American Institute of Certified Tax Planners

What American Institute of Certified Tax Planners does

The American Institute of Certified Tax Planners (AICTP) is a not-for-profit professional certification organization founded in 2009 by Dominique Molina, CPA, MST, CTS, and currently headquartered in San Diego, California. AICTP trains licensed tax professionals—CPAs, Enrolled Agents, and Tax Attorneys—to transition from reactive tax compliance to proactive tax planning, conferring a tiered designation system of Certified Tax Coach (CTC), Certified Tax Planner (CTP), and Certified Tax Strategist (CTS), with progressive experience requirements (12+ months for CTP; 3 years and 30 tax plans for CTS). The organization has licensed over 1,000 tax professionals nationally and reports average client tax-bill reductions of 80–90%.

AICTP's core delivery is the three-day live Tax Planning Academy held five times per year in San Diego, supplementing live training with proprietary technology tools—Tru Tax Planner (a scenario-analysis engine with documentation and legal citations for over 130 strategies and reported average client tax savings of $35,000/year), Tax Price Builder (a pricing tool for tax planning services), the CTC Toolbox (a template and practice-aid database), and the CYCE continuing education webinar series (12 new programs per year). AICTP also holds IRS-Approved Continuing Education Provider status for Enrolled Agents and Enrolled Retirement Plan Agents and is registered as a NASBA CPE sponsor.

Revenue is generated through an annual membership subscription that bundles Academy access, software subscriptions, continuing education, and member support, plus one-time training/certification registration. Member-certified professionals charge end clients between $2,500 and $1 million per tax plan, averaging $15,000+ annually per client. Distribution combines direct-to-professional sales via a three-step application funnel and consultation calls, an online Tax Planner Directory for end-clients, JV/affiliate partnerships, and the bi-weekly Think Outside The Tax Box newsletter launched in 2020. The 2022 acquisition of MidasIQ extended the organization's footprint into direct-to-consumer tax education.

Name

American Institute of Certified Tax Planners

Legal name

American Institute of Certified Tax Planners

Website

https://certifiedtaxcoach.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The American Institute of Certified Tax Planners (AICTP) is a not-for-profit professional certification organization founded in 2009 that trains licensed tax professionals (CPAs, Enrolled Agents, Tax Attorneys) in proactive tax planning through a tiered designation system (CTC, CTP, CTS), live Academy training, and proprietary software tools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Tax Certification and Training

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Accounting, Audit & Tax (CPA/CA/ACCA CPE) (EDAAALAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Continuing Education (CE/CPD) & Provider Accreditation Bodies (EDADACAF)

Keywords

• Tax planning certification
• Professional tax training
• Continuing professional education
• Tax planning software
• Tax professional development

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Certification/Membership Fees: Recurring annual membership fees providing access to Academy training, software tools, continuing education, marketing materials, and member support. Includes designations: Certified Tax Coach (CTC), Certified Tax Planner (CTP), and Certified Tax Strategist (CTS).
2. Training and Certification Program: One-time registration fee for the 3-day Academy training plus ongoing certification requirements. Certified Tax Coaches can charge clients an average of $15,000 or more in fees per year.
3. Software Subscriptions: Included with membership: Tru Tax Planner and Tax Price Builder software subscriptions for planning and pricing services.
4. Professional Services for End Clients: Members charge clients $2,500 to $1 million per tax plan, with average fees per client of $15,000+ annually.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The American Institute of Certified Tax Planners (AICTP), operating as Certified Tax Coach, is an independent not-for-profit organization that certifies licensed tax professionals (CPAs, Enrolled Agents, Tax Attorneys) in proactive tax planning. It provides a three-tiered professional designation system (Certified Tax Coach/CTC, Certified Tax Planner/CTP, Certified Tax Strategist/CTS), a 3-day live Tax Planning Academy, proprietary tax planning software (Tru Tax Planner, Tax Price Builder), and ongoing continuing professional education. The organization's primary purpose is to enable tax practitioners to transition from reactive compliance work to year-round advisory services that deliver measurable client tax savings.

