[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":3,"doc-seo-302980-105":53,"doc-detail-302980-en":126},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,14,19,24,29,34,39,44,49],{"id":8,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":11,"show_sort_weight":12,"slug":13},11,1,"Template","Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":15,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":16,"show_sort_weight":17,"slug":18},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":20,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":21,"show_sort_weight":22,"slug":23},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":25,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":26,"show_sort_weight":27,"slug":28},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":30,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":31,"show_sort_weight":32,"slug":33},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":35,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":36,"show_sort_weight":37,"slug":38},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":40,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":41,"show_sort_weight":42,"slug":43},18,"Letters",30,"letters",{"id":45,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":46,"show_sort_weight":47,"slug":48},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":50,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":51,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":52},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":54,"data":55},"ok",{"site_id":56,"language":57,"slug":58,"title":59,"keywords":60,"description":61,"schema_data":62,"social_meta":119,"head_meta":121,"extra_data":123,"updated_unix":125},105,"en","irs-preparer-level-treatment-tests-additional-information-on-the-second-year","IRS Preparer-Level Treatment Tests - Additional Information on the Second Year","","Paper analyzes the IRS Return Preparer Office approach to improving accuracy and voluntary compliance among paid tax return preparers. It describes regulations for PTIN registration beginning January 1, 2011, and explains a multi-year preparer-level study initiated in 2012. The study aims to assess which treatments are effective for different segments of a noncompliant preparer population, balancing expected return on investment with scarce enforcement resources. Findings from year one are extended with second-year details and rationale.",{"@graph":63,"@context":118},[64,80,101],{"@type":65,"itemListElement":66},"BreadcrumbList",[67,71,74,77],{"item":68,"name":69,"@type":70,"position":9},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":72,"name":10,"@type":70,"position":73},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/",2,{"item":75,"name":51,"@type":70,"position":76},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/general/",3,{"item":78,"name":59,"@type":70,"position":79},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/irs-preparer-level-treatment-tests-additional-information-on-the-second-year/302980/",4,{"url":78,"name":59,"@type":81,"image":82,"author":87,"headline":59,"publisher":90,"fileFormat":93,"inLanguage":57,"description":61,"dateModified":94,"datePublished":95,"encodingFormat":93,"isAccessibleForFree":96,"interactionStatistic":97},"DigitalDocument",{"url":83,"@type":84,"width":85,"height":86},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/irs-preparer-level-treatment-tests-additional-information-on-the-second-year/302980.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":88,"@type":89},"Ivy","Person",{"url":68,"name":91,"@type":92},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-09-21","2026-09-19",true,{"@type":98,"interactionType":99,"userInteractionCount":9},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":100},"ViewAction",{"@type":102,"mainEntity":103},"FAQPage",[104,110,114],{"name":105,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":107},"What was the purpose of IRS regulations for paid preparers starting in 2011?","Question",{"text":108,"@type":109},"The regulations aimed to establish standards by requiring paid preparers who prepare Form 1040 to register with the IRS, obtain a PTIN, and enter the PTIN as the preparer identifying number. The goal was to improve voluntary compliance and reduce errors on tax returns.","Answer",{"name":111,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":112},"Why did IRS start a multi-year study in 2012?",{"text":113,"@type":109},"The study was designed to determine how different treatments applied at the preparer level affect tax return preparation accuracy. The objective is to identify cost-effective treatments for segments of the noncompliant preparer population.",{"name":115,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How does the paper characterize preparer compliance?",{"text":117,"@type":109},"Preparer compliance is described as a continuous spectrum rather than a simple binomial. It ranges from compliant, well-informed preparers to willful fraud, with middle segments that may be moved toward voluntary compliance through lighter interventions.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":78,"og:type":120,"og:title":59,"og:site_name":91,"og:description":61},"article",{"robots":122,"canonical":78},"index,follow",{"doc_id":124,"site_id":56},302980,1789983984,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":127},{"doc_id":124,"user_id":128,"nickname":88,"user_avatar":129,"doc_module":9,"category_id":50,"category_name":51,"doc_title":59,"doc_description":61,"doc_content":130,"file_id":131,"file_url":132,"file_type":133,"file_size":134,"view_count":9,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":9,"is_downloadable":9,"audit_status":9,"page_count":30,"language":135,"language_code":57,"site_id":56,"html_lang":57,"table_of_contents":136,"faqs":137,"seo_title":138,"seo_description":61,"update_tm":139,"read_time":140},549758252649,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/8000253669c5317157?