It is important to know if the professional you will be hiring has the experience and qualifications to handle your case. Is he or she a Certified Public Accountant (CPA)? Tax lawyer? IRS Enrolled Agent? Here’s a breakdown: CPA: Certified by the state to act as a public accountant. To become a CPA there are significant educational requirements along with having to pass a series of exams. CPAs can provide a wide range of services including accounting, auditing, financial planning, technology consulting and business valuation. Tax Lawyer: A JD is a law degree. An LLM is a Masters in Law. (One could earn an LLM in taxation, but other areas of the law also offer an LLM.) Having a law degree or two doesn’t necessarily mean that an attorney prepares tax returns. Keep in mind, lawyers do not have to demonstrate competence in tax law to pass the bar exam in most states. IRS Enrolled Agent: An IRS Enrolled Agent is a tax professional who has earned the privilege of representing taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service by either passing a three-part comprehensive IRS test covering individual and business tax returns, or through experience as a former IRS employee. Enrolled Agent status is the highest credential the IRS awards. Individuals who obtain this elite status must adhere to ethical standards and complete 72 hours of continuing education courses every three years. Enrolled Agents, like attorneys and CPAs, have unlimited practice rights. This means they are unrestricted as to which taxpayers they can represent, what types of tax matters they can handle, and to which IRS offices they can represent clients.