ENROLLED ACTUARY FEES WOULD MORE THAN DOUBLE UNDER PROPOSED REGS:

The IRS has proposed increasing the enrollment and renewal user fees for enrolled actuaries from $250 to $680.

The proposed regulations (REG-100719-21), issued October 4, state that the increased cost to actuaries allow for the necessary steps to verify that individuals meet the enrollment requirements.

The current user fee of $250 for enrollments and renewals was established in final regulations (T.D. 9370) in 2007. In 2021 the IRS conducted a biennial review and determined the cost of administering the process to be the proposed $680.

Enrolled actuaries are enrolled for three-year terms by the Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries, whose appointed executive director is an IRS Return Preparer Office employee. The board presides over the regulations and qualifications of enrolled actuaries.

The IRS notes that the proposed fee increase would equate to a $143.33 increase per year for a three-year enrollment or renewal.

According to the proposed regs, the IRS found that prior biennial reviews of the fees used an understated estimated labor cost associated with the enrollment and renewal processes. Prior reviews reported that only 40 percent of an IRS employee’s time was dedicated to those processes, while the newly proposed fee incorporates an estimated 65 percent of time spent on that work.

A public teleconference hearing on the proposed regs is scheduled for December 16.