TECEP Federal Income Taxation

[Kones]

Does anyone have any feedback on the Federal Income Taxation TECEP? Most of the posts I can find are very old. Would love to know what materials you found useful during the test? Some feedback says the IRS guides, but many of them are 100+ pages. It seems wasteful (and expensive!) to print these. Also curious how you felt the sample questions on the test description lined up with the difficulty of the real questions? I'm taking the exam next weekend and would love to hear some feedback/tips.

[Dosada]

Yes, would love more feedback as well. I am planning on taking the TECEP this weekend. I purchased the suggested textbook as well as the IRS Tax guide. I also printed the main forms/schedules that are associated with the 1040. I have some familiarity with the concepts but curious how detailed the TECEP is compared to the sample questions.

I have flagged the sections of the book and tax guide based on the topics in the test description. Worried about how in depth the test is on Partnership and Corp concepts.

Also, how long did it take to get your score?

[Dosada]

Just finished the Federal Income TECEP and wanted to leave some details while they are still fresh. I had TECEP E for this exam. The first three questions were on MACRS and very detailed. So make sure you spend plenty of time reviewing this section.

It was broken into three sections. The first was 27 multiple choice questions which consisted mostly of Capital gains and losses, Basis, and expenses. The second section was 23 multiple choice questions mostly related to AGI, interest income, and deductions. DO NOT underestimate the multiple choice sections. Several questions required computations and might as well have been part of the third section. The third section was the computation problems. About half were figuring total expenses, total deductions, or total AGI. The rest were related to partnership income and tax credits.

Overall I would rate this TECEP as difficult and I’m familiar with most of the concepts covered. I actually already took this course and passed but it did not come in as UL. I did receive the RA credits as an elective though. I used up the entire time allowed. Make sure you have the section of the book or tax guide marked for each concept in the test description. The index will be your best friend during the exam. I had both the textbook and tax guide to reference during the exam. But mostly used the textbook. Found a used one online for about $40 and was worth it.

Once it was over I felt like I had been run over by a truck. Admittedly I did not devote a ton of time to studying. Maybe two weeks total. And I definitely felt unprepared. I am hopeful but not very optimistic I passed.

[Kones]

Also just finished. Wow. This was tough. I don't feel at all confident that I passed. I also had TECEP E. I agree with the above post on all counts. I also used up the entire time allowed and even skipped a question because I was running low on time. I printed a bunch of forms and tax guides that I really didn't end up using. I purchased a used copy of the South-Western Federal Taxation 2022: Comprehensive textbook from Amazon for less than $20 and used that for almost every question. Even if I thought I might know the answer, there is so much nuance in tax that I double checked everything. Definitely worth it - will be even more so if I manage to pass. Don't go crazy printing out any tax tables. I found that any questions that needed them, they provided them, such as the MACRS questions.

A couple of questions that specifically tripped me up - moving expenses for military personnel. I didn't study this at all because, except for military personnel, moving expense deductions are currently suspended. I went back and looked up the rules and realized I bombed that question. Another was whether or not one can claim the child and dependent care credit in certain situations. I think I got the answers right, but don't think I provided a thorough enough explanation. Another thing to look out for is some questions with errors. I came across one question that didn't really even have a question in it. It was just a list of amounts with no instruction on what they wanted you to do with those amounts. Another question used dates that didn't make any sense... why would you still be depreciating a 7 year asset 20 years later...?

One thing to know about the computational questions - they want you to show your work and in most cases provide an explanation as to why or how you got to your answer. So, it takes some extra time to write it all up.

Some of the topics I encountered:
- MACRS
- Section 179
- What counts as capital assets
- Gains and losses
- Realized vs recognized
- Deductible expenses
- Partnership basis
- Accrual method
- Calculating AGI
- Head of household
- Multiple support agreements
- Medical expenses
- Moving expenses
- Child/dependent care credit
- Like-kind exchange
- Voting to revoke an S-corp designation

Will update once I find out my grade.

[Dosada]

Also just finished. Wow. This was tough. I don't feel at all confident that I passed. I also had TECEP E. I agree with the above post on all counts. I also used up the entire time allowed and even skipped a question because I was running low on time. I printed a bunch of forms and tax guides that I really didn't end up using. I purchased a used copy of the South-Western Federal Taxation 2022: Comprehensive textbook from Amazon for less than $20 and used that for almost every question. Even if I thought I might know the answer, there is so much nuance in tax that I double checked everything. Definitely worth it - will be even more so if I manage to pass. Don't go crazy printing out any tax tables. I found that any questions that needed them, they provided them, such as the MACRS questions.

A couple of questions that specifically tripped me up - moving expenses for military personnel. I didn't study this at all because, except for military personnel, moving expense deductions are currently suspended. I went back and looked up the rules and realized I bombed that question. Another was whether or not one can claim the child and dependent care credit in certain situations. I think I got the answers right, but don't think I provided a thorough enough explanation. Another thing to look out for is some questions with errors. I came across one question that didn't really even have a question in it. It was just a list of amounts with no instruction on what they wanted you to do with those amounts. Another question used dates that didn't make any sense... why would you still be depreciating a 7 year asset 20 years later...?

