SAN DIEGO — The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced June 21 that almost 7,000 Nevada tax preparers have now registered with the agency as required by recent regulations. More than 3,200 of them, however, must take an IRS competency examination by Dec. 31, 2013, or they will not be able to prepare tax returns for compensation.

Almost 700,000 (of 1.26 million total) 2010 tax year individual federal returns filed by Nevada taxpayers were prepared by paid tax preparers. Nationwide, close to 87 million returns, or about 60 percent, were prepared by paid tax preparers in 2011.

“Preparers who are required to take the IRS competency exam have a year and a half left to take and pass it,” IRS spokesman Raphael Tulino said.

The IRS began a program three years ago to register paid tax preparers and require certain preparers to pass a competency test. In addition, paid preparers are expected to take continuing education courses and meet ethics standards.

So far, 60 Nevada tax preparers have passed the competency exam and, as a result, have been given the new credential of Registered Tax Return Preparer. Enrolled Agents, CPAs and attorneys are not required to take the exam because they already have testing requirements.

More information about the IRS return preparer program is available at www.IRS.gov/PTIN.