AFSP CE Requirements

AFSP participants must complete 18 hours of CE every calendar year (January 1 – December 31): the 6-hour Annual Federal Tax Refresher (AFTR) course, 10 hours of federal tax law and 2 hours of ethics (or 15 hours if you are exempt from the AFTR course). Extra hours don’t carry over.

Reviewed

See the requirementsBrowse qualifying courses

Am I exempt from the AFTR course?

Who is exempt from the AFTR course

If one of these applies to you, you’re exempt from the AFTR course and need 15 hours from IRS-approved CE providers instead of 18: 3 hours of federal tax law update, 10 hours of federal tax law and 2 hours of ethics.

Active Oregon, CTEC and Maryland registrants, RTRP and recent SEE Part I test-passers, and ACAT ABA and ATP holders

You are exempt from the AFTR course if any one of these applies to you:

  • You are an active registrant of the Oregon Board of Tax Practitioners, the California Tax Education Council or the Maryland State Board of Individual Tax Preparers.
  • You passed the Registered Tax Return Preparer test the IRS gave between November 2011 and January 2013.
  • You passed Part I of the Special Enrollment Exam during your CE year or either of the two calendar years before it.
  • You hold the Accreditation Council for Accountancy and Taxation’s Accredited Business Accountant/Advisor (ABA) or Accredited Tax Preparer (ATP) credential.

The designation must be in place on December 31 of your CE year. You don’t need to tell the IRS you are exempt: it gets that information directly from the testing source. If you are not sure you qualify, confirm with the IRS before relying on the exemption.

Some VITA and TCE volunteers

The IRS’s fact sheet on CE for VITA and TCE volunteers (Publication 5362, revised September 2026), which its chart of AFSP CE requirements (Publication 5646) links, treats a VITA or TCE volunteer as exempt only if they do both:

  • earn at least 14 CE hours through the VITA/TCE program: 1 of ethics, 3 of federal tax law updates and 10 of federal tax law; and
  • take 1 more hour of ethics from another IRS-approved CE provider.

The 14 VITA/TCE hours and the extra ethics hour make up the 15 hours an exempt preparer needs, not 15 more. Earning those 14 hours takes, among other steps, a valid PTIN before you certify; passing the Volunteer Standards of Conduct, Intake/Interview & Quality Review and Advanced Tax Law tests, each with a score of 80% or above; and at least 10 hours of service as a VITA or TCE quality reviewer, tax return preparer or tax law instructor. You must finish the 14 hours and the extra ethics hour by December 31 of your CE year.

Other IRS AFSP guidance describes the exempt volunteers differently, so if you are unsure you qualify, confirm with the IRS before relying on the exemption. Whichever guidance applies, an exempt preparer still needs 15 hours, including 2 of ethics.

Attorneys, CPAs and other credentialed preparers who choose to take part

Credentialed preparers don’t need the AFSP: the IRS says it is not directed at or necessary for attorneys, CPAs, enrolled agents, enrolled retirement plan agents or enrolled actuaries. One who chooses to take part is exempt from the AFTR course and needs the same 15 hours as other exempt preparers. The IRS’s chart of AFSP CE requirements (Publication 5646) exempts a CPA, attorney or enrolled retirement plan agent as long as they hold a current credential, and requires the credentialed preparers it lists, enrolled agents included, to hold a valid credential on December 31.

An enrolled agent who takes an AFTR course gets no IRS credit for it, toward either the AFSP or enrolled agent CE.

AFSP CE requirements at a glance

Annual CE hours
18 hours
Or 15 hours if you are exempt from the AFTR course.
Reporting period
Calendar year
January 1 – December 31.
Ethics
2 hours
Every calendar year. Up to 2 count toward the 18- or 15-hour total.
PTIN renewal
Every year
No CE is required for renewing your PTIN.
Self-study
Accepted
The IRS’s rules set no cap on self-study hours.
Carryover
Not allowed
Extra hours can’t be applied to a later year.

