AFTR Course for Missouri Tax Preparers: What the 2027 Season Requires
- Non-exempt Missouri preparers need 18 hours of CE, including the 6-hour AFTR course, by December 31, 2026, to earn the 2027 Record of Completion.
- Missouri has no state preparer license or exam, but under RSMo § 143.980, paid preparers must sign the Missouri return and include their PTIN, or face a $50-per-return penalty (capped at $25,000/year).
- That PTIN rule has applied to Missouri returns for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2020.
- Exempt preparers (CTEC, Oregon OBTP, Maryland board registrants, recent SEE Part 1 passers) need only 15 hours and skip the AFTR.
§1 Does Missouri License Tax Preparers?
No. Missouri has no state exam, license, or registration specifically for paid tax preparers — there’s no Missouri Department of Revenue credential to earn and no state CE hours to log. But Missouri isn’t a completely hands-off state either: under RSMo § 143.980, every paid preparer must sign the Missouri income tax return or refund claim they prepare and include their federal PTIN on it. Skipping either one carries a $50 penalty per occurrence, capped at $25,000 in a calendar year, unless the preparer shows reasonable cause.
That’s an identification and accountability rule, not a competency credential — the same structural approach Illinois, Michigan, Virginia, and Minnesota have each taken with their own statutes. It doesn’t require any CE hours or testing; it just makes sure the state can trace a return back to whoever prepared it.
§2 Exempt vs. Non-Exempt: Where Missouri Preparers Land
The RSMo § 143.980 signature rule doesn’t create a Missouri AFSP exemption — Missouri isn’t one of the three states (Oregon, California, Maryland) whose own credential holders qualify for the IRS’s AFSP exemption. Most non-credentialed Missouri preparers land on the standard non-exempt track and need the full 18-hour package, including the AFTR — see our full exempt vs. non-exempt guide for every category. You’d only land in the exempt track by separately holding one of the recognized out-of-state credentials, passing SEE Part 1 within the last three years, or serving as an active VITA/TCE volunteer.
§3 The Hour-by-Hour Breakdown for Non-Exempt Preparers
Non-exempt Missouri preparers need 18 CE hours from IRS-approved providers before the December 31 cutoff, in 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 specifically approved for AFSP ethics credit. The AFTR is a single timed course with a built-in comprehension test; it can’t be split across sessions.
§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, common preparer errors, and procedural updates, and ends with a pass/fail comprehension test — see what the test itself 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 CE system. It’s worth confirming your hours landed correctly in your IRS Continuing Education Transcript, accessible through your Tax Pro Account. Your PTIN also needs to be current — doubly so in Missouri, where an inactive PTIN also puts you out of compliance with the state’s own signature statute.
§6 The PTIN Rule That Makes Missouri Different
Most states leave PTIN enforcement entirely to the IRS. Missouri doesn’t: RSMo § 143.980 gives the Missouri Department of Revenue its own enforcement hook, using the PTIN to flag preparers with high error rates or suspected fraud patterns and to coordinate with the IRS on preparers under discipline. Practically, that means a Missouri preparer who lets a PTIN lapse mid-season risks a state-level $50-per-return penalty on top of losing their AFSP Record of Completion. Keeping the PTIN current isn’t optional paperwork in Missouri — it’s tied to a specific state statute with its own fine schedule. For the AFSP hours themselves, see our companion page on AFSP requirements for Missouri preparers, and browse the full AFSP & AFTR guide hub for every state and topic.
§7 FAQs
Does Missouri require its own tax preparer license?
No. Missouri has no state license or exam for paid preparers. It does require, under RSMo § 143.980, that preparers sign the return and include their PTIN, with a penalty for skipping either.
What happens if I leave my PTIN off a Missouri return?
A $50 penalty per occurrence, capped at $25,000 per calendar year, unless you can show reasonable cause for the omission.
I’m CTEC- or OBTP-registered and also prepare Missouri returns. Does that exemption carry over?
Yes. AFSP exempt status is tied to your credential, not the state where you’re preparing returns. An active CTEC, Oregon OBTP, or Maryland board registration qualifies you for the 15-hour exempt track regardless of which states’ returns you work on.
What happens if I miss the December 31 AFSP deadline?
You won’t receive a Record of Completion for that filing season — there’s no grace period. You’d lose the limited representation rights and Tax Pro Directory listing until the following season.
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.