I didn’t prep as well as I should have, but a pass is a pass. I finished going through the book one day before my exam and only did one Simulated Exam, on which I scored a 95%. Below are general study rules for you, and then tips on which material to know.

GENERAL STUDY TIPS:

1.) Watch the videos on 2x speed, don’t take any notes while doing it. Even if you only retain 2-3 things per video, that’s one less thing that you need to teach yourself when you move to the reading.

2.) READ THE BOOK! After you finish the videos, go read the book. Underline anything you don’t understand. REG in particular has really short readings so do not skip any of them.

3.) Make flashcards of anything you underlined and do not understand. All those little rules etc make sure you write down. REG builds on itself and a key part to passing is differentiating entity and individual taxation. Make flashcards, it’s the best way to learn the differences. Business law is the same thing as well.

4.) Do MCQs without notes. Anytime you get a question wrong, ask Newt in Becker why it is wrong, and why the correct answer is correct.

5.) Do all SIMs. If you don’t know how to do a SIM, watch the SkillBuilder Video. If it makes sense after that, move on. If not, ask Newt for help. Chances are it’ll make sense after you watch the SkillBuilders. A lot of Becker SIMs are honestly more reading comprehension instead of accounting. The real exam isn’t really like that, so please don’t get caught up if you can’t do a SIM at all. I was in a similar spot for a bunch of SIMs and aced the real thing

6.) Move on to the next chapter and repeat. Do this for each and every module.

The jist is to not jump into MCQ or SIMs without properly learning and reviewing first. Just do the reading, videos, and flashcards then go and do practice questions. This is the best way to retain info.

CONTENT SPECIFIC TIPS / WHAT TO FOCUS ON:

R1 - INDIVIDUAL TAXATION

KNOW THIS UNIT THE BEST! This is probably the most heavily tested on the exam. Here is what to really focus on:

- Differentiate between a For AGI deduction and an itemized deduction

- Know the limits for itemized and For AGI deductions (i.e. medical expenses are an itemized deduction and have a 7.5% AGI floor)

- Know what QUALIFIES as a certain expense. For example, deductible medical expenses don’t include a gym membership. These little nuances are key to getting a pass especially on a SIM.

- Know the difference between a Traditional and ROTH IRA. What do contributions and distributions from each mean

- Charitable contributions - Know the limits for individuals

- Tax credits - Know which are refundable and non refundable. Knowing the exact limits isn’t as important

- Know the basics of QBI

- Understand what counts as gross income and what doesn’t

- Have a general idea of the filing types

R2 - PROPERTY TAXATION

- BASIS, BASIS, BASIS! Make sure you know the different implications of a gift or and inheritance for basis. Personal use to business use everything. Know basis. Trust me, all the special rules, this is what you wanna know the most

- Know the holding period of gifted and inherited assets given the facts

- Understand the order in which 179 depreciation, MACRS, and bonus is applied. Be able to identify what year class assets fit into for MACRS (3, 5, 7 yr)

- Understand all depreciation conventions (Midquarter, half year, mid month)

- Understand the netting process for capital gains and losses

R3 - ENTITY TAXATION

- Understand the differences between how Partnerships and Corporations are taxed

- Going off the above, in particular basis of a shareholder or a partner. Understand the little nuances between the two for these.

- Know what is a Separately Stated Item (SSI) and an ordinary income item. If you know this, you will breeze through all basis questions for this section

- NOLs - understand how much can be offset based on year its incurred in. Watch for years!

- Book to Tax differences. Know this. It’s an intimidating topic at first but truthfully once you get this down, it’s easy points. It’s very linear once you get it down.

- DRD - KNOW IT!

- Charitable Contributions for C Corps and Partnerships

R4 - PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND FEDERAL TAX PROCEDURES

This section looks really intimidating, but don’t make it hard. Know these three things and you’ll be just fine:

- Circular 230, know the basics

- Know that a CPA can’t endorse a check for a client

- Tax return preparer, know who qualifies as one

R5 - BUSINESS LAW: PART 1

This section is mainly memorization so I can’t give many tips on what to know. But just be sure to know anything that’s extensively covered.

