1. Written From Our Side of the Desk
Most coverage of the Taxpayer Assistance and Service Act — including our overview — explains what the bill would mean for taxpayers. This article is the other view: we are a tax preparation firm, the bill's preparer provisions would apply to us, and clients occasionally ask what that means for the person signing their return. Here is our honest answer.
2. What We Are Today, Under Current Rules
Today, the rules that govern us are straightforward. Our preparer holds a PTIN and signs every return. We are an authorized IRS e-file provider. We follow due-diligence rules for the credits that attract the most errors, keep a written information security plan for your data, deliver everything through an encrypted portal, and never base fees on the size of your refund. None of that is remarkable — it is the baseline of honest practice. But it is worth stating plainly, because the bill now moving through Congress would write some of that baseline into law.
3. The Parts We Would Welcome
**The 12-month refund-claim clock would help our clients.** When we file an amended return or a refund claim for you, today's wait is open-ended. A deadline — even one with a modest remedy — gives us something to point to on your behalf. **PTIN discipline would police the bad actors we lose work to.** Preparers who promise inflated refunds, refuse to sign returns, or vanish in April hurt taxpayers and honest firms alike. Authority to suspend or revoke a PTIN for serious misconduct is overdue.
4. The Parts That Touch Us Directly
**Suitability and continuing education.** The bill adds CE requirements — capped at 18 hours a year — and suitability standards, while prohibiting a competency exam. We are already on this path: our preparer is completing the IRS Annual Filing Season Program this year, which carries its own education and ethics hours. Requirements like these are a floor, not a burden. **Tougher penalties.** The bill raises preparer penalties substantially and adds a new one for preparers who misappropriate taxpayer payments. We never hold client funds — fees are paid to the firm, refunds go to your account, and the two never meet. Higher stakes make our documentation habit more valuable, not less: every return we prepare is supported by records you can see.
5. What Does Not Change for You
If the bill becomes law, our clients would not notice a change in how we work — because nearly everything it would require of preparers is what a careful firm already does. You would still upload documents through the secure portal. Your return would still be prepared against your records, signed with our PTIN, reviewed before delivery, and e-filed with a copy in your portal. The difference the bill makes is that clients of *less careful* firms would get protections you already have.
6. Where This Stands
The Senate has passed the bill; the House has not acted, and the final text may change — see Congress.gov for current status. We will update this piece if it becomes law. If you want a preparer who already works this way, book a consultation. This article is general information about proposed legislation, not legal or tax advice, and not a claim about any credential we do not hold.