Enrolled Agent (EA) Exam Preparation

Effective: Fall 2021
Certificate of Proficiency Program Map
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This program map from the 2024-2025 catalog year represents one possible pathway to complete this program. Your pathway may vary depending on your transfer plans and also previous college credit, including AP Test scores, concurrent enrollment courses and high school articulated courses.

I'm ready to get started. What do I do next?

  1. Review this program map to get an overview of the required courses
  2. Meet with a counselor to develop your customized student education plan www.chabotcollege.edu/counseling
  3. Use DegreeWorks, an online student education planning tool, to track your progress toward graduation www.chabotcollege.edu / admissions / degreeworks
Program Description

The Certificate of Completion in Enrolled Agent (EA) Exam Preparation will provide you with the knowledge that is essential for passing the Special Enrollment Examination (SEE). The exam is conducted by the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) and leads to a valuable certification called Enrolled Agent.

Enrolled Agent (EA) is a tax advisor who is a federally authorized tax practitioner empowered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Enrolled Agents represent taxpayers before the IRS for tax issues including audits, collections and appeals. After becoming an EA, you will have options of working for a tax business or opening your own tax practice. This is the only program of such a type in the entire East Bay. The program is fast and flexible:

  • consists of 5 classes, or 14 units
  • can be easily finished in 2 semesters
  • can be fully completed online, and
  • can be started in any semester.

What can I do with this major?
This certificate prepares you to start your own tax preparation business or to work as specialized tax preparers in public accounting and enrolled agents firms. There is an annual shortage of 480 tax preparers in the Bay Area. These jobs grow 10% every year with 484 new job openings. The average hourly wage is $30.56.

Learning and Career Pathway
  • Business, Economics & Information Technology

Icon Key

= Critical Course = Prerequisite for Other Courses = Prerequisite Required = Required for Major GE = General Education

 If you took BUS 1A (Financial Accounting) at a college other than Chabot or Las Positas, please see a counselor to obtain a prerequisite override. www.chabotcollege.edu/counseling

Semester 1

8-9 units

Accounting Course: Choose BUS 7 or BUS 1A

3-4 units

BUS 7
Accounting for Small Business

3 units
Bookkeeping practices and accounting cycle for a service and merchandising sole proprietorship. Double-accounting entry system (debits and credits), journal, ledgers, adjusting and closing entries, income statement, balance sheet, and statement of owner’s equity, cash, banking activities, payroll, merchandising transactions.
Course Details:
or

BUS 1A
Financial Accounting

4 units
Explores financial accounting, its importance and how it is used by internal and external users as a decision-making tool. Covers accounting information systems; application of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) to value assets, liabilities, and equity; preparation, interpretation and analysis of financial statements. Includes topics on cash flow statement, cash and accrual accounting concepts, merchandising operation, internal controls and ethics, reporting and accounting for receivables, payables, long-term assets and liabilities, inventory, depreciation, stockholders’ equity, stocks and bonds.
Course Details:
  1. Strongly Recommended: BUS 7

BUS 3A
Taxation of Individuals

3 units
Preparation of Federal and California income tax returns for individuals through the absorption and application of income tax law, theory, practice. Completion of various tax forms, including Form 1040 (Individual), Schedules A (Itemized Deductions), B (Interest and Dividends), C (Profit or Loss from a Business), and D (Capital Gains and Losses). Other topics include depreciation, tax credits, tax planning, and tax research.
Course Details:

BUS 3C
Taxation of Trusts, Gifts, and Estates

2 units
Preparation of Federal and California income tax returns for trusts, estates, and gifts using tax software and manually. Topics include income tax law, theory, and practice, and preparation of Forms 1041 (Fiduciary), 706 (Estate) and 709 (Gift) and the related California tax forms. This course is part of the Enrolled Agent Exam Preparation Series. A student does NOT need to complete BUS-3B to enroll in this class.
Course Details:
  1. Strongly Recommended: BUS 3A
Terms Offered: Fall

Semester 2

6 units

BUS 3B
Taxation of Business Entities

3 units
A study of current Federal income tax law as it relates to sole proprietorships, corporations (C corps, S corps), and partnerships (General and Limited Partnerships, Limited Liability Companies, and Limited Liability Partnerships. California tax law differences will be highlighted. A student does NOT need to complete BUS-3A to enroll in this class.
Course Details:
  1. Prerequisite: BUS 7
    2. or
  2. Prerequisite: BUS 1A
Terms Offered: Spring

BUS 3D
Enrolled Agent Exam Preparation

3 units
Preparation for the IRS Enrolled Agent exam, known as the SEE (Special Enrollment Exam). Topics include taxation of individuals, inheritance, gifts, estates; taxation of small businesses, partnerships, farmers, C corporations, S corporations; taxation of not-for-profit entities, foreign corporations, and retirement plans. Other topics include fiduciary tax returns, determination of tax-exempt status, practice before the IRS and tax preparer rules. Course content will be adjusted to reflect changes in the SEE.
Course Details:
  1. Strongly Recommended: BUS 3A
  2. Strongly Recommended: BUS 3B
  3. Strongly Recommended: BUS 3C
Terms Offered: Spring

Total Units: 14-15 units
This program map is not a guarantee of course availability or financial aid applicability.