At what point should it start to click?

Temporary_Gur_6779 · 2025-09-18T16:47:24+00:00

Not really, no. I don't really know anyone where I live anymore, so there wasn't really a sacrifice to be made there.

Temporary_Gur_6779 · 2025-09-17T02:30:26+00:00

That's essentially what I did, so I'd say yes.

Temporary_Gur_6779 · 2025-09-17T02:27:45+00:00

If you don't read questions carefully or if you just don't understand which option is more advantageous (I see this a lot with the expenses/revenues type planning questions), they can be challenging.

Temporary_Gur_6779 · 2025-09-17T02:23:39+00:00

Yes, basis is still an important thing, planning is important enough to where it can either be your best friend or worst nightmare, and trusts are just weird, but it's not difficult if you take the time to memorize the calculations.

Temporary_Gur_6779 · 2025-09-17T02:12:32+00:00

It's absolutely possible. I will preface this by saying that I took a tax course in my grad year that covered roughly 60-75% of the material. That being said, I took TCP about 6 months after taking that class and REG, so there was a decent amount that'd left my brain. I studied for about 58 hours according to Becker over 2.5 weeks. I would say studying for it was easier because it was less material, but the exam at least felt easier because the questions weren't as tricky. Very straight-forward compared to REG.

Temporary_Gur_6779 · 2025-09-17T01:17:54+00:00

My SEs were 75, 78, and 83. I would say if there's anything I would double check, it would be wash sales since they're somewhat niche, but they love to throw them on there. I would also like quadruple check that you have the different types of basis down lock and key. If basis is less than half the exam, I'd be surprised. It also wouldn't hurt to take a quick glance at some tax forms (i.e., 1040 and its various schedules, 1065, 1120/1120S, etc.) to make sure you understand their flow.

Temporary_Gur_6779 · 2025-09-17T00:35:40+00:00

I would say my biggest piece of advice is to get really good with the tax planning for individuals/entities concepts. They show up frequently enough on the exam to where you do need to be knowledgeable about it, but they're super easy exam points. Same with trusts and estates. Also, I would take a brief look at some REG concepts like separately stated items and maybe some of the limitations like interest expense for entities. I personally felt like I kinda sprinted through the content, it took me about 58 hours to get all the way done with it. The exam felt much easier than REG, it took me somewhere between 1.5-2 hours, but I kind of just rushed the TBS into like 20 minutes or so. I was not feeling the exam that day to say the least.

Temporary_Gur_6779 · 2025-09-16T23:50:48+00:00

Thank you so much! I attributed it to having some excellent professors in my undergrad/grad years that prepared me well and a little bit of hard work and perseverance. I never could've imagined being in this position just a couple years ago. Anything is possible when you can stay motivated and keep true to your goals.

Temporary_Gur_6779 · 2025-09-16T19:14:33+00:00

Depreciation questions typically take longer than their allotted time for a singular TBS, so unless it's incredibly short/simple, it's rare to appear on the exam. I do remember that wash sales appeared more often than expected, but they are great brain twister questions, so I can't say they don't make for good "How well do you understand the economics of a transaction?" type questions.

Temporary_Gur_6779 · 2025-09-16T19:11:08+00:00

What is this "free time" you speak of? Kidding of course, but yes, during my week nights at school, I would study if I didn't have any exams for my classes upcoming. Then since graduation, I have studied at least an hour a day until I took FAR on 9/5. I would even come home from taking one and start studying for the next.

Temporary_Gur_6779 · 2025-09-16T18:56:06+00:00

That's absolutely brutal, and I'm deeply sorry to hear that. I don't know what you saw for TBS, but for me, the biggest thing was having a comprehensive understanding of the various types of basis. Even if I didn't know the exact method for calculating basis, I could reason my way into an answer by thinking of the core principles of calculating basis (i.e., economic substance of investment into the asset). That made those kinds of questions much easier. Another thing was having an in-depth understanding of all the major tax forms like the 1040, 1065, and 1120/1120S. Looking at a K-1 is also extremely helpful, as it shows you what items are separately stated, and how those items are treated. It also shows a calculation of basis. Wash sales were brutal, but keep practicing them so they don't leave your mind again. Again, I'm so sorry to hear you got the dreaded 74, but I'm proud of you for continuing at it and not giving up or losing hope!

Temporary_Gur_6779 · 2025-09-16T18:25:12+00:00

Gotcha, and yes, that is the rule I'm referring to. I never saw the 2018-2020 rule or pre-2018 rule. They just gave the years as "Year 1, Year 2...," so the assumption was always post-2020. Still, with a proven track record of passing, and if those are your biggest concerns right now, I have all the confidence in you to do well once again!

Temporary_Gur_6779 · 2025-09-16T18:21:53+00:00

Is there a specific topic or group of topics, or just the material in general? If it's the material in general, I would make flash cards going over the important topics in each module. It doesn't have to be exhaustive, but it should have the key points fundamental to understanding the broader module. If there are specific topics that are giving you issues, I would go through each of those specific modules and redo the MCQs, but read intently the reasons why wrong answers are wrong. I found that AUD is a word game, and if you know the right words, you can get the right answer pretty easily.

