How do I check that someone is really a licensed CPA in Florida?

Look the license up on the state register, which lets you search by name, license number, city or county, and license type. CPAs are licensed by state boards of accountancy, not by the IRS, so the state register is the system of record. Falsely claiming a CPA credential is one of the misconduct categories the IRS lists on its own preparer complaint form, which tells you how often it happens.

Can a Florida CPA charge me a percentage of my refund?

Not for preparing the filing. Florida law says public accounting services that include tax filings with federal, state or local government may not be offered or rendered for a fee contingent upon the findings or results of the service. The IRS separately tells every taxpayer to avoid a preparer who prices that way, credentialed or not.

My CPA gets a commission if I buy a product they recommend. Is that allowed?

Only with a written disclosure. Florida law bars a CPA or firm from accepting or paying a commission or referral fee in connection with the sale or referral of public accounting services, and separately requires a CPA who accepts a commission for selling a client a product or service to disclose that fact to the client in writing. Ask for that disclosure by name.

My accountant will not return my documents until I pay. Can they do that?

Generally not for the records you gave them. The Treasury rules governing practice before the IRS require a practitioner to return a client’s records on request and state that a fee dispute generally does not relieve them of that duty. Where state law permits some records to be withheld, the practitioner must still return the records that have to be attached to your return.

Will a DBPR complaint get my money back?

No, and Florida says so up front. DBPR cannot represent you in civil matters to recover fees paid or seek remedies for injuries. The board can discipline a license and impose a fine of up to $5,000 for each count, but none of that money comes to you. Recovering what you paid is a civil matter you pursue separately.

Do I need a CPA at all if I only have a W-2?

Usually not. Florida has no individual income tax, so a simple W-2 filer has one federal return and no state one, and software or any competent preparer will handle it. The credential earns its cost when there is a business, an IRS letter, property or income in another state, or a residency question.

How to Choose a CPA in Florida | Florida CPA Directory

The short version

Check the license on the state register, and confirm they will sign the return and put their PTIN on it.
Florida is stricter than the federal rules on fees. State law bars contingent fees on engagements that include tax filings, and bars commissions on public accounting services outright.
A complaint can cost a CPA their license. It will not get your money back — DBPR says so itself.

Most advice on this subject is written for the whole country, which means it stops at the IRS rules. Florida has its own, they are tougher on the two things people actually get burned by, and the complaint route here does not go where nearly every article says it does.

Step 1: verify, before the conversation

There is no federal license to prepare tax returns for money. The IRS is blunt about it: “Anyone can be a paid tax return preparer as long as they have an IRS Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN).” (opens in new tab) A PTIN is a registration. A CPA license is a credential. Confusing the two is the single most common mistake in this whole process.

The license

CPAs are licensed by state boards of accountancy, which is why the check belongs on Florida’s DBPR register (opens in new tab) and not on anything the person hands you. You can search by name, license number, city or county, and license type. What the register confirms is the license itself — who holds it, the number, and its status. Our walkthrough covers what each status actually means, because “Current” and “practicing” are not the same thing.

This is not a theoretical risk. Claiming a credential you do not hold is one of the misconduct categories printed on the IRS’s own complaint form: “Claimed to be an attorney, certified public accountant, enrolled agent, or registered tax return preparer, but does not actually have the credential claimed or the credential is no longer valid.” (opens in new tab)

The PTIN, and the IRS directory

Anyone paid to prepare all or substantially all of a federal return must have a PTIN, and the IRS tells taxpayers to confirm theirs. For a non-CPA, the IRS also publishes a Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers with Credentials and Select Qualifications (opens in new tab), which it describes as covering preparers who hold a professional credential it recognizes, or an Annual Filing Season Program record of completion. Note what that is and is not: a list of credentials, not a complaint record. For a CPA, the state register remains the check that matters.

Step 2: the fee rules Florida applies more strictly

Two fee arrangements are worth understanding before you sign anything, because on both Florida law goes further than the federal position — and it is the state rule, not the IRS one, that binds a Florida CPA.