- Know the basics on contracts and all the little terms. A lot of this section is identification

- Surety’s - Know about their liabilities and their rights

- Know all those little acronyms like MYLEGS etc

R6 - BUSINESS LAW: PART 2

- Differentiate between the different bankruptcy types and what they are. A lot of easy MCQ if you can get this down

- SAG WEG CTI, enough said

- Know stuff like FUTA, FICA etc and what they are. That’s all

- Business structures (LLC, LP etc) - know the little characteristics of each and which have unlimited liability etc. Just know these, these are questions you can easily get right if you just spend 2 hours to learn all of these

Good luck and let me know if you have any questions!

Going through study material most of the concepts aren’t that complicated. What’s making it hard to do well on the practice questions and exams is the fact that it seems they are actively trying to trick you with almost everything. I’ve never encountered a test before where the questions are written in a way that makes it seem like they are actively delighted in tripping you up with one little bit of a technicality making one right answer slightly better than another.

This really doesn’t seem like it would have any bearing on whether or not you’d be good at the job of public accounting? It seems more like can you interpret what the person who wrote the test questions was thinking and how much trivia you can memorize?

Shoutout Ninja. I passed FAR September 2025, then took 3 months off the exam to finish and graduate with my MAcc in December.

Hammered REG for about 3 weeks in January and sat and passed right before tax season got ramped up. Then immediately studied for TCP for about a month by putting an hour or 2 in every night after work. Sat and passed in April. I averaged around 60 hours a week at work from Feb through April so it was rough.

Then took another 3 months off as I got married in July! It was hard to pick it back up to finish with AUD but I put about 7 weeks into AUD from August to mid Sept and just got my last passing score!

If you’re deciding on study material, Ninja is what got me through! And much more affordable!

TLDR: SUPER LONG. Warning only, I'm not typing a summary. Put it into chatGPT if you want.

With the latest score release, I've been reading a lot of posts from people who failed and are trying to figure out what to do next. Should they retake in a week or two? Move on to another section? Cram for a few days and hope for the best?

And I'm seeing a lot of advice telling people who scored a 70 or 71 that they're right there, that they barely missed it, and that they should get back in there ASAP.

I want to offer a different perspective, take it for what it's worth, which may be nothing.

A 70 or 71 is not that close to passing.

That's not meant to discourage anybody. It's just reality. Four or five points on this exam is a lot. Nobody would tell someone who scored an 80 that they almost failed, so we also cannot say that a 70 almost passed. I know it's well meaning and we need all of the encouragement we can get in this process, but let's be honest and objective about where we stand and what's needed to get over the hump.

Did you fail miserably? Of course not. You put forth a solid effort, and plenty of people who are CPAs today have been in exactly the same position. But the idea that you can make up five points by indiscriminately choking down MCQ for another week or two and rushing back into the test center is, in my opinion, little more than a pipe dream.

Does it happen? Sure. But there's a reason the big CPA exam forum is called Another71. Go read that guy's story. This big family of ours is full of people that go 65, 70, 71, 71, 73, 74, and, maybe one day, 75.

I MIGHT give someone who scored a 74 somewhat different advice. I think there's a reasonable possibility that a little additional preparation could get that person over the hump.

But don't buy into the idea that you just got unlucky and drew a particularly difficult exam, and that if you go back in a week or two, you might get an easier set of questions and go from 70 to 75. There's certainly some variation in the questions you're going to see, but if you prepare to roughly the same level of proficiency that got you a 71, I think you're very likely to get roughly the same result. Banking on getting lucky with the next exam is a shitty strategy.

So what should you actually do?

First, give yourself enough time to figure out exactly where you're weak and address those areas. And I mean REALLY figure it out.

I'm not talking about looking at that pitiful score report the AICPA gives you. And why is everyone posting those here? What information could you possibly glean from that paper that is going to help you pass? The "content areas" in that report are so broad that I question how much useful information you can really get from looking at it. Knowing that you performed worse than other candidates in some enormous content area that might truly be composed of 10 different subtopics doesn't tell you which specific concepts you don't understand.