How many CE hours do AFSP participants need?

The IRS counts CE by calendar year, January 1 to December 31. Which total applies depends on whether you are exempt from the AFTR course.

Not exempt

18 hours

The 6-hour Annual Federal Tax Refresher (AFTR) course, 10 hours of federal tax law and 2 hours of ethics, every calendar year.

Exempt from the AFTR course

15 hours

3 hours of federal tax law update, 10 hours of federal tax law and 2 hours of ethics, every calendar year.

Who is exempt from the AFTR course

Browse qualifying courses

Is ethics CE required for the AFSP?

Yes. AFSP participants must complete 2 hours of professional ethics every calendar year. Up to 2 ethics hours count toward the 18- or 15-hour total in the year you complete them.

What subjects qualify for AFSP CE?

The IRS counts CE hours in these recognized subject areas. Hours beyond the 2 of ethics or the 10 of federal tax law don’t count toward any other area, but extra federal tax law update hours do count toward federal tax law. Special Enrollment Exam test-prep courses earn an unenrolled preparer at most 5 hours of federal tax law credit for each of Parts 1 and 2 and 2 hours of ethics for Part 3 each year, 12 hours in all, and none toward federal tax law updates; enrolled agents get no credit for them. Programs that offer no benefit to tax return preparation don’t count, and as a general rule the IRS says not to repeat a program within the same AFSP program year.

Annual Federal Tax Refresher

Federal Tax Law

Includes Federal Tax Law and Federal Tax Law Update

Ethics

When is the AFSP CE deadline?

December 31, every year. The IRS measures CE by calendar year.

  1. January 1

    Your CE year starts

    Hours you complete from this date count toward this year. Extra hours can’t be applied to a later year.

  2. December 31

    Annual hours due

    Finish 18 hours by year-end, or 15 if you are exempt from the AFTR course.

  3. When you renew

    Consent to Circular 230 and get your Record of Completion

    Every PTIN expires on December 31, so renew yours for the coming year before then (renewal opens in mid-October). You must also consent to the practice obligations in Subpart B and section 10.51 of Circular 230: the IRS issues no Record of Completion without both. Once your CE is complete and your PTIN is renewed, the IRS emails you instructions for giving the consent in your online PTIN account; preparers without an online account get a letter. The Record of Completion can take up to four weeks.

  4. The following calendar year

    Your Record of Completion

    The year’s CE earns your Record of Completion for the following calendar year, which covers the filing season. Your CE provider reports each course to the IRS under your PTIN. Sequoia CPE reports your completed courses to the IRS every business day; give us your PTIN when you sign up.

New to the AFSP?

First-time participants meet the same requirement as everyone else: 18 hours from IRS-approved CE providers, including the 6-hour AFTR course, or 15 hours if exempt from the AFTR course, all completed during the calendar year before the filing season (January 1 through December 31). The AFTR course is offered only from June 1 through December 31, and a self-study AFTR course must be finished by December 31 of the year you buy it, even if you buy it in late December; unlike other self-study courses, it does not stay open for a year. Get a PTIN before you take your courses, so your provider can report them to the IRS under it.

You don’t need to notify the IRS when you finish. Once your CE is complete and you have a PTIN for the coming year, the IRS emails eligible preparers instructions for giving the Circular 230 consent in your online PTIN account (preparers without an online account get a letter), and once you consent, it issues your Record of Completion. Rev. Proc. 2014-42 makes some preparers ineligible, including anyone disbarred or suspended from practice before the IRS and anyone not in compliance with their own federal tax obligations.

The AFSP is voluntary: no preparer is required to take part, and anyone with a PTIN can prepare federal tax returns for pay.

How the IRS counts CE credit

The rules that decide whether — and how much — a course counts.

