Circular 230
Do The Right Thing!
OPR Update
• New Director, Michael Chesman
• Special Enrollment Exam
– Same day results
– Extremely positive feedback
• Monetary Penalties
• Other Developments
Duty of the Tax Professional
•Duty to Yourself
•Duty to the System of Tax Administration
•Duty to your Client
Tax Professionals “should be the pillars of
our system of taxation, not the architects of
its circumvention.” - Mark Everson,
March 18, 2003
Scenario 1
• At the end of March, the client drops off
materials for you to prepare the current
year tax return. Upon review of the prior
year tax return, you discover a major
error. You prepare an amended prior year
and a current year tax return. Because of
the time involved, you file for an
extension and deliver the returns in May.
Upon receipt of the bill, the client
complains to OPR about your fees for the
prior year tax return.
Scenario 2
• Client, having returned from a vacation
abroad, arrives at your office in a new,
luxury car. In meeting with the client to
prepare the tax return, you learn the
client is married, has 3 children, has
$30,000 of wage income and $18,000 of
mortgage interest. When you ask about
charitable contributions, the client says
“About the same as last year. What did I
put last year, about $8,000?”
Scenario 3
• You are representing a client in an audit.
In several IDRs, the Revenue Agent has
requested a specific document. Your
client has said, “The document does not
exist.” “The document was lost in the
move.” “I cannot find the document.”
Now, near the end of the audit, the client
suspiciously “finds” the document. It is
in pristine condition. What do you do?
Scenario 4
• Your company (but not you) prepared
the prior year tax return now being
audited. You are representing the client
during the audit. When the client was
interviewed, the client said he had no
other income. After the interview, you
learn that the client did have significant
other income. You also learn that the tax
preparer knew of