Tax Preparation Certificate Program

This program provides students with sufficient knowledge of Federal and State of California tax law to prepare individual and small business tax returns and to obtain an entry-level position as a tax preparer.

Curriculum

Curriculum changes as industry standards transform. Please refer to the Saddleback College Catalog website as the following requirements may have changed since this webpage was published.

Course ID	Title	Units
ACCT 1A	Financial Accounting	4
ACCT 216*	Individual Income Tax	4
ACCT 217*	Partnership and Corporate Taxation	3
BUS 12	Business Law	3
or
BUS 14	Legal Environment of Business	3
CIM 216+	Spreadsheets: Excel	3
CIM 223A*	Computerized Accounting QuickBooks-Beg.	1.5
or
CIM 223B*	Computerized Accounting QuickBooks-Adv.	1.5
Total Required Units		18.5

*Course has a prerequisite, co-requisite, limitation, or recommended preparation; see course description in catalog.

 

Associate Degree

Associate in Science Degree

Completion of the certificate program and a minimum of 60 units including the general education requirements with an overall GPA of 2.0 qualifies the student for the Associate in Science degree. A minimum of 12 units must be completed at Saddleback College.

Associate in Arts Degree

Complete a minimum of 60 units including the total number of units described above and the General Education requirements with an overall GPA of 2.0 to qualify for the Associate in Arts degree. A minimum of 12 units must be completed at Saddleback College.

General Education Requirements for Associate Degrees

Refer to the Graduation Requirements or to the CSU-GE and IGETC patterns in this catalog for specific courses which meet general education requirements. Refer to ASSIST.org and to the transfer institution's catalog for transfer requirements.

Suggested coursework not required for the major: ACCT 120, 189, 202B, 203, 214, 289; BUS 1, 102, 103, 104, 125; CIM 1, 10, 112, 171, 174, 174A, 216B, 216C, 218, 229A; ECON 2, 4.