HB Financial Group

— REFUND2INCOME

Become a real tax preparer, with HB beside you, not behind you.

Get listed on IRS.gov. Then never file a return alone.

Hold my seatTalk to Melissa first
Enrolled AgentIRS Certifying Acceptance AgentIRS Authorized e-File ProviderCommunity Votes Knoxville Winner 2025 · 2026 · Two Years RunningGoogle Reviews

— ENROLLMENT CLOSES OCTOBER 31, 2026

Enrollment for this cohort closes October 31, 2026. You must be enrolled by then to file with us in the upcoming tax season.

See the cohort

40+ hours of instruction

18 hours IRS CE toward AFSP

100% of returns second-reviewed

2025 · 2026 Community Votes winner

— STEP 1, GET CREDENTIALED

The AFSP path, start to finish.

  1. No. 01

    Get your PTIN

    Every paid preparer needs an active Preparer Tax Identification Number from the IRS. We walk you through the application and the renewal window so it never lapses on you.

  2. No. 02

    Take the CE

    You complete your continuing education through HB Academy, an IRS Approved Continuing Education Provider. We report your hours to the IRS under your PTIN.

  3. No. 03

    Consent to Circular 230

    You agree to the practice standards in Circular 230 Subpart B and section 10.51 when you renew your PTIN. That consent is part of the AFSP, not an extra course.

  4. No. 04

    The IRS issues the Record

    After October PTIN renewal, the IRS issues the Annual Filing Season Program Record of Completion and lists you in the public directory on IRS.gov. We can't issue it and neither can anyone else but the IRS.

— STEP 2, PARTNER WITH HB

You file under a licensed practice, not alone.

Here's the honest answer on what breaks new preparers. It isn't the tax law, it's being by yourself the first time something on a return doesn't look right. So we put the whole practice behind you.

  • Professional tax software, configured and ready
  • Bank product setup so your clients have refund transfer options
  • Intake forms that collect what a return actually needs
  • Marketing material you can put your own name on
  • Client scripts for pricing, missing documents, and hard conversations
  • Compliance cover from a federally licensed Enrolled Agent
  • The HB name behind you when a client asks who you work with
  • A second review on every single return before it is filed

— AFTER REFUND2INCOME

Graduate, get your AFSP Record of Completion, then choose your path.

i. Prepare with HB

The goal is that you stay. Graduates who are a values and quality match are welcomed as a first-year preparer under the HB Financial Group brand, then a second-year, a third, and beyond. No EFIN needed. You file under our credentials, with a second review on every return, and as you grow you can step into a lead preparer role with your own team. The preparer split varies by pay tier and is discussed privately once you're certified.

Honestly, I want you to earn well here — and I want to build something even bigger with this team than any one tax season.

ii. Open your own office

Want your own name on the door instead? That's the office side, and it's a different kind of help. An EFIN is required, and the work is building your tax office, not learning to prepare returns. We show you the ropes on building your own tax brand using the setup that made HB Knoxville's best in tax prep two years running.

See the office side

iii. Take the training and go

You are not locked into anything. Some preparers use the training, get their AFSP, and run their own practice independently. Tuition covers the education and the season of support — no franchise fee, no ongoing royalty.

HB Academy makes no income, earnings, or business-results claim of any kind. Nothing in this program is a promise or projection of revenue, client volume, or profit. What you earn as a tax preparer depends on your own effort, your market, your pricing, your compliance record, and factors outside anyone's control. Training is education only. It is not tax, legal, or financial advice, and it is not a guarantee of employment, of clients, or of any credential.

— 18 VS. 40

The IRS requirement: 18 hours. What Refund2Income actually teaches: over 40.

The IRS requirement

18 hours of continuing education for the Annual Filing Season Program, made up of the AFTR course and test, federal tax law, and ethics.

What Refund2Income teaches

Over 40 hours of instruction. The requirement is inside it, and the rest is the practical work of preparing, reviewing, and defending a return.