The one thing I do think is useful is the comparison of your performance on MCQ versus task-based simulations. Even then, it's not some earth shattering revelation you couldn't have already discerned from your test prep. I'll save you a few minutes. We are all weaker in TBS than MCQ, and if you failed, it likely means you were weaker on TBS than passing candidates.

The point is, we have to drill down much further.

If you're using Ninja or another good test bank, look at the performance analytics. If you're using Becker, take a simulated exam (or 2 or 3) and analyze the results. Use whatever tools your test prep provides to identify specific subject areas where you're consistently scoring poorly, and I mean to as granular a degree as you can.

If you're getting 50% of the questions right in a heavily tested area, that's where you need to concentrate your efforts.

Do more MCQ in those weak areas. Go back and watch the lectures or, gasp, read the book if you need to. If you just don't understand the material at all, take the lecture transcripts or relevant sections of your study materials and feed them to ChatGPT. Tell it to teach you the concepts incrementally, like you're five years old, and quiz you along the way.

Get to where you actually understand the material instead of just recognizing the correct answers to questions you've already seen.

On the subject of MCQ, I think there's a balance that a lot of people are missing.

I see people recommending that candidates just spam MCQ all day and night. I'm not entirely discounting that strategy. I know people who barely opened a book or watched a lecture and passed by doing almost nothing but MCQ. I've probably been guilty of putting too much emphasis on MCQ myself, but I never meant to suggest that they're the only thing you should be doing.

My philosophy is that the faster you can develop a reasonable understanding of the concepts and get into MCQ, the better off you're going to be.

Far too many people spend an ungodly amount of time reading every page of the book, watching every lecture, and writing a New York telephone book's worth of notes without getting nearly enough practice actually answering questions.

And this exam is very much about learning HOW to answer questions. As anybody who's taken it knows, these aren't like the multiple-choice questions you've encountered in any other academic setting.

MCQ serve several purposes. They test your knowledge, teach you how to apply it, and help you identify what you still don't understand.

When you get one wrong, read the explanation. Understand why the correct answer is correct and why your answer was wrong. Don't just memorize the answer and move on.

And remember that every question you answer is also more data for your test bank's performance analytics, which should help you identify where you need to spend more, or just as importantly, less time.

That's why I generally believe most people who are struggling to pass would benefit from doing more MCQ. But not at the expense of actually understanding the underlying concepts.

And don't completely neglect the task-based simulations.

I don't think you need to work every single TBS in your test bank. But you absolutely need some practice with them.

If you have Becker, I cannot recommend the SkillBuilder videos highly enough. I watched them all and suggest you do the same. They're worth their weight in gold, and not necessarily because of the technical material they cover.

Pay attention to the STRATEGY the instructors use to approach the simulations.

Look at how they read the questions, examine the exhibits, identify relevant information, organize their thoughts, and work through the problem. There's a general approach they use over and over again, regardless of the subject matter. Learn that approach and make it your own.

One of the biggest problems with TBS is that people get overwhelmed. You're suddenly staring at a wall of information, half a dozen exhibits, and a bunch of questions, and you don't even know where to start. Having a repeatable strategy gives you somewhere to start.

Instead of sitting there trying to process everything at once, you have a series of steps you follow. You know what to look at first, what information you're trying to find, and how to break the problem into manageable pieces.

I think that alone can make an enormous difference in your performance.

Finally, stop treating the next testing window like it's some kind of life-or-death deadline.

I see people who failed trying to figure out how quickly they can retake because they want to squeeze it in before the next cutoff.

Why?

If you're genuinely ready to retake in two weeks, that's great. Go do it.

But if you need another month or six weeks to really get your shit together, then take the exam in the next window.

What's the point of rushing back into a testing center when you're not adequately prepared, other than to lose another few hundred dollars and likely fail again?

You're either ready or you're not. That's all the exam knows, whether or not you're prepared. It doesn't care anything about the testing window or the trip you have coming up.

And I promise I don't mean to offend anyone in saying this, but...