A percentage of your refund

The IRS position is advice to consumers: “Avoid tax return preparers who base their fees on a percentage of the refund.” (opens in new tab)

Florida’s position is a statute. Fla. Stat. § 473.319 (opens in new tab) provides that public accounting services as chapter 473 defines them, “and those that include tax filings with federal, state, or local government, shall not be offered or rendered for a fee contingent upon the findings or results of such service.” A Florida CPA quoting you a cut of your refund for doing the filing is on the wrong side of state law, not merely of good practice.

The statute carries its own exceptions. The one most likely to come up covers services “in which the findings are those of the tax authorities and not those of the certified public accountant or firm” — an outcome the taxing authority determined, rather than one the CPA produced. Fees fixed by a court or other public authority are also carved out.

What the federal rule does and does not settle

Circular 230 § 10.27, the Treasury rules governing practice before the IRS, says a practitioner “may not charge a contingent fee for services rendered in connection with any matter before the Internal Revenue Service,” and defines a contingent fee to include a percentage of the refund. It looks like a knockout citation. It is not, for two reasons.

A federal court held the IRS may not apply that bar to the preparation of ordinary refund claims and permanently enjoined enforcement there — Ridgely v. Lew (D.D.C. 2014). The IRS did not appeal, and Treasury has since proposed removing § 10.27 altogether.
Circular 230 binds only “practitioners” — attorneys, CPAs, enrolled agents, actuaries and appraisers. It does not reach an uncredentialed preparer at all, which is precisely the person most likely to want a share of your refund.

So: a refund-percentage fee is a red flag anywhere, it is off limits for a Florida CPA on a tax filing under state law, and it is not something you can report to the IRS as a rule violation when an uncredentialed storefront does it.

Commissions and referral fees

Fla. Stat. § 473.3205 (opens in new tab) says a CPA or firm “may not accept or pay a commission or referral fee in connection with the sale or referral of public accounting services as defined in s. 473.302(8)(a) and (c).” Note that it runs both ways — paying for a referral is barred as well as taking one.

The same section handles the other case, where a CPA sells you something and is paid for it: a CPA in practice who “accepts a commission for the sale of a product or service to a client must disclose that fact to the client in writing in accordance with rules adopted by the board.” You can ask for that disclosure by name. Both bans are written against “public accounting services” as chapter 473 defines the term, so where a specific engagement falls is a question to ask rather than assume.

One more federal rule applies regardless of the arrangement: a practitioner “may not charge an unconscionable fee in connection with any matter before the Internal Revenue Service.” For what CPA work normally costs in this state, see our fee guide.

Step 3: what to ask

Six questions. None of them should be awkward, and how they are received tells you as much as the answers.

Will you sign the return and put your PTIN on it? The IRS tells taxpayers to use a preparer “who enters his or her PTIN on the tax return, signs the tax return, and provides you a copy of the return.” All three parts.
Are you reachable after April? The IRS specifically advises looking for someone available year-round, because questions arrive long after filing season ends.
How is the fee calculated, and what is in scope? Get it in writing. Treat that as your own protection rather than something the rules will secure for you — nobody hands over a written scope and fee unless you ask for one.
Do you receive a commission on anything you recommend? If yes, the written disclosure described above is the thing to request.
Do you e-file? The IRS says it issues most refunds in fewer than 21 days for taxpayers who file electronically and choose direct deposit. Both halves of that matter.
What records will you want to see? The IRS frames this as a positive signal — “Good preparers will ask to see your records and receipts.” Someone who does not is a warning, not a convenience.

Red flags, straight from the IRS

A fee set as a percentage of the refund. Covered above, and in Florida a statutory problem for a CPA.
A bigger refund than anyone else can get you. The IRS says be wary of preparers who claim this. The return depends on your facts, not on who types it.
Refusal to sign, or to give a PTIN. The IRS calls this a major red flag and the preparer a “ghost preparer” — one who prepares the return, then prints it and tells you to sign and mail it yourself. You remain legally responsible for what is filed either way.
A refund routed anywhere but your own account. The IRS is explicit that the refund goes to the taxpayer’s bank account, never the preparer’s.
Any request to sign a blank or incomplete return. The filing obligation is yours. So is a complete and correct return.
Refusing to hand over a copy of your return. Separately listed on Form 14157 as reportable misconduct.

