EA Part 1: Individuals

Part 1: what to distinguish while studying

Use the content outline to check coverage, then allocate extra practice to the errors you can explain. The distinctions below are study guidance, not measured candidate failure rates or an official study-hour prescription.

Exam format and tested tax year

Each part contains 100 multiple-choice questions in 3.5 hours: 85 scored and 15 experimental. The IRS lists 500 as the passing scaled score on a 200-800 scale; it is not a raw percentage. For the 2026 cycle, use law through December 31, 2025 and calendar year 2025 unless the question says otherwise. Verify the active bulletin before booking.

What the six Part 1 domains ask you to do

Preliminary Work with Taxpayer Data starts before the tax calculation: identify filing obligations, status, dependents and the information needed to prepare the return. Income and Assets then asks what receipts are taxable and how property transactions are measured. Deductions and Credits requires both eligibility and the correct treatment of the benefit. These are connected decisions, but a correct classification in one domain does not answer the next automatically.

Taxation brings the calculation together. Advising the Individual Taxpayer asks how rules affect a taxpayer’s choices and obligations. Specialized Returns for Individuals extends beyond the most familiar annual Form 1040 fact pattern. Use all six domains as a coverage checklist. The counts at the top describe the exam’s scored-question allocation; they are not a reason to omit the smaller domains or assume your practice bank follows the same distribution.

Use a consistent order for individual-tax questions

First identify the taxpayer and tax year. Then classify the item: income, basis, deduction, credit or payment. Determine the applicable eligibility conditions and limitations before doing arithmetic. This order prevents a common category mistake, such as treating withholding as a reduction of taxable income or treating sale proceeds as the taxable gain.

For example, assume an investment is sold for $15,000 with adjusted basis of $9,000 and no other adjustments. The stated difference is $6,000; the sale proceeds are not themselves the gain. A later question about tax on that gain requires additional facts such as character and applicable rates. Answer the quantity requested rather than calculating a different number merely because the same dollars appear in the stem.

Build from eligibility to computation and advice

A practical preparation sequence starts with filing and dependency facts, then income classification and basis, followed by deductions, credits and tax computations. Add advising and specialized-return topics deliberately rather than leaving them to whatever questions happen to appear. This is a study sequence, not an IRS-required order or a claim that every candidate has the same weak areas.

For each domain, solve both a direct rule question and a fact pattern where one condition changes. If a relationship fact changes, does dependency treatment change? If an asset is a gift rather than an inheritance, which basis rule applies? Explain the difference before reading the answer. Use the online sample for a first check and the detailed lessons for topics where the explanation still feels unfamiliar.

Check coverage without mistaking a sample for the exam

A ten-question sample cannot establish mastery of six domains, and a familiar-question percentage is not the official scaled score. Keep a coverage list alongside your practice results. Mark whether you can state the rule, identify the decisive fact and solve an unfamiliar application. A correct guess belongs on the review list because it does not show why the answer is right.

In the final review, mix eligibility, calculation and advice questions so that you must choose the rule rather than simply repeat the last formula. Read command words such as "except," "taxable" and "deductible" carefully. Use the official tested-year boundary for changing amounts and rules. The part guide establishes the syllabus and format; use the dedicated practice and retake pages for drills and post-failure diagnosis.