07/10/2026
If you are an Electronic Return Originator there is another type of IRS review you need to know about and make sure your office is prepared for.
It is called an ERO review and it is also known as an efile monitoring visit.
This is not a Due Diligence examination. This is a review of how your office actually operates as an ERO. And the IRS can show up to evaluate whether you are following their efile requirements the way you are supposed to be.
Here is what they are looking at when they come.
How you verify the identity of your clients before you prepare and submit their returns. How you transmit returns and whether your process lines up with IRS efile rules. How you retain records and for how long. How you are protecting the security of your taxpayer information. What your office procedures look like and whether you are actually following them consistently.
Here is what most tax pros do not understand about this kind of review.
They are not just checking to see if your returns are accurate. They are checking to see if your office is running the way the IRS requires it to run as an ERO. And if your procedures exist only in your head and not on paper that is already a problem before the review even starts.
Documented procedures that you follow consistently every single day make these reviews significantly easier to navigate. Not because you are performing for the IRS but because you have already built an office that operates with integrity and consistency as its standard.
Your EFIN is one of the most valuable assets in your tax business. Protecting it means operating your office in a way that can withstand scrutiny at any time without warning.
Do your office procedures exist in writing right now?
