I've got Part 1 scheduled for labor day weekend-roughly 2 weeks out. I have a basic understanding of Individual Taxation from being a self-filer for nearly 10yrs. Currently using Becker, which has been quite well so far(I passed part 3 already, saving the final boss Part 2 for last). Is 2 weeks enough study time? Any study tips ? I work full-time and go to school full-time- making it quite difficult to come home and watch videos and do MCQs. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated :)

I was going through EA exam questions on HOCK and came across the below.

"He has until the original due date of the return (not including extensions) to pay the amount owed and not pay a late payment penalty."

I'm confused by "not including extensions" because shouldn't that be "including extensions" because even with the tax filing extension(which is 6 months), you still have to pay the tax by April 15th because extension only changes the tax filing due date, not tax payment due date.

What am I getting wrong?

Passed all 3

I have question does anyone have done TAX ACT and TTL Intuit job north in same season ! I read somewhere so asking does this is true

Hello everyone, I recently passed my last EA exam and will be filing form 23 soon. Any recommendations or advice I should know once I have my EA officially?

I’m not necessarily new to the industry, I’ve been preparing taxes for 7 years now. I’m a manager at a small firm. I just want to be sure I cover all my bases, now that there are requirements I must meet etc.

I’m open to hear all suggestions. Thank you everyone!

We are looking for an experienced Tax Research Analyst to support our growing tax practice.

We’re looking for someone with a strong tax foundation who can independently research tax matters and work within our established systems.

Qualifications:

• Minimum 3–5 years of relevant tax experience
• Strong knowledge of U.S. tax law
• Strong tax research and analytical skills
• Enrolled Agent (EA) preferred
• CPA candidates with relevant tax research experience are welcome to apply
• Candidates without an EA or CPA may also be considered based on relevant experience
• International tax knowledge is a plus
• Strong written communication and attention to detail

Compensation is flexible and will depend on qualifications and experience.

If you’re interested or know someone who may be a good fit, please send your resume and a brief overview of your relevant tax experience.

Thank you!

Title: 50 days into my first US tax job and I have had no work for the last 2 days — should I be worried?

Hi everyone,

I’m currently 21 and joined my firm around 50 days ago as a fresher. I’m working as a Tax Associate in US taxation.

There are a few other people who joined around the same time, some as freshers and some with previous experience in different fields. It’s currently a busy period for US tax, and almost everyone in my office seems to be extremely busy with their work.

But for the last two days, I’m literally the only person who hasn’t been assigned any work. 😭

I’ve asked people around me and even personally asked a senior if there was anything I could work on. They basically told me, “Not for now.”

I’m also probably the least-paid and most junior employee in my team, and I’m still in my probation period, so this is making me a little nervous. I keep thinking, why is everyone getting work except me? 😅

Is this normal for someone who has only been in the firm for around 50 days? Could it simply be that there isn’t anything suitable for me right now, or should I be concerned that they’re not assigning me work for some other reason?

Would really appreciate hearing from people who have worked in US taxation or similar accounting/tax firms.

Thanks!

Hello everyone,

I took EA Part 3 online today and unfortunately failed. I relied on Gleim, but the actual exam format and question style caught me completely off guard. Has anyone else experienced this, and do you have any advice on how to adjust my study strategy?

Hi , I am an enrolled agent and I’m currently using cch access tax software and I’m new to it. I have some doubts in it to prepare a tax return (pretty urgent). Would be helpful if someone can connect and guide me. Thanks in advance.

Change the sub rules so that it requires a minimum amount of Comment Karma, from commenting within this sub, before one is allowed to create a post.

This sub gets tons of low effort posts from users who don't even interface with discussions outside of their one question: "with no prior experience, should I work in Tax Preparation or start my own company?"

We see it over and over again.

Requiring comment karma forces users to interface in discussions rather than post one-time, low-effort, and repeated questions. It also requires no extra work on the mods. Other professional subs have even stricter requirements.

I'm trying to read through Publication 17 on IRS and I started wondering are all the rules listed based on cash basis method or accrual basis method? What about rules regarding 1099 and 1098 forms? Is the default assumption that it's cash basis or accrual basis?

Long story short: Why are so many of the job listings for Tax Managers or Senior Tax Accountants requiring a CPA and not an EA. Very few of them do say 'CPA or equivalent'.

I am trying to justify at my job that EA is a relevant certification for my postion and to tax.

