Rule2026-07681
Enrolled Agent Special Enrollment Examination User Fee Update
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
April 20, 2026
Effective
April 20, 2026
Issuing agencies
Treasury DepartmentInternal Revenue Service
Abstract
This document contains interim final regulations relating to the imposition of user fees for the special enrollment examination for enrolled agents (EA SEE). These regulations reduce the user fee for each part of the EA SEE from $99 per part to $66 per part. The Independent Offices Appropriation Act of 1952 authorizes the charging of user fees. The text of these interim final regulations also serves as the text of the proposed regulations set forth in the notice of proposed rulemaking on this subject in this issue in the Proposed Rules section of this edition of the Federal Register.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 75 (Monday, April 20, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 75 (Monday, April 20, 2026)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 20899-20902]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-07681]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Internal Revenue Service
26 CFR Part 300
[TD 10045]
RIN 1545-BS12
Enrolled Agent Special Enrollment Examination User Fee Update
AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury.
ACTION: Interim final rule.
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SUMMARY: This document contains interim final regulations relating to
the imposition of user fees for the special enrollment examination for
enrolled agents (EA SEE). These regulations reduce the user fee for
each part of the EA SEE from $99 per part to $66 per part. The
Independent Offices Appropriation Act of 1952 authorizes the charging
of user fees. The text of these interim final regulations also serves
as the text of the proposed regulations set forth in the notice of
proposed rulemaking on this subject in this issue in the Proposed Rules
section of this edition of the Federal Register.
DATES:
Effective date: These regulations are effective on April 20, 2026.
Applicability date: For date of applicability, see Sec. 300.4(d)
of these interim final regulations.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Concerning the interim final
regulations, Sean Dix at (202) 317-6845; concerning cost methodology,
CFO Cost and User Fees at (202) 317-6400 (not toll-free numbers).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Authority
This document contains interim final amendments to 26 CFR part 300
regarding user fees for the EA SEE.
The Independent Offices Appropriation Act of 1952 (IOAA), which is
codified at 31 U.S.C. 9701, authorizes agencies to prescribe
regulations that establish user fees for services provided by the
agency. The IOAA provides that regulations implementing user fees are
subject to policies prescribed by the President; these policies are set
forth in the Office of Management and Budget Circular A-25, 58 FR 38142
(July 15, 1993) (OMB Circular A-25).
Under OMB Circular A-25, Federal agencies that provide services
that confer benefits on identifiable recipients are to establish user
fees that recover the full cost of providing the service. An agency
that seeks to impose a user fee
[[Page 20900]]
for government-provided services must calculate the full cost of
providing those services. In general, a user fee should be set at an
amount that allows the agency to recover the direct and indirect costs
of providing the service, unless the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) grants an exception. OMB Circular A-25 provides that agencies are
to review user fees biennially and update them as necessary.
Background
A. Enrolled Agents and the Special Enrollment Examinations
Section 330 of Title 31 of the United States Code authorizes the
Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary's delegate (Secretary) to
regulate the practice of representatives before the Department of the
Treasury (Treasury Department) and to require that an individual
seeking to practice demonstrate the necessary qualifications,
competency, and good character and reputation. The rules governing
practice before the IRS are published in 31 CFR, Subtitle A, part 10,
and reprinted as Treasury Department Circular No. 230 (Circular 230).
Section 10.4(a) of Circular 230 authorizes the IRS to grant status
as enrolled agents to individuals who demonstrate special competence in
tax matters by passing a written examination, the EA SEE, and who have
not engaged in any conduct that would justify suspension or disbarment
under Circular 230.
The EA SEE is comprised of three parts, and an applicant generally
must pass all three parts within three years to be granted enrolled
agent status through written examination. The EA SEE testing period
generally begins on May 1 each year and ends the last day of the
following February. The EA SEE is not offered during March and April
when it is updated to reflect recent changes in the relevant law. More
information on the EA SEE, including content, scoring, and how to
register, can be found on the IRS website at <a href="https://www.irs.gov/tax-professionals/enrolled-agents">https://www.irs.gov/tax-professionals/enrolled-agents</a>. Since 2006, the IRS has engaged the
services of a third-party contractor to develop and administer the EA
SEE. The IRS Return Preparer Office (RPO) oversees the development and
administration of the EA SEE. As of January 31, 2026, there were 75,304
enrolled agents.
B. The EA SEE User Fee
Section 10.4(a) of Circular 230 provides that the IRS will grant
enrolled agent status to an applicant who, among other things,
demonstrates special competence in tax matters by written examination.
