Future of the Enrolled Agent: The Circular 230 Proposal

Status: proposed, not final

On December 20, 2024, the IRS announced in news release IR-2024-315 that Treasury and the IRS had proposed regulations to update Circular 230 to account for changes in the law and the evolving nature of tax practice. The proposed rule, REG-116610-20, was published in the Federal Register on December 26, 2024 at 89 FR 104915. Comments were due February 24, 2025, and a public hearing was set for March 6, 2025. As of October 18, 2026, the Federal Register shows no final rule. That means the current Circular 230, Revision 6-2014, still controls. Treat everything in the next section as a proposal.

What the proposal would change

These are the main changes described in IR-2024-315 and the proposed rule. None is in effect.

• Technological competence: proposed section 10.35 would add a duty to maintain technological competency. Treasury says it is modeled on comment 8 to ABA Model Rule 1.1.
• Former IRS employee waiver: the proposal would eliminate enrollment without testing under current section 10.4(d), as of 30 days after final regulations are published. Applications submitted by then would be processed under the current rules.
• Enrollment confirmation: proposed section 10.6(b) would let the IRS confirm enrollment in any form instead of issuing a card or certificate.
• Contingent fees: charging certain contingent fees, for original returns, amended returns, and refund claims, would be disreputable conduct.
• Other changes: the proposal would remove or update the registered tax return preparer provisions, confirm that the Office of Professional Responsibility keeps jurisdiction over suspended or disbarred practitioners, and update rules for appraisers.

What the proposal would not change

Proposed section 10.6(d)(2) makes no substantive change to the enrolled agent renewal period or process. The current rules stay in place: an active PTIN, at least 16 CE hours each year including 2 ethics hours, and 72 hours over each three-year cycle, with renewal through Form 8554. The two routes to enrollment in today's Circular 230, the exam and the former IRS employee waiver, also remain until a final rule says otherwise.

PassFast analysis: what this could mean for candidates

This section is our reading of the proposal, not an IRS statement. If the waiver is removed as proposed, the three-part SEE becomes the only route to enrollment for new applicants after the cutoff. Former IRS employees who were counting on the waiver would need to apply before that date or plan to sit the exam. For everyone else, the exam pathway already is the route, so the practical change is small. A technological competence duty would turn something good practitioners already do, such as understanding the software and security tools they use for client data, into a stated Circular 230 obligation. If enrollment confirmation moves to any form the IRS chooses, a card or certificate may no longer be the proof of status. For studying, the key point is timing. A proposed rule is not current law, so study the current Circular 230 for Part 3 and check for a final rule before you sit.

How to follow the rule

Three places will show a change first. The Federal Register entry for REG-116610-20 is the official record; a final rule would be published there as a new document. The IRS Circular 230 page links the current version of the regulations. The IRS enrolled agent news page carries program changes such as vendor, testing window, and renewal notices. Note the date you last checked each one. Dated changes for the season are logged on the enrolled agent news and policy page.