The Income Tax School

What The Income Tax School does

The Income Tax School is an online tax-education brand that delivers IRS-approved training and certification pathways to U.S. tax professionals and aspiring tax preparers. Operated under Surgent Accounting & Financial Education (a UWorld company) and headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, it organizes its curriculum into three career-stage pathways — Launch (Become a Tax Preparer), Advance (Become an Enrolled Agent), and Educate (Continue Your Education) — plus an enterprise channel called ITS For Business that delivers tax-preparer training to accounting firms and tax practices.

The platform runs on a self-paced online learning management system that bundles comprehensive tax courses, enrolled-agent exam preparation, and continuing-education credits. Content is approved by four regulatory bodies — IRS, RPO, NASBA, and CTEC — which qualifies its coursework to satisfy federal and state continuing-education mandates for credentialed tax professionals, a key credentialing gate. Supporting marketing is content-led via blog, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter/X, Facebook, and webinars.

The business operates a hybrid B2C/B2B revenue model. Consumers self-serve through the Surgent website, optionally entering via a 2025-launched free trial of the Comprehensive Tax Course and upgrading to paid individual course purchases or unlimited-access CE subscriptions. Businesses (tax practices and accounting firms) purchase training through a contact-based ITS For Business channel. Marketing channels are primarily organic content marketing plus webinars; pricing is not publicly disclosed and follows a freemium-to-paid and quote-based pattern.

Name

The Income Tax School

Legal name

Surgent Accounting & Financial Education

Website

https://theincometaxschool.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Income Tax School, an online brand under Surgent Accounting & Financial Education (a UWorld company), delivers IRS-, RPO-, NASBA- and CTEC-approved courses that train aspiring tax preparers, prepare enrolled-agent candidates, and provide continuing-education credits to U.S. tax professionals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Tax Education and Certification Training

NAICS

Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691), Business and Secretarial Schools (61141)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Financial Services & Insurance (FINRA, CFP, IAR, Insurance CE) (EDAAALAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Taxation (Corporate, Indirect, International) (EDABAJAD), Accounting, Audit & Tax (EDAAAPAI)

Keywords

• Tax professional education
• Enrolled agent preparation
• Continuing professional education
• Tax preparer training
• CPE credit courses

Headquarters

HQ city

Radnor

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Online Tax Education Courses: Revenue generated from comprehensive tax courses, enrolled agent preparation courses, and continuing education credits for tax professionals. Courses available as individual purchases or unlimited access subscriptions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Income Tax School provides IRS-, RPO-, NASBA-, and CTEC-approved online courses that prepare individuals to become tax preparers, prepare them for the Enrolled Agent exam, and fulfill continuing education credit requirements for working tax and accounting professionals. Course pathways include Launch (Become a Tax Preparer), Advance (Become an Enrolled Agent), and Educate (Continue Your Education), delivered through a self-paced LMS with a free trial entry point. A parallel B2B offering (ITS For Business) trains tax preparers on behalf of accounting firms and tax practices.

Product overview

The Income Tax School by Surgent is a comprehensive educational platform offering IRS-approved tax courses organized into three main pathways: Launch (Become a Tax Preparer), Advance (Become an Enrolled Agent), and Educate (Continue Your Education). The platform also offers B2B solutions through ITS For Business for training corporate tax staff. Related offerings from Surgent include Exam Review products (CPA, CMA, EA, CIA, CISA), Continuing Professional Education (CPE), and Skill Building through Surgent Interactive and Data Analytics Certifications. The platform is approved by IRS, RPO, NASBA, and CTEC.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Income Tax School platform Main platform offering IRS-approved courses for tax specialists at all career levels, including pathways to become a tax preparer, enrolled agent, and continuing education requirements.
• Become a Tax Preparer Course Launch pathway course enabling students to become a tax preparer in weeks through easy-to-follow curriculum; targets individuals without prior tax education.
• Become an Enrolled Agent Course Advance pathway course preparing working tax professionals for the Enrolled Agent exam.
• Continue Your Education Educate pathway providing continuing education credits to meet compliance requirements and improve skills for active tax professionals.
• ITS For Business B2B tax training solution enabling accounting firms and tax practices to train their own preparers.
• Comprehensive Tax Course Full tax preparation course with a freemium free trial entry point, offering hands-on experience with real-world lessons and expert instruction.
• Continuing Professional Education (CPE) CE courses for accounting and tax professionals including CPE for CMAs, CE for CFPs, and CE for IRS.
• CPA Review Exam review preparation for prospective certified public accountants, offered under the broader Surgent catalog.
• CMA Review Exam review preparation for prospective certified management accountants.
• EA Review Exam review preparation for prospective enrolled agents.
• CIA Review Exam review preparation for prospective certified internal auditors.
• CISA Review Exam review preparation for prospective certified information systems auditors.
• Surgent Interactive Game-based learning platform for skill building aimed at accounting and tax professionals.
• Data Analytics Certifications Data analytics tool certifications for accounting professionals.

Quantifiable outcome

• Students can become tax preparers in weeks

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Fast Forward Academy: Tax-focused CE provider offering AFTR, AFSP, and IRS-approved continuing education courses — overlapping with The Income Tax School's Educate/Continuing Education pathway for practicing preparers.
• Yaeger CPA Review: Smaller CPA exam review provider competing in the same accounting credentialing category; comparable in self-paced online delivery and individual-learner GTM, though narrower in product breadth than The Income Tax School.
• Western CPE: Self-study CPE provider for CPAs, EAs, and tax professionals with NASBA-approved courses — directly comparable in the continuing-education/recurring-revenue segment.

Direct peers

• Becker Professional Education: Direct competitor in CPA, CMA, and continuing professional education with overlapping exam-review products and a comparable B2B/individual learner mix; a scaled incumbent in the same professional-accounting training category.
• Universal Accounting: Direct competitor in tax and bookkeeping career training, offering 'Become a Tax Preparer'-style pathways and continuing education aimed at aspiring and current tax professionals.
• Jackson Hewitt Tax Preparer Training: Direct competitor in tax preparer career training, combining in-person and online courses with seasonal work placement — closely aligned with the Income Tax School's 'Launch' pathway.
• Wiley Efficient Learning (Wiley CPAexcel): Direct competitor offering CPA, CMA, CIA, and EA exam review plus CPE courses — overlapping almost the entire Surgent/UWorld product stack for accounting and tax credentialing.
• H&R Block Income Tax Course: Direct competitor in entry-level tax preparer training, leveraging H&R Block's retail brand to recruit new preparers into the tax workforce — competing for the same aspiring-professional segment.

Broad incumbents

• Surgent Accounting & Financial Education (UWorld): The parent platform of The Income Tax School; an incumbent in CPA/CMA/CPE exam review that shares customer base, content assets, and B2B relationships — effectively both parent and adjacent competitor for cross-sell economics.
• Thomson Reuters Checkpoint Learning: Broad incumbent offering CPE courses for tax, accounting, and finance professionals through the Checkpoint platform — overlaps with The Income Tax School's continuing-education segment at the higher end of the professional market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TaxSchool
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/SurgentLearning
• Facebookfacebook.com/theincometaxschool
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-income-tax-school

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Income Tax School