Frequently Asked Questions

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.

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.

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 or 18-hour continuing education requirement, depending on their status. The 15-hour requirement 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 AFSP Federal Tax Course contains these elements and has been approved by the IRS. The 18-hour requirement, for preparers who aren't exempt from the Annual Federal Tax Refresher (AFTR), includes: (1) the 6-hour AFTR course and its comprehension test, (2) 10 hours of IRS approved CE in Federal tax subjects, and (3) 2 hours of CE in ethics. Our 18 Hour Federal Tax Course - AFSP Bundle with AFTR contains 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. If you have questions, please contact our support team by clicking on "Get in Touch" at the bottom of this page.

All Aardvark Tax courses have been approved and are accepted by the IRS.

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. If you only need California education, check out the 5 Hour California Tax course.

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.

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. California has a grace period until January 15 to complete education.

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.

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.

We automatically report your successful completion to California/CTEC immediately after you submit if you have provided us with your CTEC number.

While we hope to do so in the future, we don't currently provide the 60-hour qualifying course for California.

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, open courses expire each year:

• California (CTEC) courses expire after CTEC's final deadline of January 15 (moved to the next business day when it falls on a weekend or holiday), because CTEC no longer accepts them after that date.
• All other courses expire as of February 1. If you miss the IRS deadline of December 31, you can still finish your course in January. Your hours won't count for the year that just ended, but they will count for the year in which you finish them. This can help Enrolled Agents and others who need to make up missed hours.

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.

CTEC: When the CTEC registration deadline falls on a weekend or an official holiday, CTEC moves it to the next business day. This applies both to October 31, the deadline to renew without a late fee, and to January 15, the final deadline for late renewal.

IRS: The IRS deadline for completing your continuing education is December 31, and we're not aware of any IRS rule that moves it when it falls on a weekend or holiday. Please plan to finish by December 31 every year.

The deadline reminders on our site always show what we believe the actual date is for the current year. However, you are ultimately responsible to ensure that you meet your deadlines. If you have any questions about your deadlines, please contact CTEC and the IRS directly.

The easiest way to skip to the sections that need work is to use the 'Jump to section with first unanswered question' navigation button. That may not always work for you though if you've chosen not to answer an earlier question for one reason or another. In that case, you can use the 'Jump to a section' button to skip to your present location.

The system won't let you submit your answer sheet until every question is answered. It's likely that you accidentally missed a question as you were completing your work. To find the unanswered question, use the 'Jump to section with first unanswered question' navigation button.

We know some people change their minds after they've started the coursework. If you contact customer service, we will be happy to help you out. Just click the "Get in Touch" link at the bottom of this page.

Nope! As you work, all of your answers are saved to our server. Feel free to exit your browser, shut off your computer and come back to finish up another time.

The Aardvark Tax team has tested this site's functionality on all modern browsers that support JavaScript and cookies.

Our online courses require a constant internet connection. You can also choose a downloadable PDF version of the courses that you can print out. But you will still need an Internet connection in order to purchase a course and report your answers.

Yes! Our site has been optimized to provide an excellent educational experience on mobile devices.

Here's how it works. Once you have purchased a course, you complete the course material completely online or by downloading a printable PDF file. You will then read about tax law and answer questions about what you read. After you have answered the questions, you click a button to submit your coursework and receive instant grading results. Lastly, you print a certificate stating that you passed the course. In most cases, the Aardvark Tax team will also notify your government agency that you passed.

You no longer need reference materials to complete the courses. All information required to complete the course is included in the Aardvark Tax materials.

Each course is priced differently. You can see the complete list at the Aardvark Tax Store.

The amount of credit hours shown for each course in the Aardvark Tax Store indicates the approximate amount of time that you should plan for the course based on 50-minute hours.

Aardvark Tax bases its courses on the most recent tax year’s finalized law and updates the courses to match current year tax law in January of every year. For instance, the courses were updated to 2020 tax laws in March 2021. Aardvark Tax also updates the course materials with important upcoming changes as they become finalized by Congress.

Click here to view our sales and refund policy.

The Referral Club rewards you for bringing colleagues to Aardvark Tax. Every customer gets a personal referral code to share. A tax preparer new to Aardvark Tax who uses it gets $15 off their first course, and you earn rewards: $15 off your next course for your first referral, $30 for your second, and a free tax course for your third (or 50% off a course that is 24 hours or more). See the Referral Club rules

Who can take part, how rewards are earned and when they expire are all on one page: Read the Referral Club rules

Right after your purchase. You don't need to finish the course first. Your referral code is on your home page, and it never expires.

Each season, your first new customer earns you $15 off your next course, and your second raises that to $30. Your third replaces that credit with a free tax course, or 50% off a course that is 24 hours or more. A referral counts only when your colleague enters your referral code at checkout. Rewards are applied automatically to your next course after the season ends on February 1.

Rewards earned this season are applied after it ends on February 1, 2027, and can be used until February 1, 2028. But your requirements may be due sooner. AFSP courses must be finished by December 31 and CTEC courses by January 15. Check your program's deadline on its course page, and use your reward early enough to finish on time.

Referral codes are for preparers who are new to Aardvark Tax, and every preparer has their own PTIN, so that's how we check. You enter it once at checkout and it's saved to your account.

Referral codes are a discount for preparers new to our platform. As a current customer, you have your own referral code to share instead and you earn rewards each time a new colleague uses it. You can earn up to a free course each season! Your referral code is on your home page.

Javascript and cookies are Internet programming communication protocols and the Aardvark Tax system relies upon them in order to function. Because of this, your browser must be enabled to use them.

Most of your questions can be answered by reading the information on this page. If you've read through these FAQs and still can't solve your problem, please contact our support department by clicking "Get In Touch" at the bottom of this page.

The IRS requires Aardvark Tax to keep your PTIN number as part of our records. Beginning in 2012, we have been asked by the IRS to electronically inform them that you have completed your coursework. California holds us to the same requirement. You should still download and keep safe your certificate of completion in case a government agency asks for it.

We use a high level of security when we work with sensitive data. Your personal information, such as your address and PTIN number, are encrypted within our database and our cloud provider's access security is top-notch.