AFTR Course for Kansas Tax Preparers: What the 2027 Season Requires
- Non-exempt Kansas preparers need 18 hours of CE, including the 6-hour AFTR course, by December 31, 2026, to earn the 2027 Record of Completion.
- Kansas has no state preparer license or exam, but under the Kansas Taxpayer Protection Act (effective 2022) paid preparers must sign Kansas returns and include their PTIN.
- Kansas also has an e-file mandate: preparers of 50 or more Kansas individual returns in a year must e-file at least 90% of them.
- Exempt preparers (CTEC, Oregon OBTP, Maryland board registrants, recent SEE Part 1 passers) need only 15 hours and skip the AFTR.
§1 Does Kansas License Tax Preparers?
No. The Kansas Department of Revenue does not license, examine, or register paid tax preparers, and there is no Kansas continuing-education requirement for them. What Kansas does have is an accountability rule: under the Kansas Taxpayer Protection Act, effective January 1, 2022, a paid preparer must sign every Kansas income tax return they prepare and include their federal PTIN. The civil penalty is $50 per return, capped at $25,000 per preparer per calendar year. The Act’s carve-outs cover licensed CPAs and people working under a CPA firm’s supervision.
Kansas also sets an electronic filing threshold. A preparer who prepares 50 or more Kansas individual income tax returns in a calendar year must e-file at least 90% of them, using IRS e-file (with an EFIN) and software approved by the Department of Revenue. Neither rule is a competency credential, which is why the federal AFSP is the only continuing-education credential available to most Kansas preparers.
§2 Exempt vs. Non-Exempt: Where Kansas Preparers Land
Kansas has no state program of its own, so it isn’t one of the three states — Oregon, California, and Maryland — whose credential holders qualify for the IRS’s AFSP exemption. Most non-credentialed Kansas preparers are on the standard non-exempt track and need the full 18-hour package including the AFTR course. See our full exempt vs. non-exempt guide for every category.
§3 The Hour-by-Hour Breakdown for Non-Exempt Preparers
Non-exempt Kansas preparers need 18 CE hours from IRS-approved providers before the December 31 cutoff, split into fixed categories.
SCHEDULE A — NON-EXEMPT PREPARER CE REQUIREMENTS (2027 FILING SEASON)
| Course Category | Required Hours |
|---|---|
| Annual Federal Tax Refresher (AFTR) — includes comprehension test | 6 |
| Federal Tax Law Topics | 10 |
| Ethics | 2 |
| Total | 18 |
The 10 hours of federal tax law topics can come from any IRS-approved subject area. The 2 ethics hours must come from a course approved for AFSP ethics credit. The AFTR is a single timed course with a built-in comprehension test.
§4 The AFTR Course: What to Expect
The AFTR is a 6-hour course offered by IRS-approved providers between June 1 and December 31 of the year before the filing season, so for the 2027 season your window closes December 31, 2026. It covers the coming season’s federal tax law changes and common preparer errors, and ends with a pass/fail test — see what the test looks like before you sit down for it.
§5 Deadlines and the Record of Completion
December 31, 2026. All CE hours — including the AFTR for non-exempt preparers — must be completed and reported to the IRS by this date to earn the 2027 filing season Record of Completion.
Your IRS-approved provider reports completed hours directly to the IRS; you can confirm them on your IRS CE transcript. Your PTIN also needs to be current — and in Kansas it has to appear on every return you sign anyway.
§6 Why Federal Accuracy Matters on the K-40
The Kansas individual return, Form K-40, starts from federal figures, so a preparer who is current on federal law is more likely to get the Kansas return right too. In a state that asks for your PTIN on every return but doesn’t verify competence, the AFSP Record of Completion is the one credential that puts your name in the IRS’s public Tax Pro Directory and grants limited representation rights for returns you prepared. For the AFSP hours themselves, see our companion page on AFSP requirements for Kansas preparers, and browse the full AFSP & AFTR guide hub.
§7 FAQs
Does Kansas require its own tax preparer license?
No. Kansas has no state license, exam, or CE requirement for paid preparers. It does require a PTIN and signature on Kansas returns, and sets an e-file threshold at 50 or more returns.
Does Kansas’s PTIN rule make me AFSP-exempt?
No. A PTIN requirement is an identification rule, not a recognized competency program. Only Oregon, California, and Maryland credentials count for exemption.
I’m CTEC- or OBTP-registered and also prepare Kansas returns. Does that exemption carry over?
Yes. AFSP exempt status follows your credential, not the state where you prepare returns.
What happens if I miss the December 31 deadline?
You won’t receive a Record of Completion for that filing season. There is no grace period; see what missing it costs you.
Related reading
Tax IQ Academy is an IRS and CTEC approved provider of continuing education for tax professionals, offering AFSP, AFTR, and EA exam prep courses covering federal tax law, ethics, and practice management.