Curriculum

Tax Preparation Course Curriculum

Penn Foster’s online Tax Preparation course curriculum covers topics that can help prepare you for a professional tax preparer career. In your online courses, you'll learn essential industry knowledge including how to determine taxable and non-taxable income, how to calculate income from various courses, taxation laws, regulation, and more.

Tax Preparation

Career Diploma

4 months

As low as $59/mo

Full Program Overview

1-800-471-3232 (9AM - 9PM ET)

Tax Preparation Course Curriculum

18.1 continuing education units (CEUs)
4 courses
10 exams
1 graded project

Estimated completion time:

Fast track = 4 months
Average time = 11 months

With Penn Foster, you can learn at whatever pace works best for you. Some learners will be more comfortable moving faster, and dedicating more time, and the fast track estimate will apply to them. The average track will apply to most learners who can dedicate a few hours per week to completing their coursework. The estimated completion times are based on completion times for learners enrolled in this program from May 2021 - April 2022, excluding withdrawals.

In this course, you’ll develop the necessary skills to ensure your success in the program. You'll learn how you can improve your study skills, so you're able to use a number of tools that will help you to be successful.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Identify skills needed to be a confident and independent online learner
To successfully prepare and file federal tax returns, you must understand how to evaluate your business idea and set yourself apart from the competition. By applying your knowledge of the career opportunities available with this training, you’ll use the basics of determining taxable and nontaxable income from common sources and calculating income related to retirement contributions, distributions, rollovers, and more.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Analyze the key factors driving the success of small businesses and self-employed professionals
- Analyze the key factors driving the success of small businesses and self-employed professionals
- Distinguish between taxable and nontaxable income types
- Identify the taxability of different retirement instruments, including IRAs, Roth IRAs, and SEPs, and the applicable tax rules for Social Security income
While working in tax preparation, you’ll handle income deals with the monies earned from the sale or rental of real estate and monies earned as royalties on intellectual properties. You’ll also encounter tax deductions and need to itemize them, itemize a return, and understand deductions’ connections to different types of losses. This knowledge will also come in handy when you handle certain business expenses, such as travel and entertainment.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Analyze the tax implications of property sales, rental income, royalties, and loss limitations
- Explain how to calculate AGI deductions, determine whether to itemize or take the standard deduction, and complete Schedule A
- Describe rules for dependents, casualty/theft losses, and other itemized deductions
If you operate a sole proprietorship or you’re self-employed, there are certain tax rules and allowances to keep in mind. Understanding medical and retirement plans, depreciation of business assets, and office expenses is key to success, as is completing a typical tax return before filing. You’ll also study how to identify and apply tax credits as well as review the IRS audit process.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Examine rules for self-employment, business income, depreciation, and self-employment tax
- Explain estimated tax calculation, tax return filing, and the IRS audit process
- Apply your knowledge of tax rules to complete an individual tax return

Note: We reserve the right to change program content and materials when it becomes necessary.