Find news, tips and resources for following the rules for the due diligence tax benefits.
In this section:
- Is Your Client's Address Up to Date?
- Paid Preparer Due Diligence Penalties Can Be Costly
- IRS Due Diligence Training Module – 2022 Update
- Get Continuing Education Credit – Nationwide Tax Forums Online
- IRS Educational Letters to Paid Tax Return Preparers
- IRS Due Diligence Telephone Calls
- IRS Outreach Connection on IRS.gov
- Protect Your EFIN and PTIN
- Share Tax Credit Information on Your Social Media Network
Is Your Client's Address Up to Date?
Preparers should ensure clients keep their address up to date with the Internal Revenue Service. This will minimize delays in the receipt of IRS letters or refunds. Your client can find information on updating their address with the IRS here.
Paid Preparer Due Diligence Penalties Can Be Costly
Paid preparers must meet specific due diligence requirements under Treasury Regulation section 1.6695-2 when preparing returns or claims for refund claiming the:
- Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
- Child Tax Credit (CTC), Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC), Credit for Other Dependents (ODC)
- American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC)
- Head of Household filing status
A penalty under Internal Revenue Code section 6695(g) for each failure to be diligent can be assessed against a paid preparer.
For returns and claims for refund filed in 2023, the penalty is $560 per failure to be diligent.
The penalty can be up to $2,240 on a return or claim if, for example, the preparer fails to meet the due diligence requirements for all four of the tax benefits ($560 x 4 tax benefits - $2,240).
See Due Diligence Law for more information.
IRS Due Diligence Training Module – 2022 Update
Take the free online Refundable Credits Best Practices Due Diligence Training Module to earn one continued education credit. If you already took the course this year, review the updates, but you won’t receive another credit.
English - Due Diligence Module for 2022
Spanish - Due Diligence Module for 2022
Get Continuing Education Credit – Nationwide Tax Forums Online
Learn more about refundable credit eligibility rules, paid preparer due diligence requirements and more. Watch the IRS Nationwide Tax Forums Online presentations and take online, self-study seminars.
For a complete list of available online seminars, see IRS Nationwide Tax Forums Online.
For more educational resources, see Educational Opportunities.
IRS Educational Letters to Paid Tax Return Preparers
We send educational letters to certain paid preparers to inform them of potentially questionable returns they filed, and to help them stay compliant with due diligence rules. We’ll continue to monitor returns submitted by the preparers to see if their accuracy improves. You can view the letters, in both English and Spanish, here.
IRS Due Diligence Telephone Calls
We may contact potentially noncompliant paid preparers by telephone to review due diligence rules and discuss possible consequences if they continue to send us questionable returns. The calls are exempt from IRS directives on not calling taxpayers. We won’t discuss specific tax returns or ask the preparer to disclose client information. For more information, review Reaching Out to Paid Preparers.
IRS Outreach Connection on IRS.gov
Get information monthly about tax law, IRS events and information your clients need to know. Subscribe to the IRS Outreach Connection
Protect Your EFIN and PTIN
Keep yourself and your tax preparation business safe from fraud. For more information, see What Can I Do to protect my EFIN and PTIN? and Protect Your Clients; Protect Yourself.
Share Tax Credit Information With Your Clients
See our social media resources for tax credit tweets, banner ads, Facebook ads, podcasts and more.