Posts tagged: Enrolled Agent Exam

Keeping Up the Pace – EA Review

May 9, 2013, by No comments yet

Written By EA Blogger Katherine K.

Today I completed Study Unit 2, Gross Income. I feel like I have made it through one of the toughest study units. I know that properly identifying taxable income is basic to all tax preparation and that the Gleim materials are very thorough. I also have a tip for anyone studying this section: Clear up the meaning of terms and concepts as thoroughly as possible. I took extra time to do this and it was worthwhile. I am now maintaining an average test score of 80%, even when I include the score for my first exam in each study unit. The score for the first test is usually much lower because it is taken prior to studying.

The questions in the true/false and multiple-choice exams helped direct my attention to areas of study I had not fully understood, and they also helped to clarify the information. I learn a lot from the exams and the review! I am actually enjoying my studies now, which I attribute to the system wherein one approaches the subject and has the opportunity to interact and then review.

Another useful aspect I have found is that the true/false and multiple-choice exams are timed. I didn’t think much of this at first and was even a little annoyed. Now, I realize that the timing aspect forces me to keep a certain pace through each exam. This pace is what I will experience during the real EA Exam!

I am currently working in sales during the off season (tax) and will be traveling from New York to Florida over the next month. I plan to bring my laptop with me and get through the remaining 11 study units by mid June. I am so excited about finally getting my EA certificate this year! My employer in my tax prep work wants me to obtain my EA certificate by September, so I know I need to keep up the pace.

I also discovered that I will be able to do a final review the week prior to sitting for the EA exam with an “Exam Rehearsal” and “Online Test Prep.” It’s so relieving to be taken through these studies by Gleim and not have to worry about what and how to study.

 

Tax Season & EA Exam Prep

April 16, 2013, by No comments yet

 

 

Written By Guest Blogger Katherine S.

 
Even though tax season is at its height, I took the time to study my Gleim EA materials. I am so glad that I did! I did a review of filing requirements and discovered some very important information relating to dependents. I always seem to learn something new whenever I study filing requirements.

I appreciate the gradient approach to learning with Gleim. The first quiz is always very enlightening, and I usually discover that I have a lot more to learn than I thought I did! After taking the quiz, I go through each missed question and get the correct information. I’m finding that this is a great way to learn. I acquire a much better understanding by looking at each question. There may be details that I missed, which then become clear to me. This ensures that I will not miss a question because of those details next time. It also gives me a more interesting and interactive method of learning. I am able to keep my interest at a much higher level than if I were just reading the material and not interacting with it.

The quiz also prepares me for the next section and gives me a higher awareness when I study the overview. I enjoy this material because it covers general information and is easy to assimilate. I don’t get bogged down in the details. I go through the main points and get some basic understanding of that section. This, again, is a great approach to learning. I know I would not do as well if I just sat down and read the study section.

Reviewing my results right after the quiz allows me to find all the correct answers to the questions that I just missed a second time. This makes my awareness of those questions very high. Again, I feel that I will not miss these question the next time I see them.

I am very impressed so far with this method of study by Gleim and look forward to becoming an EA this year!

Katherine S.

Beginning To Study For The EA Exam

April 11, 2013, by No comments yet

 

Written By Guest Blogger Katherine S. For the Gleim EA Blog.

I just received my Gleim EA Review materials and have begun my studies. I was very happy to find out that I will be able to take an Exam Rehearsal for EA prior to taking the actual exam. In addition, there are over 3,600 EA questions that can be used and studied within practice exams throughout the EA study materials. I am already feeling relieved. In past studies, I have discovered that the more you go over the materials and the more you can practice, the better you understand the material. It has to be more than just memorizing facts. I have found that in order to be successful, you really need to gain an understanding of the material by going over it more than once and using the information. I like the fact that I can do more than just read a book. I know that the practice exams will make a big difference for me. I am truly excited about studying and using this system!

The Gleim A System for Success book explains the complete process of studying and preparing for the EA Exam. It is always nice to have someone “hold your hand” when embarking on a new adventure, and that is how I feel having these materials. From what I have studied so far, I can see that the materials are well presented in an easy to understand format. The language is not unnecessarily complicated.