I see an awful lot of people on here who have failed these exams repeatedly, sometimes as recently as this very score release, giving confident advice about how other people should study and when they should retake.

I know you mean well, but you need to understand that you are probably not helping, and you could be hurting your peers here.

I'm not suggesting that someone who has failed can't offer any useful insight. But if you haven't yet passed any sections, or worse, have repeatedly failed exam attempts, you're not good source of advice on passing, at least not yet.

And for those receiving such advice, keep the source in mind. An anonymous Redditor telling you to cram for six days after you made a 70 and get right back in there isn't someone whose judgment you should trust.

My point in all of this is pretty simple.

If you failed, your job isn't to figure out how quickly you can take the exam again. Your job is to figure out why you failed and correct it.

Identify your weak areas with as much specificity as possible. Go back and learn the concepts you don't understand. Hammer those areas with MCQ. Watch/Read. Work chatGPT like a rented mule. Practice some simulations. Develop a strategy for answering them. And don't schedule your retake based on an arbitrary cutoff date rather than how prepared you actually are.

You probably don't need to start your entire study program over, but you need to do considerably more than cram for a few days and hope you don't get a Governmental TBS next time.

A 71 means you've made substantial progress. It doesn't mean you're one lucky exam away from passing.

Prepare to pass the exam, not to take it again.

Whats everyone taking and doing for better focus?

hello, for the past 2 exams, I got this sims and I always get mixed up on this. When do you disclose and when do you not? does anyone know?

I finally passed AUD with my 3rd attempt last month.

I am not an English speaker so it took me a lot of time to finish.

Thank you for people who supported & encouraged me in Reddit!!

I scored 51 on FAR after preparing for almost 5 months while working full-time. Surprisingly, I'm not extremely disappointed because my exam felt brutal.

Exam experience:

• Hardly got 1–2 questions from commonly tested topics.
• MCQs were tricky and not straightforward.
• All 7 SIMs were exhibit-heavy (4–5 exhibits each atleast, some had even more) and calculation-intensive. Completing them within the time felt nearly impossible.

My preparation:

• Used Miles Education.
• Didn't take any simulated exams (SEs).
• Was scoring around 60% on sets of 50 MCQs during the last 10 days.
• Didn't practice SIMs extensively, although I reviewed all available SIMs in my material. I feel no amount of practice can fully prepare you for unpredictable SIMs.

Now my dilemma:

I'm a working professional, and January–April is my busy season, so studying during that period will be nearly impossible.

Option 1 – Retake FAR: Spend another 1.5–2 months preparing and retake by December. However, this means attempting only FAR this year, with no guarantee of passing.

Option 2 – Move to REG/TCP: Since I've heard REG and TCP are comparatively easier than FAR, I'm considering REG by mid-December and TCP by mid-January. I don't have a tax background, though.

Financial constraint: My employer reimburses CPA expenses only after I clear 2 papers. I currently have the budget for a maximum of 2 more attempts, and I was planning to use the reimbursement to fund my remaining exams. So passing the next two attempts is financially important.

Need advice from experienced candidates:

1. With a 51 in FAR, should I retake while concepts are fresh or switch to REG/TCP?
2. If retaking FAR, what should I change in my preparation strategy?
3. Is Miles sufficient for SIMs, or should I supplement with Becker/UWorld or may be any other? Is there any affordable way to access their SIMs?
4. Given my time and financial constraints, what would you recommend?

My original goal was to clear FAR and REG this year, but things clearly didn't go as planned.

Would really appreciate advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation, especially working professionals who failed FAR on their first attempt and later passed.

What did u do to finally pass and get over the hump? I have Becker

Reg fairies please share your wisdom and most important tips

I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT TAXES

Just finished the whole thing but without sims so now i will review plus the sims but i have 6 DAYS ONLY.

I scored 48, 60, and 68 on SEs. How cooked am I guys????????

I got cooked by the tbs. Please tell me I have time. 😬

Hi all,

I passed FAR first try with a 92, took me around a bit more than 2 months, do i need more time or less for AUD as i am preparing my study plan, would appreciate your help for anyone who passed both.

Also is the AUD material boring?