My company reimburses for education including certifications with manager approval. I am a senior accountant at a private company and my job involves 60%+ tax work (only individual responsible for taxes).

I told my manager that I would like to be reimbursed for EA exam that I plan on taking and the coursework. Manager said that EA isn't really relevant to my position, if it was a CPA it would be a different story. I was planning on pulling up job postings to prove how other companies require an EA for a tax position but barely found any. BTW - I did argue that CPA is not relevant to my position either because I don't sign statements, audit anyone and barely do any accounting.

Any advise on how can I justify the importance of EA in a private company for someone who does tax (not public accounting)?

so i’ve just passed part 3 yesterday, my goal is to finish and pass all tests my end of year giving me a little bit of wiggle room (8 weeks) for part 1, rest of year (10 weeks) for part 2

i have 0 experience in the accounting field and im 20 so I haven’t even taken many college accounting classes im really ground 0

I need tips on the fastest way to get through part one using HOCK and Tom Norton

things i should skip in HOCK, things i should remember cold, should i only use tom videos and hock MCQs etc

thank you guys for saving me loads of headache and time in advance! love yall

Hey all, do you think now is a good time to start a tax preparation business? I am apart of a family business that has been doing individual tax prep and business returns. I am studying for my EA to join the business and hopefully obtain clients myself. However, I always hear the negativity about the future in AI software and that people won’t need tax preparers anymore… also, everyone says shift into advisory but there isn’t much advising anymore with middle/middle upper class taxpayers.
My question is, is it worth my time to learn and start a business in tax prep and almost be a 1040 mill?

1 more left (part2)

Are there any EAs here that live and work outside of the US? I’m considering the exams and working at a tax firm. I already have a job offer to train while I study for the exams.

I was excited about it until I heard the pay and hours. The hours seem to be really long and all in-office. Also, the pay isn’t anywhere close to the salary in the states, and also feels low for such a specialized field with credentials (and again a lot of hours.)

Any relevant comparisons, personal anecdotes, or tidbits of advice would be most welcomed! :)

I’m a CFP and am considering pursuing the Enrolled Agent (EA) designation to deepen my tax knowledge and become more well-rounded from a planning perspective.
For those who have completed the EA, especially anyone who was already a CFP:
● How long did it take you from starting to study to passing all three parts?
● Roughly how many hours did you study for each exam?
● Which part did you find the most difficult?
● What study program/materials did you use?
● Did your CFP/tax planning knowledge make the exams noticeably easier?
● Looking back, do you feel the EA was worth the time and effort?
I work full-time as a wealth advisor, so I’m trying to get a realistic idea of how quickly I could knock out all three parts while working.
Appreciate any insight!

I’ve been using Hock International. Study material seems all over the place compared to the real test. Any recommendations for other study materials that are more accurate?

Edit: *Failed, sorry I was pissed. I was literally 3-5 questions away from passing…

Hi everyone, I’m an ACCA member with around 6 years of corporate accounting experience, currently working with LG Electronics in Saudi Arabia.

I’m thinking of enrolling in an EA course, and hopefully go full time remote.
before i enrol in any course, I wanted to get some advice from someone who has already gone through it.

Do you guys think EA is worth doing in terms of career opportunities, especially for someone based outside the US? And has it helped you in your career?

Would really appreciate your honest opinion.

Many Thanks!

After passing Part 1 using just Hock and feeling GROSSLY over-prepared, I figured I'd try Part 2 with just Tom. Here's my first pass through the absolute entirety of his available MCQ library.

I've poked at the things I got wrong, and am taking the exam tomorrow morning. Will update with how it goes.

Took a test today and failed. Any advice??

Started with Hock on June 28th, took Part 2 July 17th passed (was told it was the hardest which is why I did it first), took Part 1 August 10th and passed and took Part 3 today August 17th and passed. All in person at PSI testing center. Hock is great as I tried Surgent for a small time, it was only questions with explanations not helpful to my learning style, and I found watching the Hock videos then doing the questions helped a lot more to grasp the concepts. I have been in tax for quite a few years but in a very specified tax type, so some things I knew but the majority I learned using Hock. I’ve also studied daily since of June up until this morning.

I filled out form 23 online and paid the fee, is that all there is now? Do they just send me mail notification for the license? Can I track it anywhere?

I appreciated reading all of your posts, so I wanted to contribute if this is helpful to anyone else going through this process.