How many parts is the EA exam?

Three: Part 1 Individuals, Part 2 Businesses, and Part 3 Representation, Practices and Procedures.

How many questions are on each SEE part?

Each part has 100 multiple-choice questions, of which 85 are scored and 15 are experimental, with 3.5 hours to complete the sitting.

Do I need a degree to become an Enrolled Agent?

No. The IRS path is PTIN, pass the SEE (or qualify via certain IRS experience), apply for enrollment, and pass a suitability check.

Who administers the SEE now?

As of March 1, 2026 the IRS selected PSI Services to develop and administer the SEE. Confirm registration details on the IRS and PSI pages linked in the source callout.

Does MiloPrep include all three EA parts?

Yes. The all-access subscription covers Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 practice.

How many sittings does the EA exam include?

EA is structured as 3 parts. On this site we track 3 sittings: Part 1 - Individuals, Part 2 - Businesses, Part 3 - Representation, Practices and Procedures. Confirm current windows on Internal Revenue Service pages.

EA · Part 1 - Individuals

How to pass EA Part 1 - Individuals

Individual taxation. Each SEE part is 100 multiple-choice questions (85 scored) in 3.5 hours. This pass plan ties weights, format, and failure modes into one weekly loop. Parts can be scheduled separately. Use MiloPrep tools to plan hours for EA alongside practice in the app.

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Duration

210 min

Questions

100

Sims / cases

—

Topics

Who this fits

Fits you if

Tax preparers and advisers who want unlimited IRS representation rights and prefer an exam path without a bachelor’s degree requirement.

Skip if

Candidates who need a CPA licence for attest work, or who want broad financial planning (CFP) rather than tax representation.

Pass plan

Step 1
Lock the blueprint
List every Part 1 - Individuals content area and its weight range before you open a course chapter. High-weight bands get calendar priority even when they feel familiar.
Step 2
Drill the format
Practise Multiple choice (85 scored + 15 experimental) under partial timing, then full sitting length near 210 minutes. Format skill is a separate skill from content recall.
Step 3
Get a current outline, then budget by domain weight
Download the active SEE outline for your testing window. Spend study hours proportional to domain weight, not chapter count. Tie this stage to the published EA weights before you expand reading. Watch for: Drilling Form 1040 line items without practising the fact-pattern questions that combine filing status, basis, and credit phase-outs.
Step 4
Master Part 1 fact patterns
Individual returns turn on filing status, basis, and credit phase-outs. Practise combined facts, not isolated line items. Tie this stage to the published EA weights before you expand reading. Watch for: Confusing partnership, S corporation, and C corporation basis and distribution rules under similar fact patterns.
Step 5
Treat entity basis as a Part 2 system
Build partnership, S corp, and C corp basis tracks side by side so distribution questions stop blending together. Tie this stage to the published EA weights before you expand reading. Watch for: Treating Part 3 as “common sense ethics” instead of memorising Circular 230 duties, penalties, and representation mechanics.
Step 6
Attack the known failure mode
Drilling Form 1040 line items without practising the fact-pattern questions that combine filing status, basis, and credit phase-outs. Build two drills this week that force that exact miss pattern into the open.

Part 1 - Individuals pass checklist

Weights listed and calendarized
Timed block near 210 minutes completed
Error log has at least 10 recent misses with rules
Failure mode addressed: Drilling Form 1040 line items without practising the fact-pattern questions that…
Retake rules checked only after a real readiness mock

EA study-week checklist

Open the EA hub and mark which sittings you will book first.
Spend at least one block on Part 1 - Individuals high-weight topics.
Run one mixed set, then log every stem you missed with the correct rule.
Schedule one timed block near published sitting length this week.
Revisit one troubleshooting symptom from the hub and apply the next step.

Pro tip

Phase-outs and filing status (Part 1): Change one fact in a stem - AGI, dependent, or filing status - and re-solve. That is how the exam flips answers.

Tip 2

Entity basis and distributions (Part 2): Practise ordering rules: income, contributions, distributions, loss limitations. Sequence errors create wrong answers even when the code section is known.

Tip 3

If part 1 scores bounce between domains, Spend the next week only on your two weakest Part 1 domains by weight.

Tip 4

If part 2 entity questions feel interchangeable, Build a one-page table of basis, debt, and distribution rules across partnership, S corp, and C corp.

Without structured practiceWith MiloPrep-style loops

Read chapters end-to-end with no weight mapBudget weeks to published EA content-area ranges

Untimed question dumps until exhaustionShort diagnostics → mixed drills → timed sitting blocks

Ignore format (sims / cases / item sets)Separate format drills that match each sitting

Repeat the same miss with no error logLog stem mistakes and retest within 72 hours

Approach	Best for	Watch-out
Part-by-part sprint	Candidates sitting one EA part soon	Leaving neighbouring topics cold
Weight-first calendar	Working professionals with limited hours	Skipping format practice
Full mock weeks	Final 3–4 weeks before a sitting	Using mocks before a baseline exists

Part 1 - Individuals topic weights

Topic	Weight
Preliminary Work with Taxpayer Data	14 scored questions
Income and Assets	17 scored questions
Deductions and Credits	17 scored questions
Taxation	15 scored questions
Advising the Individual Taxpayer	11 scored questions
Specialized Returns for Individuals	11 scored questions

Confirm numbers on official pages

Part names, the 100-question / 85-scored structure, 3.5-hour exam time, and domain allocations come from the PSI Candidate Information Bulletin revised June 24, 2026. The topic table preserves the bulletin's exact scored-question counts instead of converting them into unofficial percentages. Candidates should recheck the active bulletin because tax-law references, dates, and content outlines can change.

How we review structure facts

MiloPrep cites awarding-body materials for EA. Fees and pass rates are excluded when they move too often to state as facts.

Practice access

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Weak-area targeting instead of random question dumps
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Next steps

Part 1 - Individuals hub

Format and topics for Part 1 - Individuals.

Open hub

Part 1 - Individuals practice

Blueprint explorer and sample question.

Practice

How to study

Study approach for EA.

Read guide

EA FAQs

How many parts is the EA exam?: Three: Part 1 Individuals, Part 2 Businesses, and Part 3 Representation, Practices and Procedures.
How many questions are on each SEE part?: Each part has 100 multiple-choice questions, of which 85 are scored and 15 are experimental, with 3.5 hours to complete the sitting.
Do I need a degree to become an Enrolled Agent?: No. The IRS path is PTIN, pass the SEE (or qualify via certain IRS experience), apply for enrollment, and pass a suitability check.
Who administers the SEE now?: As of March 1, 2026 the IRS selected PSI Services to develop and administer the SEE. Confirm registration details on the IRS and PSI pages linked in the source callout.
Does MiloPrep include all three EA parts?: Yes. The all-access subscription covers Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 practice.
How many sittings does the EA exam include?: EA is structured as 3 parts. On this site we track 3 sittings: Part 1 - Individuals, Part 2 - Businesses, Part 3 - Representation, Practices and Procedures. Confirm current windows on Internal Revenue Service pages.
What question format should I expect on EA Part 1 - Individuals?: Part 1 - Individuals uses Multiple choice (85 scored + 15 experimental) across about 100 scored items, with roughly 210 minutes of content time. Always re-check Internal Revenue Service before you book.