A little known fact is that anyone can prepare taxes in Ohio. You do not have to be registered or have a license to prepare taxes. Should you want to work for a tax company, such as H&R Block, there are requirements specific to that company. Overall however, to become a certified tax preparer in Ohio entails understanding the process and being able to prepare taxes.

Research education or experience required at a company you want to work for. Some companies provide their own education and certification tests while others want their employees to take a public tax or accounting course and take a state examination. If you don't intend to work for a company you may choose to prepare taxes independently in which case there are technically no requirements to become certified.

Take tax preparation courses at a local community college, junior college or technical school. Often, there are basic tax preparation courses that will go over the documents, such as the W2, 1099 and others. For more specific laws pertaining to the State of Ohio, you may have to look into specialized training centers or even attending training at a business or company in the town. You could also enroll in accounting classes or finance classes at the local junior college or through a university in your town in Ohio. Accounting classes are closely related to tax preparation and will provide you with valuable information.

Obtain access to the Internet. You may even want to have a laptop. In today's world most tax returns are filed electronically. It would be a good idea to have access to preparing taxes online as well as establishing some confidence in doing so.

Take the basic Internal Revenue Service (IRS) certification exam. If you want to work for a company, this is important to take and pass. If you want to prepare taxes for people independently, passing this test would increase the confidence of everyone involved.