Practice before the IRS and who may do it

Why this lesson comes first

Part 3 of the Special Enrollment Examination (SEE) asks one question over and over in different clothes: who may do what, before whom, and under which rule? The answer almost always starts in Treasury Department Circular No. 230, the regulations governing practice before the IRS (31 CFR Part 10). Domain 1 of the Part 3 outline opens with exactly this topic: what constitutes practice before the IRS, and the categories of individuals who may practice and the extent of their privileges (SEE Part 3 content outline, 1.1).

What "practice before the IRS" means

Circular 230 defines it broadly. Practice "comprehends all matters connected with a presentation to the Internal Revenue Service or any of its officers or employees relating to a taxpayer's rights, privileges, or liabilities under laws or regulations administered by the Internal Revenue Service" (Circular 230, §10.2(a)(4)). The definition then lists examples:

• preparing documents and filing documents;
• corresponding and communicating with the IRS;
• rendering written advice about any entity, transaction, plan or arrangement having a potential for tax avoidance or evasion;
• representing a client at conferences, hearings and meetings.

Publication 947 restates the same idea in plain terms: communicating with the IRS for a taxpayer about rights, privileges or liabilities; representing a taxpayer at conferences, hearings or meetings; preparing, filing or submitting documents for a taxpayer; and giving a client written advice on federal tax matters (Publication 947, What Is Practice Before the IRS?).

Three activities are carved out. Any individual may, for compensation, prepare or assist with the preparation of a return or claim for refund, appear as a witness for a taxpayer, or furnish information at the IRS's request (Circular 230, §10.8(b); Publication 947). Being a witness is not being a representative: a witness tells the IRS what he knows; a representative advocates.

The three groups with unlimited practice rights

Attorneys, certified public accountants and enrolled agents may represent any taxpayer, on any tax matter, before any IRS office. The IRS describes enrolled agents as having "unlimited practice rights", meaning they are unrestricted as to which taxpayers they can represent, what types of tax matters they can handle, and which IRS offices they can appear before (Enrolled agent information).

Practitioner	Source of eligibility	Condition
Attorney	Member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of any state, territory, possession, Commonwealth or D.C.	Not suspended or disbarred; files a written declaration of qualification and authority (§10.3(a))
CPA	Duly qualified to practice as a CPA in any state, territory, possession, Commonwealth or D.C.	Same (§10.3(b))
Enrolled agent	Enrolled by the IRS under Circular 230	Active status, not suspended or disbarred (§10.3(c))

Attorneys and CPAs do not need to file the written declaration before giving written advice covered by §10.37, but giving that advice is still practice (Circular 230, §10.3(a)–(b)). In every case the representative must be designated by the taxpayer for a particular matter; Form 2848 is the usual way to do that (Publication 947).

Practitioners with limited practice rights

Who	Extent of practice
Enrolled actuary (enrolled by the Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries)	Limited to issues under listed Code sections, principally those governing employee retirement plans (for example sections 401, 404 and 412) (§10.3(d))
Enrolled retirement plan agent (ERPA)	Limited to the Employee Plans Determination Letter program, the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System and the Master and Prototype and Volume Submitter program, plus the Form 5300 and 5500 series, but not actuarial forms or schedules (§10.3(e))
Annual Filing Season Program (AFSP) Record of Completion holder	Only for returns he or she prepared and signed, only before revenue agents, customer service representatives and similar employees (including the Taxpayer Advocate Service), and only during an examination; needs a record of completion for both the year under examination and the year the examination takes place (Publication 947; Annual Filing Season Program)
Unenrolled preparer with a PTIN but no AFSP record	May prepare returns, but may not represent clients for returns prepared and signed after December 31, 2015 (Annual Filing Season Program; Publication 947)
Appraiser	Subject to Circular 230 but has no representation rights; may appear as a witness (Publication 947)

Even when an unenrolled preparer qualifies for limited representation, he or she may not represent a taxpayer before appeals officers, revenue officers or IRS Counsel, and may not execute closing agreements, extend the statute of limitations, execute waivers, or sign any document on a taxpayer's behalf (Publication 947). If the preparer cannot represent, the taxpayer can still authorize the preparer to receive information with Form 8821, which grants no representation at all (Publication 947).

