1. Column
  2. NEWS NOTES

PTIN registration system reopened

By Alistair M. Nevius, J.D.

Related
TOPICS
Editor: Sally P. Schreiber, J.D.
 
On June 21, the IRS reopened its preparer tax identification number (PTIN) registration system, allowing tax return preparers to apply for or renew PTINs. The system had been offline since June 2, after a federal district court held that the IRS cannot charge a user fee for issuing or renewing PTINs (Steele, No. 14-cv-1523-RCL (D.D.C. 6/1/17)).

The system no longer charges a user fee, although on FAQs posted to its website, the IRS says it "can make no determinations with respect to" whether it will impose the fees again in the future. While the district court in Steele held that the IRS cannot charge a fee, it did affirm that the IRS can require tax return preparers to obtain a PTIN, based on the authority granted to Treasury under Sec. 6109(d).

Prior to the Steele decision, the IRS had been charging $50 (including a third-party vendor fee) for PTIN ­applications and renewals. The court also ordered the IRS to refund previously paid PTIN fees. The IRS has not announced when that will happen and says in its FAQs that it is working with the Justice Department to determine how to proceed.

Tax Insider Articles
Tax Clinic

DEDUCTIONS

Business meal deductions after the TCJA

This article discusses the history of the deduction of business meal expenses and the new rules under the TCJA and the regulations and provides a framework for documenting and substantiating the deduction.

TAX RELIEF

Quirks spurred by COVID-19 tax relief

This article discusses some procedural and administrative quirks that have emerged with the new tax legislative, regulatory, and procedural guidance related to COVID-19.