Continuing education requirements for tax return preparers

Who must complete requirements

If you meet New York State’s definition of a commercial tax return preparer, you have New York State continuing education requirements. These requirements may not be satisfied with either CPE or CLE credits. You can see Who is a tax return preparer or facilitator to determine whether you meet the state’s definition.

What your requirements are

You must complete free online continuing education courses.

Note: The IRS course for tax preparers (Tax Return Preparer Certification) does not count toward your required New York State hours of coursework.

How to complete your requirements

You’ll need to complete your free online continuing education courses using the state’s online Statewide Learning Management System (SLMS).

SLMS is an external website, but you must access it through your Tax Department Individual Online Services account to enroll in and complete your courses. Simply:

1. Log in to your Individual Online Services account. 
2. Select the ≡ Services menu from your Account Summary homepage.
3. Tax preparer registration program, then choose Take required education from the drop-down menu.
4. On the Registration and Continuing Education Training Tax Return Preparers page, select SLMS. 
5. Enroll in and complete the appropriate courses. (See How to use SLMS to learn how.)

Remember—if you don’t meet the state’s definition of a commercial tax return preparer, you are not required to complete continuing education courses. However, if you would still like to complete the courses, you may sign up for the Optional Learning Course in the SLMS, which contains each class offered to commercial tax return preparers.

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Resources

• Tax preparer registration
• Who is a tax return preparer or facilitator
• How to register as a tax return preparer or facilitator
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