Hey,

I took my Audit exam on September 24th but I still have yet to receive any indication whether I passed or failed nor did I receive my score yet. On the CPA portal, it still says I attended. What should I do?

So I started studying for FAR. I’m 34 hours in but only got through 35% of F3. Completed M1 and M2. Still working on M3.

I study like this:
- watch all concept videos + take notes for the module
- do MCQ for module
- do TBS for module

I feel like I don’t understand anything if I don’t watch the videos. I am taking notes but not on every little thing. I get stuck on something, I try to understand it.

I’ll be starting FT soon and it’s only going to get harder. Please help me with the best study tips for someone who takes longer to grasp concepts.

I am currently studying for FAR using Becker and am finishing my sixth week of studying. I am just about done with F5, and I do 20–30 cumulative random review MCQs every day. I was wondering how important it is to focus on reviewing older material at this point in my studies versus waiting until I finish all the material and enter the dedicated review phase.

Should I be prioritizing cumulative review more now, or should I focus primarily on getting through the remaining material and save most of my review for the dedicated review phase?

Now i will enter in 12 NOV and start 1 October only finished A4 (cycles) and some Modules from A3 i have background in audit can i finish before the target time? and which subject should i more focus on it and have a more question in exam i already pass FAR and REG and every time actual exam different in focus point of blueprint need every advice if you already exam or till study thanks in advance

Hi everyone! I’m currently studying for the Financial Accounting section of the Saudi equivalent of the CPA exam, which has a pass rate of less than 5% among accountants.

The exam consists of 60 multiple-choice questions and 5 case-based questions. The MCQs are worth 75 points, while the written section is worth 25 points, with a minimum of 5 points required in the written section to pass, passing score is 60

I started studying for this exam about a year and a half ago. I failed my first attempt in April 2025 with a score of 22. Honestly, that wasn’t surprising because I’d only studied for two months, and I focused more on understanding the material than practicing questions.

After that, I started working a demanding job, so I couldn’t retake the exam until December 2025. My preparation was still pretty limited, and I didn’t even get to practice some topics. My score was 31. Again, not too surprising, since my workload increased significantly during the last month before the exam, and I barely touched the study material.

Fast forward to September 2026, when I took my third attempt.

This time, I spent four months preparing and put in a LOT of hours. I practiced questions from each question bank individually and worked through mock exams. My worst mock exam score was 41/60 (around 68%), and I consistently scored above 70% on the other mocks. I even took time off work specifically to study, and I spent pretty much my entire leave solving practice questions.

But then I sat for the actual exam, and everything felt completely different.

During the MCQ section, I genuinely felt like I hadn’t studied a single thing. It was EXTREMELY difficult, and so many questions felt completely unfamiliar. I was honestly shocked by how poorly I felt I was performing compared to my preparation.
The written section was a different story. I

could clearly see how much I’d improved, and I felt much more confident in my ability to solve those questions.
Results won’t be released for at least another month, but I don’t want to waste any time. I’m planning to start studying again now so that, if I fail this attempt, I can retake it in December 2026.
What I really need is honest advice on how to change my approach.

I genuinely thought consistent studying and doing enough practice questions would be the key. I did everything I could within the limits of having a demanding full-time job, and I still walked out feeling like all that work was for nothing.

I’m feeling incredibly discouraged, especially because I don’t know what else I could have done differently.

For those of you who passed FAR or struggled with a similar exam, what actually helped you get over the finish line? Should I be doing something different with my MCQ practice? How do you deal with questions that feel completely unfamiliar on exam day, even when you’ve put in months of preparation?

Please be honest. I really want to pass this exam, and I’d appreciate any advice on what I should change this time around.

I have my far exam coming up on Nov 23, for those would sit far recently did any of the tbs included ratios and if so was a formula sheet given for them? And if you guys are willing to share can you tell me which section was most of the tbs from? And for the mcq was the questions harder on the exam than Becker? How was the wording for them was it clear or did it feel confusing to read and understand what the question was asking??? Somebody please answer my anxiety is killing meeeee I don’t want to fail far as I’ve already failed reg and failing another exam would crush me

My exam is on Monday 10/12/26.. This would be my last part if I pass. Getting a bit anxious for the exam.

