How Difficult is the EA Exam? Enrolled Agent Exam Prep Course

Well, Surgent uses an adaptive platform, A.S.A.P. Technology, that analyzes your content weaknesses in real time. Then, it directs you away from the material you’ve mastered and toward what you haven’t. In this way, Surgent claims to be able to reduce the amount of study time by 40%.

Your goal is not just to pass the exam eventually, but to pass it effectively (i.e., on your first try). So, now that you know about the enrolled agent pass rate, you can begin to strategize to become an EA. Next, it’s time to start thinking about your enrolled agent exam prep. Many factors influence the pass rates of professional accounting certification exams. For example, if the state boards of accountancy didn’t require all CPA Exam candidates to have an accounting degree or equivalent, the CPA Exam pass rates could be lower. They could also drop if the state boards did away with mandatory courses in audit and tax.

Enrolled Agent Exam Questions and Content

The IRS website provides information on each of these steps. You could work for the government, in the private-sector, or for individuals. CPAs have gone on to become CFOs, controllers, tax specialists or auditors. They can work for the government, large and small companies/corporations, in not-for-profits or be self-employed. We specialize in offering free test prep and prep course reviews. The CIA certification makes you more appreciated in audit field.

• But depending on your level of experience, you might need more than this average.
• Instead, you will put your mastery of tax law to the test as you apply it to a variety of circumstances.
• Sign up today to learn more about how hard the exam is and how easily you can pass it.
• There is no magic answer to this question, as this is an individual decision.
• That $15,000 annual gift is not reportable, and does not count against the aggregate “lifetime” limit.

REG, on the other hand, has trickier multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and the dreaded task-based simulations (TBSs), which are case study-like questions. Conveniently, I have a few readers who are both CPAs and enrolled agents. And, unlike the CPA Exam, you don’t need extensive knowledge of business and accounting to pass the EA exam. Part 3 is reputed to be the “easy” part, but it’s still important to study.

How to Pass The IRS EA Exam in Less than 60 Days!

Realistically, though, wealthy people do not want to give 1,000 gifts to total strangers. What they want to do (and what most of us want to do, too) is to gift as many assets as possible to our children, or other very close relatives, like our parents or siblings. That $15,000 annual gift is not reportable, and does not count against the aggregate “lifetime” limit. We are talking about the ESTATE and GIFT tax, (not the income tax, now). IRS Stakeholder Liaison is an IRS Return Preparer Office Approved CE Provider for Enrolled Agents and Other Tax Return Preparers with valid PTINs and is not NASBA or MCLE accredited.

Like many EA review courses, Gleim EA Review does not make the EA pass rates of its users public. However, Gleim does advertise that it has a 99% satisfaction rate. Candidates take the exam parts in any order, but most candidates start with Part 1. If more candidates are sitting, but fewer are passing, then Part 1 is presenting more of a challenge than Part 2 or Part 3.

Enrolled Agent Exam Requirements

Your study resources are connected and accessible with a simple click, making the learning process highly efficient. This means the information you need is always within reach, so you spend less time searching and more time studying. Despite popular opinion, the EA exam will never ask you to fill out a tax form. Instead, you will put your mastery of tax law to the test as you apply it to a variety of circumstances. If you are wearing eyeglasses you will be required to remove them for visual inspection to ensure they don’t contain a recording device.

After all, passing the Special Enrollment Examination (or SEE) is a lot easier with an EA exam review course that matches your learning style. For instance, both Gleim EA Review and Surgent EA Review reviews the exam material, but with slightly different approaches. C Corporations – A favorite question on the old open exams was to compute the corporate charitable deduction when a corporation has gross dividend income as well. For that reason, expect the vast majority of the questions on the exam to test the basic fundamentals of taxation.

Tips for Passing the Enrolled Agent Exam the First Time – Part 1

Although these “access until you pass” options can cost a little more upfront, they also might save you a lot of cash in the long room. To start, the course first helps you set up a personalized Gleim EA study guide. And based on the amount of weekly study time you have, your study planner will suggest what you should study and when. If you’ve been wondering about Gleim EA vs Surgent EA, you’ve come to the right place.

• And even better, the Gleim questions are a little challenging because they include MCQs from other Gleim prep courses, like the CPA review course.
• You can also use our free Enrolled Agent exam questions to get an idea of what the real exam questions will be like.
• If you do not bring your ID to the exam, you will be unable to take it and will have to reschedule your test.
• Before you can achieve EA status, you’ll need to make sure you meet a few essential qualifications.
• On the other hand, the CPA passing rate currently reports around 50%.
• Changes to the testable material just mean you need to find the right material to study.

Candidates who pass a part of the examination can carry over passing scores up to three years from the date the candidate passed the examination. For example, assume a candidate passed Part 1 on November 15, 2020. Subsequently the candidate passed Part 2 on February 15, 2021. That candidate has until November 15, 2023 https://www.bookstime.com/ to pass the remaining part. The candidate has until February 15, 2024 to pass all other parts of the examination or will lose credit for Part 2. While the exam is challenging, diligent preparation, strategic study approaches, and utilization of available resources can significantly increase your chances of success.

Enrolled Agent vs. CPA: What’s the Difference?

The Enrolled Agent exams are closed book with no access to any reference materials or electronic devices, including during breaks. Paper, pencils, and a calculator will be provided at the examination site. Exams are administered at Prometric test centers and are taken on a computer. There are test centers in most major cities in the US and are open throughout the week, with some locations open on Saturdays and Sundays. For example, an individual taxpayer gives gifts to 1,000 people of $15,000 each. Since each gift was below the annual exclusion amount, does it matter that the aggregate total is above the $11.7 Million aggregate exclusion amount?

But the challenge probably has more to do with candidate preparation than exam part difficulty. And really, these pass rates are almost unheard of among other accounting credential exams. Furthermore, when totally new and complex tax laws are introduced, the Enrolled Agent pass rates can go down. Instead, Enrolled Agent pass rates tell us that passing the EA exam is completely possible. Basically, if you put the time and effort into your studies, you can be completely ready to pass each part.

Exam Tip

With the exception of wedding and engagement rings and small stud earrings, jewelry is prohibited. Ties, bowties and hair accessories https://www.bookstime.com/articles/enrolled-agent-exam are subject to inspection. Each exam part may be taken 4 times per testing window, which runs from May 1 to the end of February.

To ensure that you study effectively until exam day, you must create an EA exam schedule that leads you through an EA review course. With the best EA review course for you, you can be completely ready to pass the exam and even pass it on your first attempt. If you think of tax law as a lot of rules, exceptions to the rules, and exceptions to the exceptions, then you can expect a lot of the EA exam to focus on exceptions. For this reason, the EA exam doesn’t really have trick questions per se. Rather, it simply demands that you know the content thoroughly.

How Long You Should Expect to Prepare

Although Gleim’s courses have all the tools to pass the EA exam, Surgent throws in an extra perk with the Ultimate Pass course. Specifically, Surgent gives Ultimate Pass users access to another on-demand Surgent course, Excel for Accounting Professionals. Both Surgent EA and Gleim have flashcards if you like to use them to study. They can help you remember definitions and other bits of information. For instance, Surgent’s Ultimate Pass course has printed flashcards only.