The EA SEE is the written examination by which applicants can
demonstrate special competence in tax matters, and an applicant must
pass all three parts of the EA SEE to be granted enrolled agent status
through written examination. The IRS confers a benefit on individuals
who take the EA SEE beyond those that accrue to the general public by
providing them with an opportunity to demonstrate special competence in
tax matters by passing a written examination and thereby satisfy one of
the requirements for becoming an enrolled agent under section 10.4(a)
of Circular 230. Because the EA SEE is a service that provides a
special benefit to test takers, the IRS charges a user fee to take the
examination.
Final regulations (TD 9962) published in the Federal Register (87
FR 11295-02) on March 1, 2022, established the current $99 user fee
(per part) of the EA SEE. At that time the Treasury Department and the
IRS determined that a $99 user fee per part would recover the full
direct and indirect costs the government would incur to oversee the EA
SEE. The 2023 biennial review determined the full cost of the EA SEE
was $121 per part. The IRS requested and obtained a waiver from OMB to
postpone this increase to the EA SEE user fee until the 2025 biennial
review. As a result, the user fee is currently still $99 per part. The
contractor who administers the EA SEE also charges individuals taking
the EA SEE an additional fee for its services. For the May 2025 to
February 2026 testing period, the contractor's fee was $168 for each
part of the EA SEE. This contract expired at the end of the February
2026 testing period and a new contract was obtained, subject to public
procurement procedures. For the May 2026 to February 2027 testing
period, the contractor's fee is $251 for each part of the EA SEE.
As required by OMB Circular A-25, in 2025 the IRS conducted a
biennial review of the EA SEE user fee and calculated its costs for
overseeing the examination. As a result of the review, the IRS
determined that its full cost for overseeing the EA SEE is now $66 per
part. Therefore, these regulations decrease the amount of the user fee
for taking the EA SEE from $99 per part to $66 per part. This amount is
in addition to the amount payable directly to the third-party
contractor for each part. The IRS does not intend to subsidize any of
the cost of making the EA SEE available to examinees and is not
applying for an exception to the full-cost requirement in OMB Circular
A-25.
The decrease in the user fee is primarily attributable to a change
in timekeeping methodology, which resulted in a smaller estimated
expense for administering the EA SEE program. Additionally, there has
been an increase in the number of exam takers, further distributing the
fixed costs related to administering the exam. The proposed user fee
accounts for the time and personnel necessary to oversee the
development and administration of the EA SEE and to ensure that the
contractor complies with the terms of its contract. The IRS's oversight
costs include costs associated with: (1) review and approval of
materials used by the contractor in developing the EA SEE; (2) review
of surveys of existing enrolled agents, which help to determine the
topics to be covered in the EA SEE; (3) composition of potential EA SEE
questions in coordination with the contractor's external tax law
experts; and (4) analysis of the answers and raw scores of a testing
population to determine a passing score.
In addition, IRS personnel ensure the contractor's compliance with
its contract by reviewing the work of the contractor using an annual
Work Breakdown Structure--a project management tool--and reviewing and
verifying that the contractor is in compliance with a Quality Assurance
Plan measuring customer satisfaction and accuracy. The IRS incurs
additional costs associated with enforcing compliance with the Treasury
contractor personnel security and training policies, Federal
Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA), Section 508 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and other laws, regulations and policies in
the scope of the EA SEE contract; monitoring the contractor's help
desk; and the resolution of test-related issues such as cheating
incidents, appeals regarding test scores, refund requests, and customer
service complaints that are not resolved by the contractor.
The government is authorized to charge an EA SEE user fee under the
IOAA because, in exchange for the fee, it provides a service by
developing and administering the EA SEE, which allows individuals to
become enrolled agents and gain the ability to practice before the IRS
under Circular 230. OMB Circular A-25 states that user fees should be
collected in advance of or simultaneously with the provision of a
service. The EA SEE user fee is collected when potential enrolled
agents apply to take the examination during the examination season,
which begins annually in May.
[[Page 20901]]
Explanation of Provisions
The IRS follows generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) in
calculating the full cost of overseeing the EA SEE. The Federal
Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) is the body that
establishes GAAP that apply for Federal reporting entities, such as the
IRS. FASAB publishes the FASAB Handbook of Accounting Standards and
Other Pronouncements, as Amended (Current Handbook), which is available
at <a href="https://files.fasab.gov/pdffiles/2025_FASAB_Handbook.pdf">https://files.fasab.gov/pdffiles/2025_FASAB_Handbook.pdf</a>. The
Current Handbook includes the Statement of Federal Financial Accounting
Standards (SFFAS) No. 4: Managerial Cost Accounting Standards and
Concepts. SFFAS No. 4 establishes internal costing standards under GAAP
to accurately measure and manage the full cost of Federal programs, and
the methodology below is in accordance with SFFAS No. 4.