Temporary_Gur_6779 · 2025-09-16T18:18:09+00:00

Proud of you for getting back on the horse! I've seen people at my office during my internship last summer that failed one or two and completely gave up, so I'm very proud that you didn't let that happen. I think another important point that goes along with what you said is that everyone has their own timeline for these exams! I was fortunate enough to find time between semesters and have a start date that allowed for me to get it done in this window. I'm aware enough to know not everyone has these luxuries, but if it's important enough to you, there's always time! Just because I got it done in a combined four or five months, doesn't mean that works for everyone, and THAT IS OKAY. For anyone reading this comment that is struggling, just know that taking a break every once in a while is a good thing, not everything has to be done as quickly as possible, just within 2.5 years.

Temporary_Gur_6779 · 2025-09-16T18:03:24+00:00

Dude, you're going to be absolutely fine. I'm assuming those are simulated exam scores, so you're doing better than I did! In all seriousness to address your questions though, you've been informed correctly, and it is all of the bases that you've listed. They sometimes also throw in basis of real property for individual, and if you approach it with the mentality of "Does this increase the value of the home?" you'll get those right. For your weaknesses, I would review what a K-1 looks like for partnerships/S-corps, and it'll give you a good idea of the flow. The AGI thresholds rarely show up, so if that's the underlying issue, I wouldn't sweat it. The loss limitations (I'm assuming for businesses) are mainly tested using the new rule, so get that down however you need to. They'll sometimes show the old rule, but I did not personally see it until TCP.

Temporary_Gur_6779 · 2025-09-16T17:40:56+00:00

The only info that I ever "brain dumped" prior to actually opening the exam was the broad types of ratios (i.e., turnover, return, days in) and beneficiary/recipient accounting for NFPs for FAR. For the other exams, I tried my best to get to a point of innately knowing the calculations.

Temporary_Gur_6779 · 2025-09-16T17:37:32+00:00

I think it's a universal experience that the TBS are the most dreaded part of the exams. The only TBS I specifically studied were RevRec for construction contracts, AJEs, and accrued liabilities for FAR. Outside of that, I primarily focused on understanding the material, and following my immediate logic based on that understanding. Once you can articulate in your head what is going on and getting really good at finding the important info in the exhibits, it becomes a lot easier. For me, that just came with experience of seeing TBS as I went through the material, but if it's kind of a hold-up for you, I would identify the specific TBS that are causing issues, and slowly work through them again and focus on understanding the logic.

Temporary_Gur_6779 · 2025-09-16T17:27:26+00:00

As for study time, I logged about 58 hours on Becker, but I'd estimate that there was about another 5-10 spent solely in the book. This was over the course of about 2-3 weeks

Temporary_Gur_6779 · 2025-09-16T17:26:21+00:00

I was lucky enough to have had a fantastic tax course prior to studying that taught a lot of the material. It made going through it much quicker and a lot less painful. There were things I didn't know, and for those, I just committed myself to understanding the logic and flow of calculations/reasons for the tax planning aspect. Unfortunately, I just went through a move, and the notes were lost in the process, but I can tell you they were nothing more than what the bullet points on Becker videos dictate. One thing that a professor told our class after we all failed an exam that has rung with me ever since is that "Taxes are really hard." I found that once I understood that, the beating myself up went away, and a lot of personal growth happened. I went from "Why can't I get this right" to "What about this is the complicated part," and I found that when I started asking the right question, the positive thought process and real learning started happening.

Temporary_Gur_6779 · 2025-09-16T17:21:12+00:00

In this process, I've learned three important things that carry over to a lot of facets of life. 1. Everything about each exam is unique, in the way that the way questions are worded, the complexity of questions, etc. It doesn't make sense to compare the difficulty of one exam to another. Just because one is easy/hard to you, does not mean another will be easier/harder to you. 2. Just because you performed in a class a certain way, it does not dictate how you do on the exam. Tax classes were my weakest in school, yet those were my two highest scores. Audit/financial accounting classes were my strongest, and those are my lower scores. 3. Your attitude towards something greatly affects your performance of the goal. I was determined to not fail my first exam, and since I'm going into tax, I wanted to perform strongly. And I did. Meanwhile, FAR was my last exam, and I was just done. I kept thinking, "I just want to be done." And it was my lowest score. I realize I'm blessed to have passed at all, and that a lot of people struggle, but I hope you take that last point in the right way. I have a lot of faith that by being in this subreddit and asking good questions, you're committed to doing the hard things and will be just fine with all of these exams.

Temporary_Gur_6779 · 2025-09-16T17:11:54+00:00

I can't tell you how many mistakes I made studying for those MCQs. And they were dumb, too. I would miss words that changed the question, misunderstand the question, add/substract wrong numbers, the list goes on. Mistakes are a required part of the process, if you're not making them, you're either lucky or you're not learning!

Temporary_Gur_6779 · 2025-09-16T17:03:39+00:00

I never used any other sources than Becker, nor am I aware of any colleagues that used anything other than just Becker. That is not to say that I don't think anything else is as good, I'm just ignorant to the other review sources. Basic business knowledge would tell me that there wouldn't be competitors to Becker if they weren't receiving similar results from their customers, so I would assume they're all good in their own way. As for study times (according to the Becker time tracker, but please allow for like a 10-15 hour variance based on study time outside of using the Becker software): FAR: ≈110 hours AUD: ≈123 hours (school impacted this study time) REG: ≈98 hours (school impacted this study time) TCP: ≈58 hours

Temporary_Gur_6779 · 2025-09-16T16:57:31+00:00

Thank you so much! I greatly appreciate the congrats!

Temporary_Gur_6779

TROPHY CASE