I am currently extremely busy because it is tax season and I am a tax preparer. I have already prepared 200 tax returns this tax season. I have been asking the more experienced EAs and CPA in my office many questions. I look forward to the day when I don’t have to ask them any questions. I believe getting through the Gleim EA Review will accomplish that for me. I have always worked to be the most competent I can be and I am counting on these materials to help me accomplish that.

I took my first practice exam recently. It was very eye-opening, and I now have a better idea of what is expected and what I need to study. I was able to grade my exam immediately and study the questions that I missed. Over the next few weeks, it will be hard to get my study time in (while preparing taxes), but I plan to study as much as possible. I know I will need to be disciplined to get through it!

 

 

Is Becoming an Enrolled Agent Worth It?

April 2, 2013, by No comments yet

Written By Guest Blogger Nicole G. for the Gleim EA Blog.

The moment others find out that you are an Enrolled Agent, the first question they will ask you is “How much do you charge?” It’s like asking “How much does a home cost?” Obviously, a 1,500-square-foot home in Florida does not cost the same as a 1,500-square-foot penthouse condo in New York City. The same concept applies to Enrolled Agents. The best answer to the question is “it depends.” For example, someone who has a simple tax return can pay as little as $175 in preparation fees. On the other hand, a client whose return takes days to prepare will cost a lot more.

As an Enrolled Agent, there are a couple of things that you need to keep in mind. One of those things is the importance of building a relationship with your client. By working with the same clients year after year, you become familiar with their situations and can quickly identify discrepancies. Last year, one of my returning clients told me she bought her first home. This tax season she contacted me and said she had received her W-2 and was ready to file her income tax. This client did not realize that her tax situation had changed and that she would be able to itemize her tax return. I advised her to also provide me with copies of her mortgage and tax statements. She was ecstatic!

A second thing is that, as an Enrolled Agent, you also get to be a consultant. Your advice can be beneficial to clients, especially when making major tax decisions. For example, another client of mine decided that he wanted to purchase his first home. In order to do so, he would have to withdraw the down payment from his 401k. My advice to him was to do a rollover of his IRA to avoid paying the early withdrawal fee of 10%. (exceptions and limitations apply).

The bottom line is this: By choosing to embark on a career as an Enrolled Agent, you will be keeping up with the tax laws and tax changes. You will be able to analyze the taxpayer’s tax situation and find tax saving opportunities that will not only help them now, but also help them to plan for subsequent years. My experience is that clients appreciate an educated and efficient tax preparer. If you are able to advise and make tax recommendations, clients will admire and appreciate you. As a reward for your service, clients will recommend you to their friends and family. I can’t think of a better way to build your practice!

 

Packing In The Study Time

March 14, 2013, by No comments yet

Written By Guest Blogger Patti G.

Everything is in flux as I try to pack so much into such a small period of time. I am working every day now, so I have had to revamp my study schedule. I am trying to finish studying for EA Part 1 before my test date, which is scheduled in just a few weeks. I’ve put the new study schedule on my new 2013 calendar the rest of this month.

Now, each study unit must be completed in 4 days in order to meet the new schedule. I will begin a new study unit and go right through the Gleim suggested sequence. I usually review the study questions and take the test over and over until my score is satisfactory. That means achieving a grade of 75 or or better. Hopefully, my scores will be better than that.

I find that listening to the audio and carefully reading the correct answers helps sink the concepts into the cognitive domain of my brain. I have also been inputting key concepts or sticking points in the Notes menu. I plan to use these for a quick review later, and I like the outline form.

After studying a subunit, I access Gleim EA Test Prep online. Sometimes, I check the ones I’ve already completed to see if I have retained what I learned earlier. Eventually most of the concepts will stick if I just keep at the drill.

Today, I created a test session covering the first four subunits. The result was very good. Then, I took a look at the Grade Report, Performance Graphs, and viewed the History to ascertain if my scores were in the acceptable ranges. The graphs also show the average time per question and the cumulative percent correct.

My tax job is beginning to be very busy, and the phone is beginning to ring quite often as clients make appointments. In addition, I must notify my clients of all the new tax changes. This is accomplished via email and telephone, depending on the client.

