In autumn: fix your Google Business Profile, update your website with credentials, services and fees, and gather reviews. Before the season: email last year's clients and past inquirers, and ask for referrals. During the season: answer inquiries the same day. Throughout: state credentials exactly, publish fees only as Circular 230 allows, and keep copies of what you send.
This guide covers US federal rules; your state board and professional body may add their own.
Who the advertising rules cover
Circular 230 (31 CFR part 10) governs practice before the IRS by attorneys, CPAs, enrolled agents and others listed in section 10.3. The IRS's Choosing a tax professional page notes that anyone with a preparer tax identification number (PTIN) can prepare returns for pay, and its Annual Filing Season Program page says non-credentialed preparers who join that voluntary program consent to Circular 230's Subpart B obligations, which include the advertising rules in section 10.30. Firms accepted into IRS e-file must also follow those rules under the advertising standards in IRS Publication 3112.
What Circular 230 says about advertising
Section 10.30 sets the advertising and solicitation rules. In short:
- No misleading claims: no public communication or private solicitation with a false, fraudulent, coercive, misleading or deceptive statement or claim.
- Credentials, exactly: enrolled agents and certain others may not use the term "certified" or imply they work for the IRS; the rule gives wordings such as "enrolled to practice before the Internal Revenue Service".
- Fees you may publish: fixed fees for routine services, hourly rates, fee ranges, and the fee for an initial consultation, with a note on whether clients pay costs.
- Hold published fees: charge no more than a published rate for at least 30 calendar days after it was last published.
- Respect a no: stop contacting a prospect who has said they do not want to be solicited.
- Keep records: keep a copy of direct mail and e-commerce communications, with a list of who received them, for at least 36 months.
Fees: what not to advertise
Section 10.27 bars contingent fees for most matters before the IRS, and defines them to include a fee based on a percentage of the refund reported on a return or of the taxes saved, or a promise to refund the fee if the IRS challenges a position. The text lists the cases where contingent fees are allowed, such as some examinations and judicial proceedings. An ad offering to prepare a return for a share of the refund falls within that definition, so ask counsel before advertising any fee tied to the refund. Advertise flat fees, hourly rates or ranges instead.
If you file electronically: the IRS e-file rules
IRS Publication 3112 sets advertising standards for Authorized IRS e-file Providers. A firm may not use "IRS" or "Internal Revenue Service" in its doing-business-as name or put IRS, Treasury or Financial Management Service seals on its ads; once accepted, it may describe itself as an "Authorized IRS e-file Provider". Any claim of a faster refund must match official IRS wording, and an ad for a refund loan or similar product must make clear that the client is borrowing against the refund. Keep copies of ads and the lists they went to, as the publication sets out.
Local search before the season
Most clients look for a preparer nearby. Google's Business Profile guidelines allow a separate profile for each public-facing individual practitioner, alongside one for the office, and name lawyers and financial planners among their examples; Google's local ranking tips name relevance, distance and prominence, with reviews counting toward prominence. In autumn, fix categories, hours (including season hours), services and photos, and ask satisfied clients from last season for a review, the same way for everyone. Our local SEO service does this work.
A website that makes you easy to choose
State who you serve (individuals, small businesses, landlords, people with income in two countries), your credentials in the exact words the rules allow, your services, how fees work, what to bring, and how to book. Add a page for each main service and a short checklist for the season. Keep it plain: clients choose the preparer who answers their questions before they ask.
Email and referrals
Your best clients next season are last season's. Six to eight weeks before filing opens, email past clients and past inquirers who agreed to hear from you: what is new, what to gather, how to book. In the USA, the FTC's CAN-SPAM guide sets header, address and opt-out rules, and Circular 230 adds the 36-month record for direct communications. Ask happy clients for referrals in the same email, without pressure. Our email marketing service runs this campaign.
How to measure tax preparer marketing
Before and during the season: appointments booked by source, returning clients and new clients, profile calls and website bookings, and email replies. After the season: client retention to next year, average fee per client, and referrals received. Track by week, because the season is short and a channel that is not working needs changing fast.
What we do and do not do
PromotEdge International is an international strategy, technology, marketing and design company, and our delivery team is in India. We are not CPAs, enrolled agents or tax professionals, and we give no tax or legal advice. We build local search, websites and email campaigns for professional practices, and you approve every word against your own rules. Our professional services marketing page describes the work. This guide summarizes Circular 230 and IRS Publication 3112 as read on 12 November 2026 and is general information, not legal advice.
Facts we rely on: see our company facts for what we state about ourselves and where each fact comes from.