IRS Seeks to Change User Fees for Enrolled Agent and Enrolled Retirement Plan Agent Exams

The IRS is proposing changes to the user fees for enrolled agents (EAs). These changes would increase the user fees for each part of the special enrollment examination (SEE) for EAs, but also would remove the user fees for the SEE for enrolled retirement plan agents (ERPAs). 

The EA SEE 

The EA SEE is the written examination by which applicants can demonstrate special competence in tax matters. An applicant must pass all three parts of the EA SEE to be granted enrolled agent status through written examination. Since the EA SEE is a service that provides a special benefit to test takers, the IRS charges a user fee to take the test.

In July 2017, the IRS set the user at $81 for each part of the EA SEE; this fee covers the full direct and indirect costs the government incurs in overseeing the EA SEE. But those are not the only fees that applicants face: the contractor that administers the EA SEE also imposes a fee for its services; for the May 2021-February 2022 testing period, those fees are $104 for each part of the EA SEE. 

The IRS is required to conduct a biennial review of the EA SEE user fee, and did so in 2021. Accordingly, the IRS seeks to increase the user fee for taking the EA SEE from $81 per part to $99 per part. It attributes the proposed fee hike to increases in salaries and benefits for employees who conduct activities related to the EA SEE program. In addition, the IRS points out, it must cover oversight costs for: 

• review and approval of materials used by the contractor in developing the EA SEE;
• review of surveys of existing enrolled agents;
• composition of potential EA SEE questions in coordination with the contractor’ external tax law experts; and 
• analysis of the answers and raw scores. 

The IRS says that it does not intend to subsidize any of the cost of making the EA SEE available. Also, the proposed user fee increase does not affect the amounts payable to the third-party contractor. 

The ERPA SEE 

The proposed regulations would remove the user fee for the SEE for ERPAs, because the IRS no longer offers the ERPA SEE or new enrollment as an enrolled retirement plan agent. 

Comments Welcome 

The IRS will accept comments on the proposed changes through Nov. 15, 2021. Comments may be submitted in electronic form via the federal eRulemaking portal at http://www.regulations.gov/; commenters must indicate IRS and REG-100718-21 and follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Comments may be submitted on paper to CC:PA:LPD:PR (REG-100718-21), Room 5203, Internal Revenue Service, P.O. Box 7604, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, DC 20044. 

Public Hearing 

The IRS will hold a public hearing on the proposed changes by teleconference on Nov. 23, 2021 beginning at 10:00 a.m. EST. Requests to speak and outlines of topics to be discussed at the hearing must be received by Nov. 15. Requests to attend the hearing must be received by 5:00 p.m. EST on Nov. 19. More information is available by sending an email to [email protected].