When you do not need a CPA

Worth saying plainly, on a site that lists 29,952 of them. Florida has no individual income tax, so a straightforward W-2 filer has one federal return and no state one. Software handles that, and so will most competent preparers. Paying for a credential there buys reassurance rather than a different outcome.

For tax work specifically, an enrolled agent is not a downgrade either: EAs hold the same unlimited rights to represent you before the IRS that CPAs and attorneys do. What a CPA adds is breadth — audit, assurance, financial statements, and advice about the business rather than just its return. Our credential comparison works through which one fits which situation, and this guide takes the Florida-specific version of the question head on.

One caution on language. “Licensed tax professional” is not a synonym for CPA, and neither is “registered with the IRS.” If the credential matters to you, ask for the specific one and check it.

After you hire: duties you can hold them to

Your records come back on request. A practitioner must return a client’s records, and “the existence of a dispute over fees generally does not relieve the practitioner of his or her responsibility under this section.” Where state law narrows that, they must at minimum return the records that have to be attached to your return.
Errors get reported to you, promptly. A practitioner who learns of a client’s noncompliance, error or omission “must advise the client promptly of the fact of such noncompliance, error, or omission” and explain what follows from it.
A paid preparer carries the substantive accuracy of the return. The IRS puts primary responsibility for that on them — which does not move the filing obligation off you, but does mean the work is theirs to get right.
Read it before you sign. The IRS says to review the return and ask questions about anything unclear or inaccurate. This is the last moment it is cheap.

If it goes wrong: three routes, three limits

Where to complain about a Florida CPA, what each route can achieve, and what it cannot
Where	What it can do	What it cannot
Florida Board of Accountancy, through DBPR	Discipline the license — revocation, suspension, reprimand, probation, a restriction on scope of practice, or an administrative fine of up to $5,000 for each count or separate offense.	Recover your money. DBPR says it cannot represent you in civil matters to recover fees paid or seek remedies for injuries.
The IRS, on Form 14157	Report preparer misconduct — including someone who claimed a CPA, attorney or enrolled agent credential they do not hold, or who refused to give you a copy of the return they prepared.	Refund what you paid the preparer, or settle the tax you owe. Your own liability is a separate matter.
Civil court, with your own attorney	Pursue the money — fees paid, penalties, interest and other losses.	Touch the license. Discipline belongs to the board and nowhere else.

The Florida route, and the address everyone gets wrong

DBPR’s File a Complaint page (opens in new tab) leads with an online portal and lists Certified Public Accounting among the professions filed that way. If the profession is not on that list, DBPR gives a Customer Contact Center number, (850) 487-1395.

The paper route is DBPR Form 0070, the Uniform Complaint Form (opens in new tab). Here is the part almost every other page gets wrong: that form routes most professions to Tallahassee, but gives the Board of Accountancy its own address in Gainesville — 240 N.W. 76th Drive, Suite A, Gainesville, Florida 32607. Sending a CPA complaint to the Tallahassee consumer services address is following the crowd into the wrong mailbox. The form itself is dated 2011, which is another reason the online portal is the better first choice.

What filing actually sets in motion

It has to be legally sufficient. A complaint qualifies if it “contains ultimate facts that show that a violation” of the chapter, a practice act, or a department or board rule has occurred. Allege facts, not a feeling.
Send documentation with it. If DBPR asks for more and does not receive it within 30 days of the request, the file may be closed.
The CPA is given a copy. If an investigation is opened, the department furnishes the subject or their attorney a copy of the complaint. Expect that from the start.
You cannot call it off. The department may investigate and act on a complaint even after the original complainant withdraws it.
It stays confidential for a while. Complaints and investigative records are exempt from disclosure until 10 days after probable cause is found, or until the licensee waives confidentiality. A pending complaint against someone you are vetting will not be public.
Anonymous is possible but harder. The department may investigate an anonymous complaint if it is in writing, is legally sufficient, and the alleged violation is substantial.
Do not expect a timetable. DBPR declines to estimate one, on the grounds that investigations differ in complexity and duration.