AFSP CE credit rules
RuleWhat the IRS requires
Credit hourOne credit equals one 50-minute contact hour.
Self-studyAccepted.
Approved sponsorsIRS-approved CE providers.Sequoia CPE is an IRS-approved CE provider (provider number XE26W).
CarryoverNot allowed. Excess hours can’t be applied to a later year.

Keep your certificates

Your CE provider reports each course to the IRS under your PTIN; keep your certificates as evidence.

Sequoia issues your certificate the moment you pass, and it stays in your account.

Your records must show

  • Your full name
  • Program name
  • IRS program number, listed with the program name for each program
  • CE credits earned
  • Date completed
  • "Self-study" in place of a program location
  • A statement that CE credits were granted based on a 50-minute contact hour, under Circular 230 section 10.6
  • CE provider’s name, exactly as in the IRS Continuing Education System
  • CE provider’s complete address
  • Signature of the CE provider’s designated official

Finish your AFSP CE with Sequoia CPE.

Self-study courses: learn from a PDF, take the exam online and get your certificate the moment you pass.

AFSP 18-Hour Package

$79.50/ filing season

The 6-hour Annual Federal Tax Refresher (AFTR) course, 10 hours of federal tax law and 2 hours of ethics.

See the package

AFSP 15-Hour Package

$64.50/ filing season

3 hours of federal tax law update, 10 hours of federal tax law and 2 hours of ethics.

See the package

IRS-approved CE provider #XE26W

AFSP CE questions, answered

How many CE hours do AFSP participants need?

AFSP participants need 18 CE hours every calendar year: the 6-hour Annual Federal Tax Refresher (AFTR) course, 10 hours of federal tax law and 2 hours of ethics. If you are exempt from the AFTR course, you need 15 hours: 3 hours of federal tax law update, 10 hours of federal tax law and 2 hours of ethics. The calendar year runs January 1 through December 31.

When is the AFSP CE deadline?

December 31 of each year. AFSP CE is measured by calendar year, and hours beyond the requirement can’t be applied to a later year. The year’s CE earns your Record of Completion for the following calendar year, which covers the filing season. Your CE provider reports each course to the IRS under your PTIN. Sequoia CPE reports your completed courses to the IRS every business day; give us your PTIN when you sign up.

How many ethics hours do AFSP participants need?

AFSP participants need 2 hours of professional ethics every calendar year. Up to 2 ethics hours count toward the 18- or 15-hour total in the year you complete them.

Do online and self-study CE courses count for the AFSP?

Yes. The IRS accepts self-study programs. The IRS’s rules set no cap on self-study hours. Courses must come from IRS-approved CE providers.

Can AFSP participants carry extra CE hours forward?

No. Hours beyond the requirement cannot be applied to a later year (Rev. Proc. 2014-42 sec. 4.05(3)(a)).

What CE do first-time AFSP participants need?

First-time participants meet the same requirement as everyone else: 18 hours from IRS-approved CE providers, including the 6-hour AFTR course, or 15 hours if exempt from the AFTR course, all completed during the calendar year before the filing season (January 1 through December 31). The AFTR course is offered only from June 1 through December 31, and a self-study AFTR course must be finished by December 31 of the year you buy it, even if you buy it in late December; unlike other self-study courses, it does not stay open for a year. Get a PTIN before you take your courses, so your provider can report them to the IRS under it.

Who is exempt from the AFTR course?

Under the IRS’s rules, three groups are exempt from the AFTR course: active Oregon, CTEC and Maryland registrants, RTRP and recent SEE Part I test-passers, and ACAT ABA and ATP holders; some VITA and TCE volunteers; and attorneys, CPAs and other credentialed preparers who choose to take part. They need 15 hours instead of 18. The details and their conditions are under “Am I exempt from the AFTR course?” at the top of this page.

Official sources

This page explains the IRS’s rules in plain language. The Internal Revenue Service is the final authority — confirm details for your situation with the IRS PTIN Account Information Line.

IRS PTIN Account Information Line · 877-613-7846

Other CE requirements

Enrolled agentsAll requirements