The Gleim Study Program enables me to accomplish more than I ever could if I were trying to pass the EA Test on my own. So, I will study, work, and utilize the suggestions from Dr. Gleim, and I will do my very best on the upcoming test.

 

Structure Review Time Around Tax Season

March 1, 2013, by No comments yet

 

Written By Guest Blogger Patti G.

I’m now working on EA Part 1, Study Unit 2. I also listened to the Audio Review for the third time. This section is harder than the last two sections for me. I took multiple-choice quiz #2 and received a score of 75%, which is still too weak. I’m now concentrating on answering the questions in a timely manner and not lingering on questions that I am unsure of. Instead, I am marking those questions so that I can review them later.

TIP: I noticed that you can easily check the number of minutes it takes to answer each question when you grade your quiz. This is important when it comes to taking the test. You must manage your time or you will not be able to finish in time to review any marked questions.

Repetition is good, so I went through the review of last quiz for a second time. At the end of a quiz, I go over my mistakes again and again until I can answer all of the questions correctly and understand the concepts.

I created a couple of study sessions in EA Test Prep and then started a test session. Then I took a break. A cup of hot tea or a latte relaxes me. It takes planning and perseverance to keep at this. You also need to read the answers to the questions that you missed very carefully.

TIP: The Notes Button is very useful. I’m talking about the button at the top of the page within the study units. I began writing notes on items I need to review. You could just have a Word document open and write the notes that way; however, when I printed out the Gleim notes, they printed in outline format with the study unit shown in the header. Nice!

I’m beginning to be more careful about reading the questions. There can be one word or phrase that changes everything! I read the question to find out what is asked BEFORE I begin reading the answers. This seems to save time.

My tax job begins this week, so I will have to structure my time carefully to complete EA Part 1 by the end of February.

 

 

Initial Study Materials and Organizing My Time

February 22, 2013, by No comments yet

I’m just beginning the Gleim EA Study after having successfully passed the RTRP exam in early December 2012. I began once again by reading the initial directions on the Gleim website. The EA portion of the site seemed a bit different than the RTRP portion. I discovered that I had to download the EA Test Prep software separately. It contains thousands of questions not offered in the book. I immediately contacted Gleim and spoke to a friendly personal counselor who was able to explain the downloading steps to me. I then downloaded the test prep software and put a shortcut icon on my desktop.

Within a few days of signing up for EA Part 1, I received the Gleim EA Review book in the mail. I scanned the Table of Contents and read the Introduction to familiarize myself with the steps required to pass the EA exam. The book also contains an overview of Part 1, a detailed plan to obtain EA certification, tip on how to organize my study schedule, and test day tactics.

I then registered for the Prometric exam so that I could be sure to complete my exam before February 28, 2013. I was lucky to find a day and time to schedule the exam at a nearby test center.

I also found a step-by-step study sequence in the Introduction of the Gleim EA Review 2012 book. The steps delineate time periods for each section as well as the sequence of recommended study. The next step is to peruse my calendar and mark study times for the next 60 days. Completion can be done in 60 hours, so I should have enough time to prepare for the exam, especially because I will be working in my tax office during this time.

I recommend reading the Introduction of the EA book first. There is a lot of good information here. At the back of the book there is also a helpful index.

Whew! I look forward to passing this exam, and if I am able to properly organize my time, I believe I can.

 

Final Thoughts On The EA Exam

February 12, 2013, by No comments yet

Written By Guest Blogger KP.

I have a few final thoughts about the last EA exam I took; the main one is to not study more than you need to! Make sure you have adequate time to prepare. I was way too busy in September and October when I first started studying for this exam, so I would only get through maybe half of a section a week (out of 20 sections). When I really had time to study again in November and December, I was forgetting a lot of the information I had studied in September and October. This meant that I needed to study it all over again! For Parts 1 and 3, I crammed for 6 weeks (any free time I had beyond grad school and work was spent studying), and it worked very well. For Part 2, I spent four months studying, but I really only effectively studied for the last 6 weeks of that time. Essentially, I wasted 10 weeks worrying about studying!