1. Cost Estimation of Direct Labor
The IRS uses various cost-measurement techniques to estimate the
cost attributable to the program. These techniques include using
various timekeeping systems to measure the time required to accomplish
activities, or using information provided by subject-matter experts on
the time devoted to a program. To determine the labor and benefits cost
attributable to oversight of the EA SEE, the IRS estimated the number
of full-time employees required to conduct activities related to the
costs of overseeing the EA SEE. The number of full-time employees is
based on both current employment numbers and future hiring estimates.
Other direct costs associated with overseeing the EA SEE include
travel, training, and supplies. When the indirect cost of a service or
activity is not specifically identified from the cost accounting
system, an overhead rate is added to the identifiable direct cost to
arrive at full cost.
2. Overhead
Overhead is an indirect cost of operating an organization that is
not specifically identifiable with an activity. Overhead includes costs
of resources that are jointly or commonly consumed by one or more
organizational unit's activities but are not specifically identifiable
to a single activity. These costs can include:
<bullet> General management and administration
<bullet> Rent, security, utilities and maintenance
<bullet> Procurement and contracting
<bullet> Financial management and accounting
<bullet> Information technology
<bullet> Research, analytical and statistical
To calculate the overhead allocable to a service, the IRS applies
an overhead rate to the identified direct labor and benefits and other
direct costs. The overhead rate is the ratio of the IRS's indirect
labor, benefits, and non-labor costs of business divisions that do not
interact with taxpayers to the labor and benefits costs of business
divisions that interact with taxpayers. The IRS calculates an overhead
rate annually. For the FY 2025 user fee review, an overhead rate of
62.92 percent was used.
3. Calculation of EA SEE User FEE
The IRS used projections for FYs 2026 through 2028 to determine the
direct and indirect costs associated with overseeing the EA SEE that
are includible in the EA SEE user fee calculation. Direct costs are
incurred by the RPO and include staffing and contract-related costs for
activities, processes, and procedures related to overseeing the EA SEE.
The labor and benefits for the work performed related to overseeing
the EA SEE is projected to be $3,505,101 in total over FYs 2026 through
2028. In addition to labor and benefits and overhead expenses, the IRS
projects incurring travel, training, and supplies costs of $16,182.82
in each of FYs 2026 through 2028. The total labor and benefits, travel,
training, and supplies, and overhead expenses projected are shown
below:
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Expense FY 2026 FY 2027 FY 2028 Total
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Labor and benefits.................. $1,136,817.91 $1,168,080.40 $1,200,202.61 $3,505,101
Travel, training, and supplies...... 16,182.82 16,182.82 16,182.82 48,548
Overhead (62.92 percent)............ 715,286.00 734,956.00 755,167.00 2,205,409
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The total cost for FYs 2026 through 2028 are therefore projected to
be $5,759,058. The number of examination parts provided during FYs
2022, 2023, and 2024 were 27,313; 29,797; 29,584, respectively. The
total number of examination parts provided during the three years was
86,694. The IRS used this historical three-year volume to estimate the
number of examination parts it expects to provide in FYs 2026, 2027,
and 2028. Dividing this total cost by the projected examinations for
FYs 2026 through 2028 results in a cost per examination of $66 as shown
below:
Total Costs $5,759,058
Number of Applications / 86,694
Cost per Application $66.43
Taking into account the full amount of these costs, the amount of
the EA SEE user fee per part is $66.
As noted in section B, the contractor who administers the EA SEE
also charges individuals taking the EA SEE an additional fee for its
services. For the May 2026 to February 2027, May 2027 to February 2028,
May 2028 to February 2029 testing periods, the contractor's fee is $251
for each part of the EA SEE. For the May 2029 to February 2030 testing
period, the contractor's fee is $211 for each part of the EA SEE. The
fee charged by the contractor is fixed by the current contract terms
and therefore cannot be reduced or renegotiated at this time. The
contract was subject to public procurement procedures, and there were
no tenders that were more competitive. The contract will expire on
February 28, 2030. The fee charged by the contractor may change when
the contract expires. Any future contract will be subject to the public
procurement procedures.
