[terpcpa11]

Kind of a unique/complicated question. I am licensed and work in MD, but live in PA. Up to this point I have done everything to satisfy my MD requirements, some CPE, ect. If I were to start doing taxes on the side from home and incorporated in PA I would need to obtain a PA license as well from what I understand. My question is whether I would need to worry about satisfying CPE in PA or just with my original license (which I would keep) in MD? The requirements are different as MD is not strict about what subjects you do and it can all be home study, while PA is more strict and requires you to cover certain topics (as well as having a max of 50% home study). Has anyone encountered something similar to this between living/working in close proximity to two or more states. Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

In my state (KY), the requirement is worded as if your “principal place of business” is located in another state, then you only have to meet their requirements:

If your principal place of business is located in another state, you may satisfy the CPE requirements in Kentucky by indicating that you are meeting the requirements in the state in which your principal place of business is located. If the state in which your principal office is located has no CPE requirement for renewal, you must comply with all CPE requirements for renewal of the license in this state.
https://cpa.ky.gov/practicingcpas/Pages/Continuing-Professional-Education.aspx

KY's requirements aren't very strict, though (no limitations on self-study or anything like that), so they're probably not concerned about someone meeting the requirements in a substantially less rigorous state. Given that you're dealing with 2 states where one is strict and one is more laid-back, you're probably more likely to run into the strict one requiring that you comply with CPE that meets or exceeds it requirements. I couldn't find anything specific to those two states, so can't help on specifics, but wanted to share this example from another state.

[terpcpa11]

Thank you for your input. I am waiting to hear back from the PA Board of Accountancy to see their opinion on the issue. It's just unfortunate that there is so much confusion regarding licensure when in some parts of the country many people commute across state lines to work on a daily basis. I really don't want to have to worry about fulfilling a whole new set of CPE requirements since I primarily do self-study now.

[nadroj]

I thought the base requirements of 20/120 are nationwide. It should be possible to take classes that satisfy multiple states.

That said, you may want to poke around the PA board website. For example, Texas is fairly strict, but doesn't require someone doing Federal taxes in Texas to be licensed in Texas. Not their concern.

[Author]

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