Circular 230 still contains the "registered tax return preparer" provisions in §10.3(f) and §10.4(c), but the IRS's current description of who may represent clients is the AFSP framework described above (Annual Filing Season Program). Expect the exam to test the AFSP rules.

Limited practice without being a practitioner

Some people may represent a specific taxpayer because of a relationship, not a credential. They must present satisfactory identification and proof of authority (Circular 230, §10.7(c)(1); Publication 947):

1. Yourself. Anyone may appear on his or her own behalf (§10.7(a)).
2. Immediate family. Publication 947 defines immediate family as a spouse, child, parent, brother or sister. The Instructions for Form 2848 list a slightly broader set for designation (f), family member: also grandparents, grandchildren and step-relatives (step-parent, step-child, step-brother, step-sister).
3. Employees. A regular full-time employee may represent the employer (an individual, partnership, corporation, trust, estate and so on).
4. General partners. A general partner may represent the partnership.
5. Officers. A bona fide officer may represent the corporation, association or organized group; a government officer or employee may represent the governmental unit in the course of official duties.
6. Outside the United States. Any individual may represent a person or entity outside the United States before IRS personnel when the representation also takes place outside the United States (§10.7(c)(1)(vii)).

A fiduciary (trustee, receiver, guardian, personal representative, administrator or executor) is different: Circular 230 treats the fiduciary as the taxpayer, not as a representative (§10.7(e)). A fiduciary who acts for a taxpayer before the IRS notifies the IRS of the relationship on Form 56, Notice Concerning Fiduciary Relationship, rather than filing Form 2848 (Instructions for Form 56).

Special appearances. The Commissioner may authorize an otherwise ineligible individual to represent someone in a particular matter (§10.7(d)). Publication 947 says such authorization is granted only in extremely compelling circumstances and that students in Low Income Taxpayer Clinics and the Student Tax Clinic Program request permission through the Taxpayer Advocate Service and must work under the direct supervision of someone authorized to practice.

Who may not practice

• Entities. Corporations, associations, partnerships and other non-individuals are not eligible to practice (Publication 947). Enrollment is granted only to natural persons (§10.4(e)).
• Certain government employees. Federal officers and employees, Members of Congress and others may not practice if it would violate 18 U.S.C. §§203 or 205 (§10.3(h)). State employees whose duties involve state tax matters may not practice if their employment may disclose facts applicable to federal tax matters (§10.3(i)).
• Those who have lost eligibility. An enrolled agent who fails to renew or meet continuing education is placed on the inactive roster; one in inactive retirement status, or suspended or disbarred, may not practice; an attorney or CPA who loses the state license loses eligibility too (Publication 947, Loss of Eligibility).

A CAF number does not authorize anyone to practice. It only confirms that the IRS has set up a file for that person's authorizations (Publication 947).

How enrolled agent status is earned

There are two routes (Circular 230, §10.4):

• By examination. The applicant must be at least 18, demonstrate special competence by passing the written examination, hold a current PTIN, and not have engaged in conduct that would justify suspension or disbarment (§10.4(a)). The IRS may run a federal tax compliance check and a suitability check before granting enrollment (§10.5(d)).
• By former IRS employment. Generally at least five years of continuous IRS employment regularly applying and interpreting the Code and regulations, with the application made within three years of leaving the IRS. An aggregate of 10 or more years, at least three of them within the five years before the application, counts as the equivalent of five continuous years (§10.4(d)).