One thing to know about the computational questions - they want you to show your work and in most cases provide an explanation as to why or how you got to your answer. So, it takes some extra time to write it all up.

Some of the topics I encountered:
- MACRS
- Section 179
- What counts as capital assets
- Gains and losses
- Realized vs recognized
- Deductible expenses
- Partnership basis
- Accrual method
- Calculating AGI
- Head of household
- Multiple support agreements
- Medical expenses
- Moving expenses
- Child/dependent care credit
- Like-kind exchange
- Voting to revoke an S-corp designation

Will update once I find out my grade.

Sounds like our experiences were identical!  Yes, I noticed the same thing about a couple of questions. One of the MACRS questions used the 7year table but was a 20 year asset. Didn’t make any sense. I also noticed that about one of the questions that didn’t ask a question. Just gave a bunch of random amounts. Had no clue what to do with it. 

The military moving expenses also tripped me up. I could not find anything in the book that explained what was deductible. I also was not able to show my full work on the computational questions as I was running out of time. Hopefully the work I did show was sufficient enough for partial credit at least. 

Side note: I do not suggest using the study.com practice test and study guide for this TECEP. Everything was very out of date. The content is still based on 2016/2017 tax years. 

Good luck and hopefully you passed!!

[Kones]

Also just finished. Wow. This was tough. I don't feel at all confident that I passed. I also had TECEP E. I agree with the above post on all counts. I also used up the entire time allowed and even skipped a question because I was running low on time. I printed a bunch of forms and tax guides that I really didn't end up using. I purchased a used copy of the South-Western Federal Taxation 2022: Comprehensive textbook from Amazon for less than $20 and used that for almost every question. Even if I thought I might know the answer, there is so much nuance in tax that I double checked everything. Definitely worth it - will be even more so if I manage to pass. Don't go crazy printing out any tax tables. I found that any questions that needed them, they provided them, such as the MACRS questions.

A couple of questions that specifically tripped me up - moving expenses for military personnel. I didn't study this at all because, except for military personnel, moving expense deductions are currently suspended. I went back and looked up the rules and realized I bombed that question. Another was whether or not one can claim the child and dependent care credit in certain situations. I think I got the answers right, but don't think I provided a thorough enough explanation. Another thing to look out for is some questions with errors. I came across one question that didn't really even have a question in it. It was just a list of amounts with no instruction on what they wanted you to do with those amounts. Another question used dates that didn't make any sense... why would you still be depreciating a 7 year asset 20 years later...?

One thing to know about the computational questions - they want you to show your work and in most cases provide an explanation as to why or how you got to your answer. So, it takes some extra time to write it all up.

Some of the topics I encountered:
- MACRS
- Section 179
- What counts as capital assets
- Gains and losses
- Realized vs recognized
- Deductible expenses
- Partnership basis
- Accrual method
- Calculating AGI
- Head of household
- Multiple support agreements
- Medical expenses
- Moving expenses
- Child/dependent care credit
- Like-kind exchange
- Voting to revoke an S-corp designation

Will update once I find out my grade.

Sounds like our experiences were identical!  Yes, I noticed the same thing about a couple of questions. One of the MACRS questions used the 7year table but was a 20 year asset. Didn’t make any sense. I also noticed that about one of the questions that didn’t ask a question. Just gave a bunch of random amounts. Had no clue what to do with it. 

The military moving expenses also tripped me up. I could not find anything in the book that explained what was deductible. I also was not able to show my full work on the computational questions as I was running out of time. Hopefully the work I did show was sufficient enough for partial credit at least. 

Side note: I do not suggest using the study.com practice test and study guide for this TECEP. Everything was very out of date. The content is still based on 2016/2017 tax years. 

Good luck and hopefully you passed!!

Thanks so much, good luck to you too!

[Kones]

Got my grade back - I passed! I'm so relieved. I didn't do great, I got a 67, but 60 is passing, so I'm thrilled.

[agsfisher]

Got my grade back - I passed! I'm so relieved. I didn't do great, I got a 67, but 60 is passing, so I'm thrilled.

CONGRATULATIONS!

[Dosada]

Got my grade back - I passed! I'm so relieved. I didn't do great, I got a 67, but 60 is passing, so I'm thrilled.

Congrats!!!  That was a hard one for sure. I unfortunately did not pass. Got a 55; close but not quite there.     I may try to take it again but may just choose a different option to fulfill the AOS requirements.

[Kones]

Got my grade back - I passed! I'm so relieved. I didn't do great, I got a 67, but 60 is passing, so I'm thrilled.

Congrats!!!  That was a hard one for sure. I unfortunately did not pass. Got a 55; close but not quite there.     I may try to take it again but may just choose a different option to fulfill the AOS requirements.

Oh no, I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe now that you know what the test is like, a second shot will be easier?