On Site Rules Established For Taking Registered Tax Return Preparer Test

After more than a year in the making, the registered tax return preparer test is now available. The majority of industry professionals are waiting to take the examination after the current tax season. Anyone who has already obtained a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) from the IRS to become a tax preparer this year has until December 31, 2013, to obtain a passing score on the competency exam.

A tax practitioner must pass the test in order to use the designation of Registered Tax Return Preparer. That presents an expectation that most tax professionals will schedule the exam soon after tax season. Many will benefit from a refresher class with sample exam questions and will register for an online tax preparation course permitting self-paced study.

Experienced tax preparers of many years and those who just started this tax season will take the exam alongside new candidates for a tax preparation career. The fresh people looking to enter the tax profession after tax season must pass the competency exam before obtaining a PTIN.

Everyone taking the RTRP test uses the IRS PTIN site to schedule a date at one of the Prometric centers. The fee is paid upon registration, not at the time of testing. Rescheduling is allowed, but requires an additional fee. An extra $35 is assessed to reschedule an exam between 29 and 5 calendar days of the originally scheduled date. Within 5 days requires payment of another entire $116 exam fee.

All test takers must arrive on time for their appointments with Prometric. Anyone arriving late has to reschedule and pay another full fee. Bad weather is not an exception. Apparently, even a hurricane will not delay the testing schedule unless Prometric has an emergency closing. Arrival delay due to ordinary bad weather is not excused.

Test takers should bring current identification to the Prometric site. An expired ID is not acceptable. The identification must be government issued and contain the picture and signature of the identity holder. According to Prometric, the name on the ID must exactly match the name used to register for the exam. This could become a problem for anyone with a PTIN issued to a name variation.

The RTRP examination is given on a computer. Prometric will present an overview of the procedure and provide opportunities to take a pre-test tutorial. The test contains 120 questions, of which 20 are un-graded experiments for potential future exam questions. No differentiation is made between these experimental questions and the graded ones.

Some questions are in true/false format. Others are multiple-choice with the questions provided in several formats - direct question, sentence completion, and "all but" format. The test allows marking unanswered questions for review later if time remains. Two and a half hours are allocated for completion of the exam.

Prometric provides reference materials consisting of IRS Publication 17, Form 1040 and the 1040 instructions. The testing center also has calculators, scratch paper, and pencils. Test takers cannot bring these materials. Proctors monitor the tests with an observation window, video cameras, and walk through of the testing area.

No one taking the test is allowed to share information, look at the screens or notes of others, or remove any clothing or jewelry. No breaks are allowed during the test. Anyone who has to leave must sign out while the test clock continues running. Returning to the testing room after leaving requires showing ID, signing in, and scanning with a metal detector.

IRS Circular 230 Disclosure

Pursuant to the requirements of the Internal Revenue Service Circular 230, we inform you that, to the extent any advice relating to a Federal tax issue is contained in this communication, including in any attachments, it was not written or intended to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (a) avoiding any tax related penalties that may be imposed on you or any other person under the Internal Revenue Code, or (b) promoting, marketing or recommending to another person any transaction or matter addressed in this communication.

Fast Forward Academy is a leading publisher of education for registered tax return preparer test and tax professionals. Access to free questions for the become a tax preparer is available on their website.