Over 40 hours of instruction. The IRS requires 18 hours of continuing education for the Annual Filing Season Program. Refund2Income delivers the full 18-hour requirement — and far more instruction beyond it.

Read the AFSP rules on IRS.gov

— AFSP FACTS

The requirements, in plain rows.

Annual Filing Season Program requirements
Non-exempt CE18 hrs = 6 AFTR (plus comprehension test) + 10 federal tax law + 2 ethics
Exempt CE15 hrs = 3 federal tax law updates + 10 federal tax law + 2 ethics, no AFTR
Also requiredActive PTIN plus consent to Circular 230 Subpart B and section 10.51
DeadlineCE by December 31 for the following filing season; Record issued after October PTIN renewal
Not eligibleAttorneys, CPAs, and Enrolled Agents already hold unlimited representation rights
Rights grantedLimited representation for returns you prepared and signed, before revenue agents, customer service reps, and the Taxpayer Advocate Service

Attorneys, CPAs, and Enrolled Agents are not eligible for the AFSP. They already hold unlimited representation rights before the IRS.

— COHORT DATES

What happens, and when.

No. 01

Today

Your seat is held at the founding rate and the welcome videos unlock immediately.

No. 02

Wednesday, October 14, 2026

The training portal opened and the full course library is available.

No. 03

Wednesday, October 14, 2026, 10:00 PM ET

The first live class, then every wednesday, 10:00 pm et.

— TUITION

$1,497 regular. $1,197 for the first 20 seats.

Best value

Founding rate

$1,197

First 20 seats. Regular tuition is $1,497.

  • Over 40 hours of instruction
  • The full 18-hour AFSP continuing education requirement
  • Live class every Wednesday, recorded if you miss it
  • Second review on every return you prepare
  • Software, intake forms, scripts, and marketing material
Hold my seat

Payment plan

6 × $215

Same program, paid across six installments, one every two weeks.

  • Everything in the founding rate
  • First payment starts your access
  • Remaining payments run automatically, every two weeks
Start the plan

Annual CE renewal

$499

Returning preparers only. Coupon code required.

  • Your continuing education for the next season
  • Current-year updates and ethics
  • Continued access to the training portal
Renew for the season

This is professional preparer training and practice infrastructure, not a $99–$1,000 side course. The tuition covers over 40 hours of live and recorded instruction, the full AFSP CE requirement, software, intake systems, scripts, and second review on the returns you prepare.

Enter your code at checkout before you pay. Without the code this page charges full tuition.

At checkout you'll confirm: "I understand the AFSP Record of Completion is issued by the IRS, not by HB Academy."

Completing this program does not guarantee an AFSP Record of Completion. Only the IRS issues the Record of Completion, and only after you meet every IRS requirement including CE hours, an active PTIN, and consent to Circular 230.

— REFUND POLICY

Our refund policy, in one sentence.

75% refund before the program starts, or within 7 days of the portal opening if you have not accessed any training material. No refunds are issued once training material has been accessed.

No, you do not need a PTIN to start the program. We will walk you through the PTIN application as part of the training. You will need an active PTIN before you start earning continuing education credits or getting paid to prepare returns.

HB Academy makes no income, earnings, or business-results claim of any kind. Nothing in this program is a promise or projection of revenue, client volume, or profit. What you earn as a tax preparer depends on your own effort, your market, your pricing, your compliance record, and factors outside anyone's control. Training is education only. It is not tax, legal, or financial advice, and it is not a guarantee of employment, of clients, or of any credential.

HB Academy is an IRS Approved Continuing Education Provider, provider number SGOXP. IRS CE provider approval does not constitute an endorsement by the IRS of the provider, the program, or any views expressed by the provider or its instructors.

— NEXT STEP

Want to talk it through before you enroll?

Book a call with Melissa and ask whatever you need to ask. No pitch, and no pressure.

Book a call