Before the IRS, these three credentials are equals: attorneys, CPAs and enrolled agents all hold unlimited representation rights — any client, any tax matter, audits, payment and collection issues, and appeals, whether or not they prepared the return. That sentence, from the IRS’s own credentials page, settles most of the marketing argument. What actually differs is who licenses them, what their training makes them good at, who can take you to court, how far their privilege reaches, and what they cost. This page builds the comparison from Circular 230 and the IRS page only — then gives you the two-minute license check for each.
General information, not tax or legal advice. This page owns credential facts for the whole cluster: the attorney vs relief company page routes cases, this one defines the credentials themselves.
| Enrolled agent (EA) | CPA | Tax attorney | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Licensed by | The IRS itself — the only federal license of the three | State boards of accountancy | State courts / state bar |
| How they qualify | Suitability check, plus the three-part Special Enrollment Examination (or qualifying IRS experience); 72 hours of continuing education every 3 years | Uniform CPA Examination, plus state education, experience and character requirements | Law degree and the state bar examination |
| IRS representation rights | Unlimited — audits, collections, appeals; any client, any matter | Unlimited — same | Unlimited — same |
| Where the license travels | All 50 states (federal license) | State-issued; practice across state lines depends on state rules | State-issued; federal tax practice follows admission |
| Training makes them good at | Representation and IRS collection procedure — this is the EA exam’s entire subject | Accounting: books, business returns, financial statements, audit/attest work an EA cannot do | Law: disputes, privilege, litigation strategy |
| Court representation | No | No | Yes — including U.S. Tax Court (which requires its own admission) |
| Privilege | §7525 practitioner privilege (below) | §7525 practitioner privilege (below) | Full attorney-client privilege |
| Typical cost shape | Lowest of the three: reported at $150–$300/hr (themodernwallet) | Middle | Highest — the top of the industry’s reported $200–$550/hr band |
An enrolled agent’s entire examination is about representing taxpayers — individuals, businesses, and representation procedure itself. For a collection case (payment plan, hardship status, levy release, an offer in compromise), that focus is exactly the job, which is why EAs anchor most relief firms. A CPA’s license covers the whole of accounting; a CPA who runs a tax-resolution practice is a specialist, while a CPA whose work is audits and attest may rarely speak to IRS Collections — the credential doesn’t tell you which one you’re hiring, so ask about caseload. An attorney’s premium buys the two things no one else can sell: court access and full privilege. If your case will never see either, you’re paying for insurance you may not need; if it might, nothing else substitutes.
Section 7525 extends to CPAs and enrolled agents a tax-practitioner privilege that mirrors attorney-client privilege in noncriminal federal tax matters before the IRS and in federal court proceedings arising from them. It carries statutory exceptions, it does not cover state matters the way attorney privilege can, and it never applies in criminal cases. Practical translation: for an ordinary collection or audit problem, all three can keep your confidences within the same working rule; the moment criminal exposure is in the picture, only the attorney’s privilege fully holds.
Below the big three, rights fall off a cliff — and sales pitches blur this:
If someone offering to “handle your IRS problem” holds only one of these, they legally cannot do the job being sold. The credential floor is the single fastest fraud filter in this industry — run it during the 9-point selection process.
| Credential | The free check |
|---|---|
| Enrolled agent (and other credentialed preparers) | The IRS Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers — search by name and confirm the credential listed |
| CPA | Your state board of accountancy’s license lookup — confirm the license is active |
| Attorney | Your state bar’s member directory — confirm admission and standing |
Do this for the named individual who will sign your Form 2848, not for the firm. Companies are not licensed; people are.
Can an enrolled agent represent you before the IRS? Yes — fully. Enrolled agents hold unlimited representation rights: they can represent any taxpayer, on any matter, including audits, collection issues and appeals, whether or not they prepared the return in question. The IRS licenses EAs itself, after a suitability check and its three-part Special Enrollment Examination (or qualifying IRS experience), with 72 hours of continuing education required every three years.
Who should I hire: a tax attorney, CPA or enrolled agent? For collection problems — payment plans, hardship status, levies, offers in compromise — an enrolled agent is usually the specialist at the lowest cost. For problems rooted in your books or business accounting, a CPA with a resolution practice. For court, criminal exposure, or facts that need full attorney-client privilege, a tax attorney. If a firm is involved, the same logic applies to whoever will actually be assigned to your case.
Is an enrolled agent as good as a CPA for tax problems? For representation before the IRS, they hold identical rights — the IRS draws no quality line between them. The difference is training emphasis: the EA credential is built entirely around tax and representation, while the CPA credential spans all of accounting, so individual CPAs vary widely in how much IRS-problem work they do. Ask either one the same question: how much of your practice is cases like mine?
What is the difference between an enrolled agent and a CPA? Licensing and scope. An EA is licensed by the IRS (federal license, valid for representing clients in all 50 states) with a purely tax-and-representation scope. A CPA is licensed by a state board of accountancy, with a broad accounting scope that includes audit and attest work an EA cannot perform. Before the IRS, both have unlimited representation rights; in an accounting department, only the CPA’s license covers the full job.
Sources: IRS, “Understanding Tax Return Preparer Credentials and Qualifications” (irs.gov), summarizing Circular 230 §10.3; IRC §7525; IRS Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers; hourly ranges as reported by themodernwallet/TaxCure. Currency verified 2026-10-23.