Federal Income Taxation TECEP Advice

[pandas4eva]

Hey y'all!

I have read through all the threads I could find for any and all advice on this TECEP. There is a good amount of info, however a bunch is from 4+ years ago.
I am taking this one next week and just wanted to see if anyone has any recent/additional advice?

Thanks!

[Kgaul]

Anyone?
I have two Teceps standing between me and graduation

[Synicaal]

Hey y'all!

I have read through all the threads I could find for any and all advice on this TECEP. There is a good amount of info, however a bunch is from 4+ years ago.
I am taking this one next week and just wanted to see if anyone has any recent/additional advice?

Thanks!

Hello Have you taken this exam yet? If so how did you do and can you provide any feedback. I am planning this exam shortly after the Capstone TECEP.

[MD_AJIBULU]

Hello Have you taken this exam yet? If so how did you do and can you provide any feedback. I am planning this exam shortly after the Capstone TECEP.

Me three. Anyone have any updated intel on this exam? I am trying to decide if this is the easier of the other choices for a finance(?) requirement.

[azt579]

I haven't taken this yet, but I plan on taking it at the end of April. I will be studying using this course: https://www.udemy.com/taxaccounting/learn/v4/content and these books: https://www.amazon.com/J-K-Lassers-Your-...accounting, https://www.amazon.com/Taxes-Made-Simple...accounting

It would be nice to know how difficult/easy the exam is though, so hopefully someone who has taken it already will reply to this thread.

[Kgaul]

I am getting prepped to take this within the next week. The practice questions were really limited. I found this https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/samplertrpquestions.pdf I'm not sure that it will be exactly aligned with the test material but it did allow me to test my search skills of the text I will use for the exam and to know its limitations.
I know we can have our books but can we use a calculator? What about scratch paper? Good Luck! Please report back if you get to this TECEP before I do!

[pandas4eva]

I took this TECEP two weeks ago, and I still haven't received my score back yet, so no idea if I passed. However, I took these notes right after while it was fresh in my mind.

First off: All of the feedback posted in the Specific Exam thread is SPOT ON. Seriously.

I wouldn’t just waltz into this with a tax guide and hope for the best. I spent about 3 months doing off and on reading any IRS publication and form that I thought might end up on the exam. Looking back, I spent too much time worrying about how difficult it would be that I wasted time when I could have just gotten it over with sooner. However, some of the things I noticed in other publications and forms was on the test and not in the tax guide.

I brought in my Tax Guide (Pub. 17) and the J.K. Lasser’s Your Income Tax 2017, as well as a financial calculator (but a 4-function one would do just fine). I had also collected a boatload of other publications and forms from the IRS that I thought might be handy to have, like Form 1040 and Instructions, Schedules A-D, Pub. 541 and 542, etc. I figured that I wouldn’t be allowed to keep them, but thought what the heck. My proctor (via ProctorU) didn’t even look at them. Having Schedule A was SUPER helpful, because at least 2 of the problems involved itemized deductions. I also used the 1040 a lot. The test is mostly about individuals, but as the test description says, 15% is on partnerships and corporations. On my test, I had a 10-point computational one on figuring a partner’s interest basis. I was completely lost! The problem was from the partnership point-of-view, not the individual’s. I couldn’t even find an explanation in Pub. 541 (Partnerships) that gave enough detail to figure it out. I honestly don’t know how they could expect someone with just a tax guide (for individuals, mind you) to solve this one! But I digress… I think the hardest part of this test is just knowing where to look in the tax guide for the answer to the question. I had gone through the tabbed the heck out of my books (particularly focusing on the items mentioned in the specific exam thread. TIP: tab where to find the child tax credit, as well as realized and recognized gains), and that really saved me time in the end. I actually finished with 30 minutes to spare!

Long story short, learn all the terms on the specific exam thread inside and out, tab your tax guide, and git ‘er done!

Hope this helps y'all! Good luck!

[marquardt21]

You may want to check out Pass Keys Enrolled Agent exam study guide for part one which covers individual taxes. It comes with chapter quizzes and exams at the end of the book. This is what I plan on using to study for my exam when I take it.

[Synicaal]

Me three. Anyone have any updated intel on this exam? I am trying to decide if this is the easier of the other choices for a finance(?) requirement.

This will not meet the finance Requirement, this is an Accounting Course. ACC-421. Not sure if they will use it as a FIN course. Someone else can verify this or ask TESU.

@pandas4eva - please let me and the rest of the forum know how you did. I think I am going to stick with my original plan with this TECEP and just sticky note my tax book and just go take it. I feel like if I focus right on the 10point questions first and then work my way back I will be good to go with little issues.

[pandas4eva]

I feel like if I focus right on the 10point questions first and then work my way back I will be good to go with little issues.

The way TECEPs are set up, they are separated into "sections." You must work on one section at a time, and you cannot skip between sections. Once you have completed and submitted a section, you cannot go back to it.

The Federal Income Taxation TECEP has 5 sections:
1- 20 multiple choice
2- Four 5point computational problems
3- Three 6/8point computational problems
4- Two 10point computational/matching problems
5- Two 10point computational problems

Be prepared to work through the exam in this order!