The usual statutory hook is § 473.323 (opens in new tab), which makes “committing an act of fraud or deceit, or of negligence, incompetency, or misconduct, in the practice of public accounting” a ground for discipline. Failing to give a client a written disclosure that chapter 473 or a board rule requires — the commission disclosure, for instance — is separately listed.

The IRS route

Preparer misconduct goes to the IRS on Form 14157, Return Preparer Complaint (opens in new tab). The August 2026 revision changed how it is filed, and most guidance has not caught up: the form now states that “members of the public and tax professionals should submit their report online at IRS.gov/SubmitATip,” and it carries no mailing address or fax number anywhere in its four pages. If a page gives you an address for Form 14157, it is repeating stale instructions.

One case is different. Where you received an IRS notice or letter about the return, the IRS still asks for three items (opens in new tab) — Form 14157, Form 14157-A (the Tax Return Preparer Fraud or Misconduct Affidavit), and a copy of the notice — mailed to the address printed on that notice rather than to any general address. The IRS attaches an exception for taxpayers who received Letter 4733 or Letter 6623, who are routed differently, so read its page rather than assuming. And if what happened is that your information was stolen rather than misused on a return, the form is Form 14039, the Identity Theft Affidavit.

Common questions

How do I check that someone is really a licensed CPA in Florida?: Look the license up on the state register, which lets you search by name, license number, city or county, and license type. CPAs are licensed by state boards of accountancy, not by the IRS, so the state register is the system of record. Falsely claiming a CPA credential is one of the misconduct categories the IRS lists on its own preparer complaint form, which tells you how often it happens.
Can a Florida CPA charge me a percentage of my refund?: Not for preparing the filing. Florida law says public accounting services that include tax filings with federal, state or local government may not be offered or rendered for a fee contingent upon the findings or results of the service. The IRS separately tells every taxpayer to avoid a preparer who prices that way, credentialed or not.
My CPA gets a commission if I buy a product they recommend. Is that allowed?: Only with a written disclosure. Florida law bars a CPA or firm from accepting or paying a commission or referral fee in connection with the sale or referral of public accounting services, and separately requires a CPA who accepts a commission for selling a client a product or service to disclose that fact to the client in writing. Ask for that disclosure by name.
My accountant will not return my documents until I pay. Can they do that?: Generally not for the records you gave them. The Treasury rules governing practice before the IRS require a practitioner to return a client’s records on request and state that a fee dispute generally does not relieve them of that duty. Where state law permits some records to be withheld, the practitioner must still return the records that have to be attached to your return.
Will a DBPR complaint get my money back?: No, and Florida says so up front. DBPR cannot represent you in civil matters to recover fees paid or seek remedies for injuries. The board can discipline a license and impose a fine of up to $5,000 for each count, but none of that money comes to you. Recovering what you paid is a civil matter you pursue separately.
Do I need a CPA at all if I only have a W-2?: Usually not. Florida has no individual income tax, so a simple W-2 filer has one federal return and no state one, and software or any competent preparer will handle it. The credential earns its cost when there is a business, an IRS letter, property or income in another state, or a residency question.

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Florida’s fee, discipline and complaint rules are quoted from Fla. Stat. §§ 473.319, 473.3205, 473.323 and 455.225, and from DBPR’s File a Complaint page and Uniform Complaint Form 0070. Preparer guidance, red flags and complaint forms are from the IRS; the practitioner duties are from Treasury Circular No. 230 (Rev. 6-2014). All read September 20, 2026. This is general information, not legal or tax advice — statutes change, and your situation may turn on facts none of these sources address.