Training Module.
- Our Schedule C and Record Reconstruction Training module helps you meet your due diligence requirements while preparing returns with self-employment income and provides tips for helping your clients reconstruct their business records.
- Our popular Due Diligence Videos help you avoid common EITC error situations and are fun to watch.
- Visit the Frequently Asked Questions part of this site. Your colleagues have asked IRS numerous questions related to EITC. Our answers will guide you to the right answer for similar situations.
- And more, follow the headings on the left navigation bar for more tips and tools to help you avoid EITC error.
Last updated: 10/5/2011