Can an enrolled agent represent taxpayer at all the same levels as a CPA or an attorney?
Question:
Answer:
Yes. Enrolled Agents can do anything an attorney or CPA can do before IRS.
Enrolled Agents are the only Federally authorized representatives. Attorneys and CPAs are authorized by the various states.
Attorneys, CPAs and Enrolled Agents are subject to the rules and regulations in Circular 230
Enrolled Agents have actually been around longer than CPAs
Enrolled Agents were established after the Civil War. you can go to
www.naea.org to get the history of Enrolled Agents.
It is true that Enrolled Agents can represent clients in any state in the US and CPAs and attorneys are restricted to the states they are licensed in, but I have been told that there are reciprocity agreements among states.
There is also a test that, I believe that anyone can take to act as a representative before tax court. It is administered by the tax court in Washington DC once every two years.
Actually, an enrolled agent can represent you MORE than a CPA in some cases.
I believe the first answer is mistaken about Enrolled Agents having been around longer than CPAs, but that make no difference for any practical purpose.
An enrolled agent can represent you before the IRS. A CPA can represent you before the IRS. Whether state agencies recognize the enrolled agent is up to the agency, although it would make sense that most do. A tax attorney can do all that and represent you in Tax Court, District Court, Federal Claims Court and state court. Tax attorneys often are brought in at the IRS appeals level to draft the protest and present the case at the appeals conference. Attorneys just research better in most cases.
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