Dear Tax Professional,

We’re writing to remind you to renew your PTIN. Our records show that, as of 12/15/2011 you haven’t renewed your PTIN for 2012. Please remember your PTIN will expire on December 31, 2011 unless you renew it. If you no longer prepare returns for compensation, no action is required. Otherwise, you can renew online.

A note about our phone lines

While many people have renewed successfully, we know that some individuals may have tried to renew and experienced problems. We've also heard from people who have had trouble reaching us by phone.

We apologize if this has happened to you and we want you to know we are taking steps to minimize delays and technical difficulties. We're adding more phone lines and more staff to handle those phone lines. If you had a problem and couldn’t reach us, we encourage you to try again.

Also - many of the calls we're getting concern difficulties logging in. If you do not remember your login credentials or no longer have access to the email account you established the account under, see the PTIN troubleshooting tips for instructions on resetting your user ID or password or email address.

Paper applications

A few preparers applied for PTINs using a paper Form W-12 last year. We encourage you to link your PTIN to an online account and renew online. We sent you an activation code and instructions on how to link to your account several weeks ago. If you did not get this letter or need another activation code, please contact the IRS Tax Professional PTIN Information Line.

If you prefer to renew your PTIN on paper, you must mail a paper Form W-12, IRS Paid Preparer Tax Identification Number Application and Renewal. If you have already mailed a paper application, these are generally processed in 4 to 6 weeks.