Help and FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Please click on the question to see the answer. If you don't see
an answer to your question here, please contact our
support department.
Government Acceptance
- Will my government agency accept these courses?
Absolutely! If the course is listed under your government agency's jurisdiction in the Aardvark Tax Store, then it has been approved by your government agency for your continuing education.
- Do I need to send my certificate to my government agency?
Aardvark Tax advises government agencies (including the IRS and CTEC) of your successful completion of coursework. Other jurisdictions – such as Oregon – do not provide us a means to do so. Please ask your specific government agency whether or not they require you to send them a copy of your certificate.
- What are the IRS regulations regarding continuing education for tax preparers?
The IRS has a voluntary program called the Annual Filing Season Program which aims to recognize the efforts of non-credentialed return preparers who aspire to a higher level of professionalism. To participate in the program, tax preparers must complete a yearly 15-hour requirement continuing education program that includes: (1) 10 hours of IRS approved CE in Federal tax subjects, (2) 3 hours of CE in Federal tax updates, and (3) 2 hours of CE in ethics. The Aardvark Tax
15 Hour Federal Tax course contains all of these elements and has been approved by the IRS. Please note that the program is voluntary and non-enrolled tax preparers are not required by IRS regulation to complete continuing education.
- How long will it take for my completion to appear on the IRS PTIN site?
We report your successful completion once a quarter from January until September. Starting in October, we're mandated to report to the IRS on a weekly basis, though we try to report daily as we get close to PTIN registration deadlines.
There is no automated computerized process we can follow for this task and we must complete it manually. Once it's been processed and determined to be accurate, they move your information from the processing site to a different PTIN site on a once-nightly basis. From our understanding, they only do the transfer on business days. Therefore, based on their process, it takes at least two business days for the information to show
up on the PTIN site after we report it.
- How long will it take for my completion to appear on the CTEC registration site?
We automatically report your successful completion to California/CTEC within an hour of your having submitted.
- How long can I take to finish my course?
Because the United States and local governments change tax law on a yearly basis and it’s important that we teach you the most current rules, all open courses expire as of the next respective February 1. Our tax site is closed from February 1 until late Spring every year so that we can update our courses to reflect new tax laws and rules.
- Which listed courses have been approved by the IRS?
- Which listed courses have been approved by CTEC, the California tax preparer regulation agency?
All Aardvark Tax courses have been approved and are accepted by CTEC. However, only the
20 Hour Federal and California Tax course contains all of the elements necessary to fulfill CTEC's continuing education requirements.
- Which listed courses have been approved by the Oregon Board of Tax Practitioners?
All Aardvark Tax courses have been approved and are accepted by the Oregon Board of Tax Practitioners. However, only the
30 Hour Federal Tax course contains all of the elements necessary to fulfill the board's continuing education requirements.
- Do you provide the California 60-hour qualifying course?
While we hope to do so in the future, we don't currently provide the 60-hour qualifying course for California.
- When must I complete my continuing education in order to keep in good standing?
IRS regulations state that all tax preparers should complete their continuing education by December 31 of each calendar year to remain in good standing with the AFSP program.
California registered tax preparers should complete their continuing education by October 31 of each calendar year to remain in good standing.
Oregon Licensed Tax Consultants should complete their continuing education by May 31 of each calendar year to remain in good standing. Oregon Licensed Tax Preparers should complete their continuing education by September 30 of each calendar year to remain in good standing.
System Setup
System Requirements
About the Courses
- Where do I get the reference materials?
You no longer need reference materials to complete the courses. All information required to complete the course is included in the Aardvark Tax materials.
- How does the Aardvark Tax system work?
Taking your continuing education courses through Aardvark Tax is easy! Once you have purchased a course, you complete the course material completely online. In most cases, this means reading about tax law and then answering questions about what you read. After you have answered the questions, you just click a button to submit your coursework and receive instant results. Lastly, you print a certificate stating that you passed the course. In most cases, the Aardvark Tax team will even notify your government agency that you passed. Yep -- it's really that easy.
- How much does an Aardvark Tax Course cost?
Each course is priced differently. You can see the complete list at the
Aardvark Tax Store.
- How long will each course take?
The amount of credit hours shown for each course in the
Aardvark Tax Store indicates an approximate amount of time that you should plan for the course based on 50-minute hours.
- Are the courses updated for current year tax law?
Aardvark Tax On-Line updates their courses to match government agency tax law publications in January of every year. For instance, the courses were updated to 2015 tax laws in March 2016.
- What is the Aardvark Tax refund policy?
Click here to view our grievance and refund policy.
Troubleshooting
