And, unlike the CPA Exam, you don’t need extensive knowledge of business and accounting to pass the EA exam. For EA exam candidates with major commitments to work and family, knowing the difficulty level of the EA exam (officially known as the IRS Special Enrollment Exam or SEE) is very important. Although everyone wants to avoid an EA exam fail, you can take the EA up to 4 times per testing window. I have an entire posts dedicated to the enrolled agent exam syllabus. The Special Enrollment Examination, also known as the “IRS exam,” is the test for enrolled agents.
Once you pass your first part of the enrolled agent exam, you have 2 years to complete and pass the remaining two parts before you lose credit for your first part. However, a 2-year carryover of your EA scores is generous and provides you with ample time to complete all 3 EA test parts. The IRS EA exam is a comprehensive three-part test that tax preparers must pass in order to become an IRS Enrolled ea exam pass rate Agent. After tax preparers pass all three Enrolled Agent exams and complete the other requirements (there aren’t many!), the IRS distinguishes them with the EA designation. It signals a high level of expertise and allows them to practice before the IRS. You can start by reading the textbooks or watching video lectures when you need to catch up on the basics to strengthen your weak areas.
Additional EA Exam Review resources
You have three years from the date you pass the first part to pass the other two parts of the exam. Like many of our students, I passed all the parts on my first try. The other 15 questions are experimental and are not included in the score for that part. Candidates living overseas can find international testing locations at Prometric.com/SEE by selecting “Contact Numbers–Including International Contacts”. This award-winning feature takes the guesswork out of exam readiness, by telling you — with 80% accuracy — what you’d score on the EA Exam if you took it that day.
If you failed the EA exam, you’ll receive immediate notification of your result as well as additional information about your performance. You’ll get a score ranging from 40 to 104 so you can see how close you were to passing. A 103 means you were really close to passing, while a 70 indicates that there was a good amount of information you didn’t know. Gleim EA Review is the most popular EA review course on the market, and, in my opinion, it is also one of the best courses. Gleim’s EA course discusses every exam topic thoroughly in well-written textbooks. It also has several layers of helpful customer support and a large test bank of excellent EA practice questions.
Timeframe for passing the IRS EA exams
Circular 230, current and prior year versions of IRS publications, forms and instructions are accessible online at IRS.gov. You may also wish to search the internet for commercially available materials and preparation courses in preparing to take the SEE. The IRS has a list of approved CE Providers, some of whom provide https://www.bookstime.com/ SEE test preparation courses. The IRS does not make recommendations as to any specific provider. To help you manage the enrolled agent exam difficulty and increase your chance of EA exam success, I’ve created my free EA e-course. Sign up today to learn more about how hard the exam is and how easily you can pass it.
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. The IRS has set the passing score for the enrolled agent exam at 105. This score is a scaled score based on the number of correctly answered enrolled agent test questions. Another reason for the low pass rates is that people cannot postpone the exam by rescheduling in February because February is the last month of the testing window. Therefore, a number of candidates are forced to take the exam without sufficient preparation.
Create an Enrolled Agent Exam Schedule
The other two exams are the CPA exam and the Bar exam, both of which have significant educational requirements which must be met before you can sit for the test. An enrolled agent, to be considered a tax expert, must “demonstrate a special competence in tax matters” by passing three separate parts to become an enrolled agent. Difficulty depends on experience, but the credential is attainable for those willing to put in the effort. Surgent EA Review is the only truly adaptive Enrolled Agent exam prep course on the market. Our award-winning software creates a fully customized study plan for each candidate, addressing weaker comprehension areas and ultimately reducing study time by 40%. We also offer additional Enrolled Agent resources to keep tax professionals current and up-to-date.
There is a $206 fee per part paid at the time of appointment scheduling. We also cover how much time you will likely need to pass the EA exam. Registering is required before you can schedule your exam appointment.
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You will know if you passed or failed each part of the exam as soon as you complete it. You will only find out your exact score on the exam if you did not pass. The pass rate for part 2 is traditionally much lower than for the other two parts of the exam.
EAs work on tax matters only, so they can specialize in certain areas such as tax preparation or tax resolution. Therefore, CPAs who specialize in tax should consider obtaining the EA so they can display their tax expertise. Both enrolled agents and CPAs can supply their clients with superior service. While this is all good news, none of it suggests that you should take the EA exam lightly.
What is the TaxMama pass rate for the SEE exam?
But based on the feedback from my readers who have completed both the CPA and EA exams, they seem to agree that the CPA Exam is harder. Some readers have pointed out that the coverage of the CPA Exam is a lot broader as well. Consequently, the pass rate for the Enrolled Agent exam is normally reported by part. Don’t worry if you don’t pass the first time, or if a particular topic is confusing.
Sure, you can study like everyone else, but we think you’ll prefer the Surgent way. Please allow 60 days for processing ( days if you are a former IRS employee). You may electronically apply for enrollment and make secure payment of the $140 enrollment fee at Pay.gov. If you are wearing eyeglasses you will be required to remove them for visual inspection to ensure they don’t contain a recording device. Large jewelry items must be stored in your locker due to concerns over concealed recording devices. Water in a clear or transparent container with a lid or cap must have all labels removed, and the container will be inspected for notes or other prohibited test aids.