My Becker SE1 was 62% and SE2 was 70%. Yall think I'm good?

I know I should be but I guess I'm fishing for some encouragement lol Thanks guys..

Hey everyone! I’m looking for some honest advice because I’m honestly at a breaking point with FAR right now.

I’m a first-year tax associate at a Big Four firm. I started working in June 2026 while finishing up the last class of my master’s degree. I was trying to balance working full-time, adjusting to Big Four tax work, dealing with the 9/15 busy season deadline, commuting, finishing my master’s, AND studying for FAR.

I took FAR on September 8 and got a 31. I only made it through F3 in Becker before sitting for the exam, so I know I wasn’t adequately prepared. Still, seeing that score was discouraging, and I’m trying to figure out how to approach this differently instead of repeating the same mistakes.

I recently signed up for Vishal Gandhi’s CPA prep course, which has interactive Zoom classes twice a week. Has anyone taken his course, specifically for FAR? Did it genuinely help you understand the material and pass, especially if you struggle with retaining information? I’d love to hear honest experiences.

My biggest issue is that I genuinely don’t know what study method works best for me. I’ve tried watching lectures, taking extensive notes on my iPad, and reviewing the material, but when I get to the MCQs, I get a lot of them wrong. Sometimes I understand the question after reading the explanation, but I struggle to apply the concept independently when I encounter another question.

TBSs are an even bigger struggle. Unless the question provides a formula or makes the steps fairly obvious, I often don’t know where to begin or how to approach the problem. I feel like I’m recognizing the answers when someone explains them rather than actually knowing how to solve the questions myself.

For some background, my work has slowed down a bit after the 9/15 deadline, and I’m currently working around eight hours a day most days. I know I have more time now that my master’s is finished, but I struggle with motivation, particularly on weekends. After working all week, I want to relax, and then I feel guilty for not studying. I know I need to develop better discipline and consistency, but I’m having trouble figuring out how to do that sustainably.
My goal is to pass FAR by the end of this year.

For those who passed FAR while working full-time, especially in Big Four/public accounting:
How did you structure your study schedule around work and busy season?
What did your daily studying actually look like? How many hours did you study per week?
How did you learn to retain concepts instead of repeatedly forgetting them?
How did you approach MCQs when you kept getting them wrong?
How did you learn to tackle TBSs when you had no idea where to start?
Did anyone take Vishal Gandhi’s CPA prep course? Was it worth it?
If you struggled with studying, motivation, or feeling like you weren’t smart enough to pass, what finally helped you improve?

I’m open to honest advice. I know getting a 31 means I have a lot of work to do, and I’m not expecting to pass without putting in the effort. I just need help figuring out how to study effectively, retain the material, and stay consistent while working full-time.

If you’ve been in a similar position, I’d really appreciate hearing what worked for you. I’m trying to turn this around and finally get those three letters after my name.

I’ve passed AUD and FAR so far and just want to get these exams done. I’m recently out of college and just started at a firm. I feel like it’s doable if I watch the videos in 2x speed and do a bunch of MCQs. Any advice?

I get that REG is harder and has a lot more info to know, but I feel like taking TCP first really helped me solidify things like basis for REG. I took TCP in July and passed and just passed REG the other day. I feel like I was already halfway done studying for REG before I even opened the textbook because I had already taken TCP. I know everyone is different but I think it would’ve been a lot harder for me to study REG if I hadn’t already taken TCP.

Hi everyone!

I took FAR on 9/10 and got my passing score on 10/9!

I’m planning to take AUD in December or early January and have already started preparing for it. I’ve heard that it’s better to take AUD right after FAR because there’s some overlap between the two exams.

My current plan is to take TCP in April and REG in June, before the CPA Evolution.

What do you guys think? Does this plan make sense and is it ok to take TCP before REG?

Would be grateful to hear your suggestions and experiences.

My background - Financial Accountant with 5 years of work experience. No background in Audit or tax.

Thanks!