Return preparers play an essential role in tax administration and, in recent years, paid tax return preparers prepared the majority of the individual income tax returns filed. Many of these preparers have no credentials and are subject to no minimum standards, such as competency tests, continuing education, or ethical rules. IRS data shows that there are significantly more non-credentialed paid tax return preparers than the total of all credentialed paid preparers preparing individual returns and non-credentialed preparers disproportionately serve lower-income taxpayers. For example, non-credentialed preparers prepared approximately 82 percent of the tax year (TY) 2022 individual returns claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) that were prepared by paid tax return preparers. IRS oversight of the profession would protect taxpayers by imposing ethical rules on and ensuring a minimum level of competency for paid federal return preparers. The absence of such oversight exposes taxpayers to harm imposed by inept or dishonest return preparers. Because taxpayers bear ultimate responsibility for the accuracy of their own returns, incompetent and unethical return preparers subject taxpayers to unanticipated tax deficiencies, penalties, interest, overpaid taxes, or lost refunds.