Product overview

The American Institute of Certified Tax Planners (AICTP) operates as a certification and education organization offering a multi-tiered professional certification system (Certified Tax Coach, Certified Tax Planner, Certified Tax Strategist), a 3-day live Tax Planning Academy training program, proprietary software tools (Tru Tax Planner, Tax Price Builder), and ongoing continuing education through the CYCE monthly webinar series. The organization also provides the CTC Toolbox resource platform with templates and practice aids, publishes the Think Outside The Tax Box newsletter, and owns the MidasIQ educational platform, all designed to help tax professionals transition from reactive tax preparation to proactive tax planning services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Certified Tax Coach (CTC): Designation for tax professionals with advanced training in proactive tax planning, specializing in working with affluent business owners, professionals, and investors.
• Certified Tax Planner (CTP)
• Certified Tax Strategist (CTS)
• Think Outside The Tax Box (TOTTB)
• Tru Tax Planner
• Tax Price Builder
• MidasIQ

Products and services

• Tax Planning Certification Program (CTC / CTP / CTS designations)
• Tax Planning Academy
• Tru Tax Planner Software

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduce client tax bills by 80-90%
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAICTP is registered with NASBA as a sponsor of Continuing Professional Education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State Boards have final authority on acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit.
• Internal Revenue Service (IRS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAICTP is an IRS-Approved Continuing Education Provider for Enrolled Agents, Enrolled Retirement Plan Agents, and other tax return preparers. Listed on IRS CE Provider Registry.
• Surgent CPEminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDominique Molina speaks for Surgent CPE and AICTP Women's Leadership Summit among other professional groups.
• MidasIQminorOthersLeading tax educational company acquired by Dominique Molina in 2022 that educates the public on reducing taxes. Direct-to-consumer tax education platform.
• Think Outside The Tax BoxminorOthersBi-weekly tax reduction newsletter launched by Dominique Molina in 2020. Available via subscription at thinkoutsidethetaxbox.com. Included free with membership.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Bloomberg Tax & Accounting: Bloomberg Tax provides federal, state, and international tax research plus CPE for tax professionals. It competes with AICTP on the research-and-insight side of the tax professional workflow and offers bundled learning products.
• AICPA: AICPA is the largest US professional association for CPAs, offering CPE, professional credentials, and standards-setter authority across accounting and tax. It is the incumbent that defines CPE categories AICTP operates in and competes for member dues and learning budgets.
• Wolters Kluwer CCH (CCH CPE): CCH provides tax and accounting research, software, and CPE for professionals, including ProSystem fx Tax and CCH Learning. It is a broad incumbent bundling compliance software with learning content, competing with AICTP's software-plus-training stack.
• Thomson Reuters Tax & Accounting (Checkpoint Learning): Thomson Reuters offers tax research software (Checkpoint) and Checkpoint Learning for CPE and professional development for tax practitioners. It is a broad incumbent bundling research and CPE, competing with AICTP's research-plus-training value proposition.

Direct peers

• Lorman Education Services: Lorman is a continuing education provider offering live webinars and on-demand courses for accountants and tax professionals. It overlaps with AICTP on the CPE-delivery side, particularly for tax and accounting professionals seeking flexible learning formats.
• CPE Link: CPE Link is an online CPE provider delivering self-study and webinar-based courses for CPAs and tax practitioners. It targets the same annual CPE renewal purchase that AICTP competes for as part of its membership renewal cycle.
• CPAacademy.com: CPAacademy.com is an online CPE marketplace with hundreds of live webinars targeted at CPAs and tax practitioners. It directly competes for the same live-webinar and on-demand CPE spend that AICTP's CYCE monthly series targets.
• Western CPE: Western CPE is a self-study CPE provider for CPAs and tax practitioners with broad federal tax, estate, and IRS coverage. It targets the same annual-CPE-renewal purchase moment as AICTP and competes for the same professional wallet.
• Surgent: Surgent is a major direct CPE provider for CPAs, EAs, and tax professionals, offering self-study and live webinars across federal tax, AICPA, and IRS topics. It directly competes with AICTP for the same tax-professional audience and is also a listed GTM partner of AICTP.
• Becker Professional Education: Becker is a leading CPA exam preparation provider that has expanded into CPE for accounting and tax professionals. It overlaps with AICTP in the tax professional learning journey, particularly for practitioners moving from exam prep into ongoing advisory training.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/certtaxcoaches
• Facebookfacebook.com/certtaxcoach
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aictp-tax-planners

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

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 American Institute of Certified Tax Planners