Apply for Your EFIN in October, or You Miss the Season Entirely
This plan is built around the calendar most new preparers get wrong: the EFIN that lets you e-file takes about 45 days with fingerprinting, so an October application is what makes a January opening possible. It covers the PTIN ($18.75, renewed every December 31), the due-diligence rules under Form 8867 that carry a $650 penalty per failure (up to $2,600 on one return), and the mandatory Written Information Security Plan every preparer is required to have on file.
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Built From Real Numbers
The plan works from a real first-season model: 350 returns at an average $275 fee for $96,250 in season revenue, staffed with one seasonal preparer and one front-desk hire, landing at roughly $62,000 in owner's earnings for about four months of work.
It also covers what happens in the other eight months — the verified revenue split (64% February–April, 21% extended season, 15% off-season) and why bookkeeping is the natural year-round addition most surviving practices build.
What's Inside
- Season Setup Calendar: the exact EFIN/PTIN/software sequence, month by month
- Due-Diligence Review Log (Form 8867 control) for every EITC, CTC, AOTC, or HOH return
- Written Security Plan (WISP) checklist required under the FTC Safeguards Rule
- Return Pricing Worksheet by form and schedule (1040, Schedule C, rental, multi-state)
- Engagement letter contents and errors & omissions insurance guidance
- Refund-transfer and refund-advance product analysis, explained honestly
- Off-season expansion plan: bookkeeping, amendments, and the Enrolled Agent credential
- First-year, month-by-month launch plan and VR&E funding notes for veterans
