Most local businesses write ads under consumer protection law and Google’s policies. A tax practice writes under those plus two more layers: the IRS’s own rule on solicitation, and a separate federal rule on what a preparer may do with the information inside a return. CPA firms add a third, their state board.
The credential decides the words. Circular 230, the rule for anyone who practices before the IRS, bars false or misleading claims about any IRS matter. Enrolled agents may describe themselves as “enrolled to practice before the Internal Revenue Service”, and may not use the word “certified” or suggest they work for the IRS. A solicitation has to be identified as one, and once a prospect says they do not want to hear from you, the contact stops.
Published fees are a promise for 30 days. Under the same rule, a practitioner may charge no more than a published rate for at least 30 calendar days after the schedule was last published. A fee printed in an ad, a mailer or a landing page is that schedule. Copies of direct mail and e-commerce communications, with a list of who received them, are kept for at least 36 months.
Your state board adds its own lines. Texas bars self-laudatory statements and testimonials that are not based on verifiable facts, and fee claims suggesting a service will be completely performed for a stated fee when that is not the case. Florida bars ads that play on a reader’s fears about their finances, and a CPA calling itself a specialist must say the term is a self-designation not sanctioned by the state or federal government. California prohibits advertising that is false, fraudulent or misleading. Florida also counts websites and email as advertising, so the rules reach every page and every campaign, not only the print ads.
The return itself stays out of the marketing. The rules on tax return information let a firm say how many returns of a kind it prepared, and stop it from advertising refund, credit or deduction amounts or percentages. The client list can carry tax information and offers of more tax preparation; anything beyond that needs consent first.
For a careful firm the rules are an edge. A refund banner, or an enrolled agent calling itself certified, is as easy for a taxpayer to spot on a rival’s ad as it is for a board.
