Renew Your PTIN at IRS.gov: Deadline, Fee, and Steps

Renewing your PTIN at IRS.gov takes about 15 minutes through the Tax Professional PTIN System at rpr.irs.gov. The 2026 fee is $18.75, and your renewed number is issued on-screen as soon as payment clears.¹ Every paid preparer needs a current PTIN before signing or submitting any federal return for compensation, so it is worth handling well before January.²

Deadline, Window, and Fee

All PTINs expire on December 31 each year, no matter when they were originally issued. The renewal window typically opens in mid-October for the following year, giving you roughly two and a half months.³ Renewal applies to every paid preparer, including Enrolled Agents, CPAs, and attorneys.

The $18.75 fee for 2026 breaks down as a $10.00 IRS user fee plus $8.75 paid to the third-party contractor that operates the system.⁴ If you paid $19.75 last cycle, that is because the IRS reduced its portion from $11.00 to $10.00 effective September 30, 2025. The fee is non-refundable and can be paid by credit card, debit card, ATM card, or eCheck.²

Step-by-Step Online Renewal

Log In Through ID.me

The IRS has moved PTIN access to ID.me. If you have a Social Security number, the system will route you there automatically. Preparers without an SSN continue to use the older login process.¹ If you have never created an ID.me account, do that before you start the renewal itself, and have a government-issued photo ID ready for identity verification. If you already use ID.me for another federal service, the same credentials work here.

Verify Your Information and Answer Compliance Questions

From your dashboard, choose the renewal option. You will confirm or update your mailing address, professional credentials, and related details, then answer a set of compliance questions. Expect prompts about any felony convictions and about the status of your own federal tax obligations. The IRS runs a suitability check against several years of your personal filing and payment history.⁵ If you have an open personal balance or an unfiled return, resolve it before you start; the check can hold up your renewal.

You will also certify that you have a written data security plan. Paid preparers fall under the FTC Safeguards Rule, which requires a written information security program appropriate to your firm’s size and the client data you handle.⁶ If you have not written one, IRS Publication 4557 offers a framework.

Pay and Consent to Circular 230

After the compliance section, the system moves to payment. Enter your card or eCheck details and submit $18.75. You will then consent to the practice obligations in Treasury Department Circular 230, the federal regulation that governs tax practice before the IRS.⁷ Consent covers duties like due diligence in return preparation, promptly advising clients of errors or omissions you discover in prior filings, and avoiding conflicts of interest.⁸ The IRS Office of Professional Responsibility can pursue discipline for violations.

Confirmation

Once payment clears, an on-screen confirmation shows your PTIN active for the coming filing season, and an email follows. If the email does not arrive within 24 hours, log back in and read the status from your dashboard. That is the authoritative source.

If You Cannot Renew Online: Form W-12

The IRS still accepts paper renewals on Form W-12, but the tradeoff is real. Online renewal produces your PTIN immediately; a mailed Form W-12 takes about six weeks to process.⁹ Mail a paper renewal in December and you could still be waiting well into February, unable to sign returns during peak season. Use online renewal if you have any way to do so.

What Happens If You Let It Lapse

You can technically renew after December 31, but an expired PTIN means you cannot legally sign or submit compensated returns until the renewal goes through. If your PTIN has been inactive or expired for more than three consecutive years, the system will not allow a renewal at all, and you will have to submit a new registration application from scratch.³

Preparing without a valid PTIN carries a penalty of $60 for each return or claim filed without one, capped at $31,500 annually. Those are the figures for returns filed in calendar year 2025; the 2026 amounts may be slightly higher after the IRS publishes its annual inflation adjustment.¹⁰ Beyond the fines, the Office of Professional Responsibility can pursue discipline, and the Department of Justice can seek a court injunction barring you from preparing returns entirely.¹¹ Violating that injunction can lead to civil or criminal contempt, including further fines or incarceration.¹²

Continuing Education Is Not Required to Renew

One point of confusion worth clearing up: PTIN renewal itself does not require continuing education. Any paid preparer can renew regardless of CE completed.

