The National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA) is an organization of enrolled agent

Enrolled Agent

An Enrolled Agent is a tax professional recognized by the United States federal government to represent taxpayers in dealings with the Internal Revenue Service...

s (EAs) in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Founded in 1972, it claims a membership of 10,000 EAs, just over 20 percent of all enrolled agents in the United States.

While its mission statement presents itself publicly as an advocate of taxpayer rights, its primary functions are educating tax professionals in best practices for representing taxpayers to the Internal Revenue Service

Internal Revenue Service

The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...

(IRS) , protecting the interests of the profession, and expanding the role of Enrolled Agents in both the public and private sectors.

Requirements

Enrolled Agent status is required for NAEA membership, although EA status does not need to be active. Inactive/retired EA's may retain their membership. NAEA members have slightly higher Continuing Professional Education requirements than is normally required by the IRS to retain EA status.

Continuing Professional Education

NAEA offers Continuing Professional Education (CPE) webinars and seminars for EAs and presents a professional conference, the NTPI annually. The NTPI (National Tax Practice Institute) is a fellowship of NAEA members that meet very specific educational standards.

Scholarships

Each year the NAEA offers scholarships through the National Association of Enrolled Agents Education Foundation (NAEA-EF). The exact number and nature of these scholarships varies slightly from year to year but they are available to both practicing Enrolled Agents and tax professionals aspiring to the position.

Organization

The NAEA is led by a board comprising two officers and twelve directors. In addition there are twelve independently chaired committees.

• Affiliate Council
• Audit Committee
• Awards Committee
• Bylaws Committee
• Education Committee
• Ethics and Professional Conduct Committee
• Government Relations Committee
• Nominating Committee
• NTPI 2010 Planning Committee
• PAC Steering Committee
• Public Awareness Committee
• Public Outreach Committee

Accreditation

NAEA is recognized and approved by the Internal Revenue Service Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) as a qualified sponsor of continuing professional education programs (Sponsor #16).