The examination itself, for the 2026–27 testing window (per the IRS's enrolled agent FAQs and the Candidate Information Bulletin from PSI, the IRS's testing vendor, revised October 9, 2026):

Fact	2026–27 window
Parts	Part 1 Individuals; Part 2 Businesses; Part 3 Representation, Practices and Procedures
Questions per part	100: 85 scored and 15 experimental, unscored
Time per part	3.5 hours (4 hours of seat time including a tutorial, survey and two scheduled 10-minute breaks)
Law tested	The Code, regulations, forms and publications as amended through December 31, 2025; questions refer to calendar year 2025 unless they say otherwise, and later legislation, court decisions and penalty amounts are to be ignored
Format	Four-option multiple choice, one best answer, in three styles: a direct question, an incomplete sentence, or "all of the following except"
Sections	Three sections (questions 1–34, 35–67 and 68–100), with an optional 10-minute break after each of the first two; once a section is closed, you can't go back to it
Where	By computer at PSI test centers in the U.S. or by remote proctoring in the U.S.; international testing is delayed
Domestic test window	July 1, 2026 to February 28, 2027
Scores	Scaled 200 to 800; the scaled passing score is 500
Retakes	Each part up to four times in a test window
Carryover	A passed part carries over for up to three years from the date passed
Applying to enroll	Form 23, within one year of passing the last part

Part 3's outline has four domains: Practices and Procedures (26 questions), Representation before the IRS (25), Specific Areas of Representation (20) and Filing Process (14), which adds up to the 85 scored questions. PSI's October 2026 bulletin lists exactly the same domains, counts and topics as the outline the IRS posts on its own site (Candidate Information Bulletin; SEE Part 3 content outline), so the course follows that outline topic by topic. The IRS posts free sample questions for each part; use them to get used to the item style (Sample Special Enrollment Examination questions and answers).

Worked examples

1. The helpful brother. Ana's brother Luis is a bookkeeper with no credential. The IRS is examining Ana's return. May Luis represent her? Yes. A brother is immediate family (Publication 947), so Luis may represent her under §10.7(c)(1)(i) with identification and proof of authority. He has no right to represent anyone else's family.

2. The preparer at Appeals. Dana holds an AFSP Record of Completion for 2025 and 2026. She prepared and signed a client's 2025 return, which is under examination in 2026. The examiner's findings go to the IRS Independent Office of Appeals. Dana may represent the client before the revenue agent, but not before the appeals officer (Publication 947). The client needs an attorney, CPA or enrolled agent at Appeals.

3. The firm as representative. A client wants to name "Smith Tax Services, LLC" as her representative. That will not work: only individuals may be representatives (Publication 947). She should name the individual enrolled agent at the firm.

4. The executor. Omar is executor of his late mother's estate. He deals with the IRS on the estate's return. He is not a representative; as a fiduciary he stands in the position of the taxpayer (§10.7(e)).

Common traps

• "Preparing returns is not practice." Any individual may prepare returns for pay (§10.8(b)), but preparing and filing documents is listed as practice in §10.2(a)(4), and anyone who prepares all or substantially all of a return for pay must have a PTIN and is subject to Circular 230's duties and sanctions (§10.8(a)).
• Confusing Form 8821 with representation. A tax information authorization lets someone receive information; it never lets them advocate (Publication 947).
• Assuming the AFSP gives Appeals or collection rights. It does not: revenue agents, customer service representatives and similar employees only, and only for returns the preparer prepared and signed.
• Treating a CAF number as permission to practice. It is only a file number.
• Forgetting that "immediate family" is a defined list. Spouse, child, parent, brother, sister (Publication 947), with grandparents, grandchildren and step-relatives added in the Form 2848 instructions. Cousins, aunts, uncles and in-laws are not on either list.

Check yourself

• Name the four kinds of presentation that §10.2(a)(4) lists as practice before the IRS, and the three activities anyone may do without being a practitioner.
• Which practitioners have unlimited practice rights, and what limits apply to enrolled actuaries and ERPAs?
• Before whom may an AFSP Record of Completion holder represent a client, and which records must the preparer hold?
• Who counts as "immediate family" for limited practice?
• Why does an executor not need Form 2848?
• How long can a passed SEE part carry over, and how many scored questions are on Part 3?