Non-credentialed preparers who want to be listed in the IRS public directory and hold limited representation rights can pursue the voluntary Annual Filing Season Program.¹³ The AFSP Record of Completion requires 18 hours of CE annually from an IRS-approved provider:

Six hours: Annual Federal Tax Refresher course, which includes a test
Ten hours: federal tax law topics
Two hours: ethics

Preparers who passed the former Registered Tax Return Preparer test or certain recognized national and state exams are exempt from the six-hour refresher and instead need 15 hours: three of federal tax law updates, ten of federal tax law topics, and two of ethics.¹³ CPAs, Enrolled Agents, and attorneys already meet CE through their licensing bodies and do not need the AFSP.

All AFSP CE must be finished by December 31. In the fourth quarter, providers must report completions to the IRS within ten business days of each program, so credits should post to your PTIN account fairly quickly during the renewal window.¹⁴ If an October or November course does not appear, contact the provider first.

Common Snags

ID.me Verification

The move to ID.me is the biggest change for returning preparers. If identity verification fails, you may be routed to a video call with an ID.me agent, usually resolved in one session. The old “Forgot User ID” and “Forgot Password” links on the PTIN login page apply only to preparers without an SSN who still use the legacy login.

Name Changes

If your legal name has changed through marriage, divorce, or a court order, update your PTIN account online or in writing. Acceptable documents include a marriage certificate, divorce decree, court-ordered name change, certificate of naturalization or citizenship, Social Security card, or government-issued photo ID.¹⁵ Updating your name on the PTIN account does not update your EFIN, EIN, or Enrolled Agent records. Contact each program separately.

Preparers Without a Social Security Number

Foreign persons without an SSN file Form 8946 along with two current, government-issued identity documents, at least one bearing a photograph. Acceptable documents include a passport, U.S. visa, foreign driver’s license, or USCIS documentation, and originals or notarized copies are required.¹⁶ A foreign preparer who lives outside the U.S. and obtains a PTIN without an SSN is not authorized to prepare U.S. returns for compensation.

Payment Errors and Timeouts

Declined payments are almost always a billing-address mismatch. Verify the address matches what your card issuer has on file. If the application sits idle too long, the session times out; log back in and continue where you left off. Neither issue affects your PTIN account.

Getting Help

The IRS Return Preparer Program offers live chat and a toll-free line at 877-613-7846, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central. International callers can use +1 915-342-5655.¹⁷

1
Internal Revenue Service. IRS Reminds Tax Pros to Renew PTINs for the 2026 Tax Season
2
Internal Revenue Service. PTIN Requirements for Tax Return Preparers
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Internal Revenue Service. Frequently Asked Questions: PTIN Application/Renewal Assistance
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Federal Register. Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) User Fee Update
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Internal Revenue Service. 25.29.1 Standard Tax Compliance Checks for Suitability and Monitoring
6
Federal Trade Commission. FTC Safeguards Rule: What Your Business Needs to Know
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Internal Revenue Service. Office of Professional Responsibility and Circular 230
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eCFR. Subpart B Duties and Restrictions Relating to Practice Before the Internal Revenue Service
9
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form W-12
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Internal Revenue Service. Tax Preparer Penalties
11
Internal Revenue Service. Frequently Asked Questions: Do I Need a PTIN?
12
Internal Revenue Service. Monitoring of Promoter/Preparer Injunctions (IRC 7407 and 7408)
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Internal Revenue Service. Annual Filing Season Program
14
Internal Revenue Service. Mandatory Information Reporting for Continuing Education Providers
15
Internal Revenue Service. Update Your PTIN Account Information
16
Internal Revenue Service. PTIN Supplemental Application for Foreign Persons Without a Social Security Number (Form 8946)
17
Internal Revenue Service. Contact the Return Preparer Program