How to Become an Enrolled Agent in 2027 and Whether a Degree Helps

An EA is a tax professional the IRS enrolls, and the IRS steps don’t list a college degree. You get a preparer tax identification number, pass a three-part exam within three years, apply for enrollment and clear a suitability check. A degree can help you learn the material, but it isn’t one of the steps.

What Is an Enrolled Agent?

The enrolled agent credential comes straight from the IRS. It doesn’t come from a state board or a professional association. That makes it different from the certified public accountant (CPA) license, which a state board issues. It’s also different from credentials like the certified management accountant (CMA), which a membership group issues.

The whole focus is tax. If you can picture yourself preparing returns and helping people with tax questions, the EA is built for that. If you’d rather do audit and general accounting work, the CPA path fits better, and our CPA exam guide walks you through it.

Because the IRS steps leave out a degree, the EA is one of the few accounting credentials you can go after without finishing college.

How Do You Become an Enrolled Agent?

The IRS lays out four steps:

1. Get a preparer tax identification number (PTIN).
2. Pass all three parts of the Special Enrollment Examination (SEE) within three years.
3. Apply for enrollment using Form 23, either electronically through Pay.gov or by mail with payment.
4. Pass a suitability check.

The suitability check looks at your tax compliance and your criminal background. The IRS says it makes sure you’ve filed all the tax returns you need to and that you don’t owe anything outstanding.

Look at what’s missing from that list. There’s no degree, no minimum number of credits and no required years of work experience. (Certain IRS employees with past technical experience are exempt from the exam.)

Who Gives the Exam?

PSI Services runs the SEE. The IRS says PSI replaced Prometric effective March 1, 2026, and registration and scheduling for the 2026 test cycle are open.

You have three years to pass all three parts, so plan them around when you can actually study. Passing one part doesn’t earn you the credential. You need all three. And if you’re using a study guide written for the old vendor, check it against the current exam before you trust it.

Does an Accounting Degree Help?

The IRS doesn’t require one, so it comes down to you. A degree gives you structure, a schedule and tax coursework. The exam gives you the credential. They do different jobs.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) lists what accountants and auditors do. A couple of those duties overlap with tax work: computing taxes, preparing returns and making sure payment is on time. An accounting degree teaches those skills and a lot more.

Colorado State University Global’s bachelor’s in accounting names the enrolled agent exam on its own pages, and it names the CMA too. It’s a 120-credit program at $385 per credit with 8-week terms.

If tax is what draws you in, look at degree programs with a taxation emphasis. Southern Utah University’s Master of Accountancy lists Taxation among its emphases, and Bentley University’s M.S. in Accounting lists it as a concentration too.

What Does Tax Work Pay?

BLS tracks pay for tax preparers as its own group. In May 2025 their median wage was $54,920. About 76,480 people worked in the group, so it’s a big field. Pay spread widely, from $33,760 or less for the lowest tenth to $99,270 or more for the top tenth.

That’s the occupation, not enrolled agents specifically. BLS doesn’t break out the EA credential, so you can’t read a credential bonus from it.

For comparison, accountants and auditors had a median of $83,680. They do a wider range of work, including audit, and BLS says a bachelor’s degree is typical for entry.

Treat both numbers as ranges, not promises. Your own pay will depend on where you work, who your clients are and how much of your year you spend on tax work.

How Does the EA Compare With the CPA?

Both credentials sit on top of accounting knowledge, but they get you there differently.

The CPA is a state license. Each board of accountancy sets its own education, experience and residency rules. The traditional education route is 150 semester hours, though many states now also accept a bachelor’s degree plus more experience. The EA runs through one federal agency with one set of steps, and a degree isn’t among them.

The CPA is broader. It covers auditing, financial reporting and regulation, plus a discipline section. The EA exam is about tax. If you want a tax practice, the narrower exam can be the shorter road. If you think you might want audit or corporate work later, the CPA keeps more doors open.

Neither one replaces the other. Some accountants hold both, and that’s a personal choice, not a rule.

What Should You Do First?

A simple order keeps you from wasting money:

1. Apply for your PTIN. It’s the first step the IRS lists, and you need it to move on.
2. Read the IRS page on becoming an enrolled agent, then register with PSI Services for your first exam part.
3. Check your own tax compliance. File anything that’s outstanding and settle what you owe, because the suitability check looks at it.
4. Decide whether you want a degree too. If so, compare programs on price, transfer credit and accreditation.

Step three matters more than people expect. If a suitability problem turns up at the end, you could pass all three exam parts and still not be able to enroll.

If you work full time, set a study schedule for each part and put the exam dates on your calendar. Three years sounds like plenty. It goes faster than you’d think once busy season hits.

What Are the Downsides?

The EA is narrow. It’s about tax. If you later want to move toward audit or corporate finance, you may need another credential or a degree.

It also takes upkeep. You renew your enrolled agent status every three years with continuing education, and you renew your PTIN every year. That’s paperwork for as long as you keep the credential.

Then there’s the suitability check. If you have unfiled returns or an unpaid tax balance, deal with that first. The IRS says it looks at tax compliance and criminal background.

And the exam has three parts with a three-year window. Pick your first exam date before you feel completely ready. A date on the calendar makes studying real.

Who Should Consider the EA?

If you like tax work and want a credential without a degree, you’re the clearest fit. That includes tax preparers, bookkeepers who prepare returns and career changers who want a defined goal.

If you already plan to earn a bachelor’s degree in accounting, you can still add the EA later.

Compare a few programs on price and credits before you commit. Our cheapest accounting degrees list sorts by the per-credit rate an out-of-state student pays, and our bachelor’s list covers the wider set.

If a degree sounds like more than you need right now, read our guide to the accounting certificate route.