_k=1778319167496531819","IRS Preparer-Level Treatment Tests  \nKaren Masken, Return Preparer Office, Internal Revenue Service1  \nIntroduction  \nIn 2010, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) adopted regulations aimed at establishing standards for paid tax return preparers who prepare individual income tax returns (Form 1040). The objective was to improve voluntary compliance through increased oversight of the paid preparer industry with the goal of reducing errors on tax returns. The Return Preparer Office (RPO) was formed to meet this objective. RPO does not have enforcement authority, but rather focuses primarily on education, outreach, and partnering with the paid preparer community. Specifically, the three primary strategic goals of RPO are:  \n1. Register and promote a qualified tax professional community;  \n2. Improve the compliance and accuracy of returns prepared by tax professionals; and  \n3. Support a stakeholder-focused culture that encourages voluntary compliance and continuous improvement.  \nOne effort to meet these strategic goals was a new requirement, effective January 1, 2011, that all paid preparers who prepare Form 1040 returns: register with the IRS; obtain a preparer tax identification number (PTIN); and enter the PTIN exclusively as the preparer identifying number on the returns they complete. Previously, PTINs had been optional.  \nAnother effort involved a multi-year study that started in 2012 to determine the effect on tax return preparation accuracy of various treatments applied to paid tax return preparers. Because IRS has historically focused on taxpayer-level treatments, there is currently only a limited understanding of how preparer-level treatments affect change in preparer and client tax compliance. The goal of the multi-year study is to understand what treatments are effective on different segments of the noncompliant preparer population in an effort to determine the cost-effectiveness of the treatments. Details on the development and design of the study and results from the first year were presented in an earlier paper.2 This paper builds upon the earlier version and includes additional information regarding the second year of the study.  \nMotivation  \nIRS resources have become increasingly scarce in the recent budget environment. The driver of the preparerlevel treatment approach is that treatment of a single preparer is likely to improve the compliance of many tax returns, increasing the expected return on investment of treatment resources. This is similar to intervening ata wholesale level, rather than at the retail level.  \nAs illustrated in Figure 1, preparer compliance is not a binomial variable, but rather a continuous spectrum. On one end of the spectrum are compliant, well-informed preparers, while on the other end of the spectrum are preparers who willfully perpetrate fraud. In the middle of the spectrum are those who might be unintentionally making errors due to lack of knowledge or those who are willfully noncompliant in their tax preparation but could potentially be moved toward voluntary compliance with a light touch. Moving preparers toward greater voluntary compliance is the most cost-effective action in that it protects revenue by having tax and credits reported correctly on the tax return—rather than IRS trying to recover revenue through examination and collection after the return has been filed, and in many cases, after a refund has been paid.  \n1 The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Internal Revenue Service.  \n2 Masken, Karen C.“IRS Preparer-Level Treatment Tests: Results from the First Year of a Multi-Year Study,” December 2014.  \nFigure 1. The Preparer Compliance Continuum  \nCompliant Noncompliant / Fraudulent  \nTraditionally, IRS has focused its enforcement resources toward the noncompliant and fraudulent end of the spectrum on what are predicted to be the largest, most substantial problems. For less substantial cases and","cbCainyvJuWWetzx","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCainyvJuWWetzx","pdf",310390,"English","# Introduction\n## Motivation\n## Preparer compliance spectrum\n## Enforcement approach and resource constraints\n## Preparer rights and disclosure limits","[{\"question\":\"What was the purpose of IRS regulations for paid preparers starting in 2011?\",\"answer\":\"The regulations aimed to establish standards by requiring paid preparers who prepare Form 1040 to register with the IRS, obtain a PTIN, and enter the PTIN as the preparer identifying number. The goal was to improve voluntary compliance and reduce errors on tax returns.\"},{\"question\":\"Why did IRS start a multi-year study in 2012?\",\"answer\":\"The study was designed to determine how different treatments applied at the preparer level affect tax return preparation accuracy. The objective is to identify cost-effective treatments for segments of the noncompliant preparer population.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the paper characterize preparer compliance?\",\"answer\":\"Preparer compliance is described as a continuous spectrum rather than a simple binomial. It ranges from compliant, well-informed preparers to willful fraud, with middle segments that may be moved toward voluntary compliance through lighter interventions.\"}]","IRS Preparer-Level Treatment Tests - Additional Information on the Second Year | PDF",1789799361,6]