Special Analyses
I. Regulatory Planning and Review
These interim final regulations are not subject to review under
section 6(b) of Executive Order 12866 pursuant to the Memorandum of
Agreement (July 4, 2025) between the Treasury Department and OMB
regarding review of tax regulations.
II. Regulatory Flexibility Act
Pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. chapter 6), it
is hereby certified that these interim final regulations will not have
a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities. The EA SEE user fee primarily affects individuals who take
the EA SEE. Only individuals, not businesses, can be enrolled agents.
Thus, the economic impact of these regulations on any small entity
would be a result of an individual enrolled
[[Page 20902]]
agent owning a small entity or a small entity employing an enrolled
agent who must take the EA SEE. The Treasury Department and the IRS
estimate that an average of 28,898 EA SEE examination parts will be
taken by individuals annually. Therefore, a substantial number of small
entities is not likely to be affected. Additionally, the economic
impact on those entities is not significant. These regulations will
establish a $66 fee per examination part (plus $251 payable directly to
the third-party contractor), and will not have a significant economic
impact on a small entity. Accordingly, the rule is not expected to have
a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities, and a regulatory flexibility analysis is not required.
III. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
Section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA)
requires that agencies assess anticipated costs and benefits and take
certain other actions before issuing a final rule that includes any
Federal mandate that may result in expenditures in any one year by a
State, local, or Tribal government, in the aggregate, or by the private
sector, of $100 million in 1995 dollars, updated annually for
inflation. This rule does not include any Federal mandate that may
result in expenditures by State, local, or Tribal governments, or by
the private sector in excess of that threshold.
IV. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
Executive Order 13132 (Federalism) prohibits an agency from
publishing any rule that has federalism implications if the rule either
imposes substantial, direct compliance costs on State and local
governments, and is not required by statute, or preempts State law,
unless the agency meets the consultation and funding requirements of
section 6 of the Executive order. These interim final regulations do
not have federalism implications and do not impose substantial direct
compliance costs on State and local governments or preempt State law
within the meaning of the Executive order.
V. Good Cause
The annual EA SEE testing period for May 2026-February 2027 will
begin shortly. It would be unnecessary and contrary to the public
interest for the IRS to continue to charge the current, higher user fee
pending public comment after the IRS has determined pursuant to the
biennial review conducted under OMB Circular A-25 that the EA SEE user
fee should be reduced going forward. To enable the reduced fee amount
to be in effect for the upcoming EA SEE test period beginning in May
2026, the Treasury Department and the IRS find that there is good cause
to dispense with (1) notice and public comment pursuant to 5 U.S.C.
553(b) and (c) and (2) a delayed effective date pursuant to 5 U.S.C.
553(d). The Treasury Department and the IRS will consider public
comments submitted in response to the cross-referenced notice of
proposed rulemaking published in the Proposed Rules section of this
issue of the Federal Register and will promulgate a final rule after
considering those comments.
VI. Submission to Small Business Administration
Pursuant to section 7805(f) of the Code, this Treasury decision has
been submitted to the Chief Counsel for the Office of Advocacy of the
Small Business Administration for comment on its impact on small
business.
VII. Congressional Review Act
Pursuant to the Congressional Review Act (5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.),
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs designated this rule
as not a major rule, as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
Drafting Information
The principal author of these regulations is Sean Dix, Office of
the Associate Chief Counsel (Procedure and Administration). Other
personnel from the Treasury Department and the IRS participated in the
development of the regulations.
List of Subjects in 26 CFR Part 300
Estate taxes, Excise taxes, Fees, Gift taxes, Income taxes,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Adoption of Amendments to the Regulations
Accordingly, the Treasury Department and the IRS amend 26 CFR part
300 as follows:
PART 300--USER FEES
Paragraph 1. The authority citation for part 300 continues to read
in part as follows:
Authority: 31 U.S.C. 9701.
Par. 2. Section 300.4 is amended by revising paragraphs (b) and (d)
to read as follows:
Sec. 300.4 Enrolled agent special enrollment examination fee.
* * * * *
(b) Fee. The fee for taking the enrolled agent special enrollment
examination is $66 per part, which is the cost to the government for
overseeing the development and administration of the examination and is
in addition to the fees charged by the administrator of the
examination.
* * * * *
(d) Applicability date. This section applies to registrations for
the enrolled agent special enrollment examination that occur on or
after April 20, 2026.
Frank J. Bisignano,
Chief Executive Officer.
Approved: March 30, 2026.
Kenneth J. Kies,
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury (Tax Policy).
[FR Doc. 2026-07681 Filed 4-17-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4831-GV-P
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