Opens in a new tab

Oregon tax tidbit: tax pro licensing

March 25, 2010

Oregon flag Uncle Sam is just beginning a national effort to regulate tax professionals, but Oregon has had an oversight system in place since 1973.

Beaver State law requires residents who prepare, advise or assist in the preparation of personal income tax returns for a fee, or represent that they do so, be licensed.

Licensing is handled by the Oregon Board of Tax Practitioners. Around 4,000 individuals have been issued one of two types of licenses:

  1. Apprenticeship license that allows a person to prepare personal income tax returns under supervision of a licensed tax consultant, and
  2. Licensed tax consultant status, obtained by testing and experience.

All income tax preparation businesses must be registered and must have a licensed tax consultant providing services or supervising licensed tax preparers.

Taxpayers can check a preparer's license via the Licensee Look-Up search engine or by calling the Oregon Board of Tax Practitioners at (503) 378-4034.

The Board also accepts and follows up on complaints about unlicensed income-tax preparers and consultants.

Tax trip around the United States: This post is part of our series highlighting tax information from the 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. You can read other state tax blurbs at our Complete menu of tasty state tax tidbits.

The State Tax Departments page provides links to official state and District of Columbia revenue Web sites so that you can find out more about your home's tax laws and filing requirements.

As we work through the 2010 tax season, a different state will be featured each day as noted in Don't forget your state taxes! Check back to see what tax tidbit we share about your home.

Related posts:

Want to tell your friends about this blog post? Click the Tweet This or Digg This buttons below or use the Share This icon to spread the word via e-mail, Facebook and other popular applications. Thanks!

Share:

The More Tax Posts tab at the top of this page will take you to, well, more tax posts. You also can search below for a tax topic. 

Latest Posts
How to avoid being haunted by ghost tax return preparers

October 28, 2026

Some ghosts this Halloween are cool trick-or-treaters. But when it comes to taxes, beware of…

Read More
TAX-SAVVY WAYS 
TO WRAP UP 2026

It’s over! With October’s extended filing deadline behind us, it is now time to focus on year-end moves to reduce your 2026 tax bill. 

You’ll find ways to do just that on the Tax Tips page (see the More Tax Posts drop-down menu at the top of the blog), as well as the separate tax tip pages for each month, notably October through December. If you’re on the Tax Tips page, you’ll find a monthly list at the end of this column. If you’re on another blog page, you can head straight to the October tips; at the bottom of that tips page you’ll find links to all the other 11 months’ collections of tax advice.

Not to spoil what you’ll find in that tax advice, but it does cover such things as tax deductions for charitable donations, investment moves that could reduce tax due, and ways to max out your tax-favored retirement savings. 

Finally, as the year winds down, things get hectic. There are lots of other things to occupy our time, like the much more fun upcoming holidays. But don’t lose sight of taxes, since timing is key. To be of use, most tax moves must be made by the end of the tax year. That’s Thursday, Dec. 31, which also is the last business day of the year. 

So that you don’t miss that final tax year deadline, also keep an eye on the countdown clock below. It will keep you on top of just how much time is left to make important, tax-saving moves. (Note: I’m in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.)

Credits/Deductions
Disasters
Family
Filing and Paying Taxes
Politics/Laws
Refunds
State Taxes
Tax Brackets/Inflation
Tax Tips
Comments
  • TomK
    17 years ago Reply

    So will the national IRS tax preparer regulations superceed the state license requirements? like they have in Oregon, California? Or will they have to obtain both?

  • Kay
    17 years ago Reply

    Tom, very good question. From what I heard while on the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel, the IRS was leaning toward letting states that already have systems in place continue as is. No need to reinvent the wheel so to speak. So the IRS regs would be for the states without any tax preparer qualifications/regulations. But I’ll double check what the latest position is on the matter. Kay

Leave your comment