Regulator
California Tax Education Council
Professional Review
California CTEC Tax Preparer Continuing Education
Bilingual 20-hour annual tax-preparer CE materials covering federal tax law, updates, ethics, California tax law, and completion controls.
Duration
20 hours
Planned Price
$59-$79 after approval
Audience
California tax preparers who need approved annual CTEC continuing education after provider clearance.
Approval Boundary
Do not enroll students, issue CE certificates, or advertise CTEC-approved status until the CTEC approval path and owner prerequisites clear in writing.
Owner Action
Owner must clear CTEC provider requirements and any IRS CE-provider prerequisite before launch.
Prepared Modules
The bilingual modules are authored for review. Enrollment, payment, certificates, and any credit claim stay closed until written approval.
1 - 4 checks
Federal Tax Law (10 hrs): filing status, dependents, gross income, adjustments, deductions/credits, individual 1040 prep, common schedules
- Determine a taxpayer's correct filing status and dependency claims under IRC §2 and §152, applying the qualifying-child and qualifying-relative tests and the tie-breaker rules.
- Build a Form 1040 from the bottom up: total income, adjustments to arrive at adjusted gross income (AGI), the greater of the standard or itemized deduction, taxable income, and tax, then layer in the correct credits.
- Identify which common schedules (1, 2, 3, A, B, C, D, E, SE) a return requires, and explain how each flows into the 1040.
2 - 4 checks
Federal Tax Law Updates (3 hrs): annual inflation adjustments, new IRS provisions, expired/extended provisions, current-year legislative changes
- Apply the IRS annual inflation adjustments (standard deduction, tax brackets, and key credit thresholds) to correctly prepare current-year federal returns.
- Identify which provisions have expired, been extended, or were newly enacted, and explain how each change affects a taxpayer's federal liability.
- Locate and cite the controlling authority (IRC section, IRS Revenue Procedure or Notice, and FTB guidance) when researching a federal update and its California conformity status.
3 - 4 checks
Ethics (2 hrs): Circular 230 / IRS practice standards, preparer due diligence, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, penalties for misconduct
- Identify who is governed by Circular 230 and apply its core practice standards on competence, diligence as to accuracy, and prompt disposition of client matters.
- Apply the EITC/CTC/AOTC and head-of-household due-diligence rules of IRC §6695(g) and Form 8867, and calculate the per-failure penalty exposure.
- Recognize confidentiality and conflict-of-interest obligations, and distinguish the major preparer-misconduct penalties (§6694, §6695, §6713, §7216) and their dollar amounts.
4 - 4 checks
California State Tax Law (5 hrs): CA Franchise Tax Board rules, CA-vs-federal conformity/nonconformity, CA Form 540, residency/sourcing, CA-specific credits and adjustments
- Explain how California conforms to or deviates from the federal Internal Revenue Code and translate that nonconformity into the correct Schedule CA (540) addition and subtraction adjustments.
- Classify a client as a California resident, nonresident, or part-year resident and source income correctly so the right return (Form 540 vs. 540NR) and the right tax base are used.
- Apply common California-specific credits and adjustments — including the renter's credit, CalEITC, and the Young Child Tax Credit — and identify where each is claimed on Form 540.
5 - 4 checks
Each of the four parts requires a final exam passed at 70%+ before a completion certificate is issued and hours are e-reported to CTEC
- Describe how the CTEC 20-hour continuing-education course is structured into four parts (10 federal tax law, 3 federal tax update, 2 ethics, and 5 California tax law) and identify the part-by-part final-exam requirement.
- Calculate whether a given raw exam score meets the 70% minimum passing standard and determine the practical consequences of passing or failing each part.
- Explain the sequence by which a provider issues a completion certificate and e-reports earned hours to CTEC, and connect that reporting to the CRTP's October 31 renewal deadline.