 

I also knew that since there was so much information for this section, that I had to study in a couple different ways for my final review. For the online parts, I did the sections out of order. I feel like when I studied everything in order, I knew exactly what questions were going to be asked ahead of time (partnership details first, then partnership basis, then partnership distributions), so I had the answers almost programmed in my head. However, when I mixed it up in the online review, it forced me to really know the information and very much simulated an exam session. Therefore, during the exam I wasn’t wasting any time trying to figure out what the question was asking. Instead, I was just making sure I wasn’t missing any exceptions or seemingly “minor” rules.

 

The other thing I did was make sure to not gloss over the “easy” stuff during Part 1 of the exam. I spent so much time making sure that I knew every little rule and every dollar amount for every deduction/credit, but I realized that there were some very easy questions that I questioned myself on. I glossed over those parts in my studying because I assumed there was no way I would forget that stuff! Well, during an exam, you will be surprised what can leave your mind. Therefore, don’t forget to understand the basics! These are the easiest points and they will be on the exam! Good luck studying!

 

Finished With Part 2 Of The EA Exam

February 6, 2013, by No comments yet

 

Written By Guest Blogger KP.

So, I got to the point where I felt I had studied enough. However, I figured that since it was nearing the end of the year, I should just take the test to see where I was at. Worst case scenario, I could study a bit more and take the exam again if I failed. I am starting my new job in January though, and I really wanted to get the EA exam done before that. So last week I took a few days off from my job and decided to just pound through the remaining studying I had to do. I scheduled my exam for the end of the week, which forced me to finish up all the software questions. I also answered most of the online multiple-choice and true/false questions. I scheduled my exam for a Friday morning at 8am, and I could NOT sleep the night before! I literally got 2 hours of sleep and had to drink a cup of coffee and an energy drink before my exam to feel alert. I remember feeling a huge sigh of relief once I started the exam. I studied for Part 2 much longer than I did for Parts 1 and 3. The first 10 or 20 questions were pretty easy and I felt really confident. I had the first part of the exam (50 questions) done in 20 minutes!

However, then the middle part started to get pretty difficult. For me, the most difficult thing about Part 2 is that there is so much information. Also, when you’re in an exam setting, it’s difficult to remember all of the rules…and all of the exceptions! On the really difficult questions, I went with my first answer and then “marked” the questions that I wanted to come back to later. At the end of the exam, I was literally at the same spot I was with Part 1. I had 30 questions marked, which meant I felt pretty confident about the other 70 questions (and I believe you need at least 70% to pass). I went through all of the questions again to make sure I didn’t make any careless mistakes, and then I triple-checked my “marked” questions. There were only about 10 questions that I still felt uneasy about, so I ended my exam and just hoped that I had answered them correctly. Of course, you have to take a survey at the end of the exam and then wait in line to get your results, which was so nerve-wracking! However, once I saw the “congratulations” on my letter, I let out a huge sigh of relief! I can’t believe it, I passed all three parts and now I can apply to be an EA! Woohoo!

 

Welcome Blogger Nicole Green, EA

January 31, 2013, by No comments yet

 

 Written By Guest Blogger Nicole Green, EA

 

Nicole intends to blog about topics that will help students apply their understanding of the tax law as it applies in theory. Topics will include, but will not be limited to, understanding simple tax concepts that are often overlooked or misunderstood by the average taxpayer. Most importantly, she will offer tips from her past experience in studying for and passing all three parts of the Enrolled Agent Exam (on the first try) over a six-month period.

 

Nicole has over twelve years of tax experience. For eight of these years, she has worked in Public Accounting. She has extensive experience in financial statement preparation, cash management, month-end close, as well as performing tax return preparations for corporate clients and high-net-worth individuals.

 

As the owner of the small tax practice NGG Tax Group, she specializes in nonprofit, business, and personal income tax returns. In addition, Nicole runs a seasonal workshop at Emerson Umbrella Center for the Arts in Concord, MA where she educates artists about the importance of keeping good tax and bookkeeping records.

 

Nicole received a Bachelor’s Degree from College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA and an Accounting Certificate from Stonehill College in Easton, MA. She is also an Enrolled Agent, which authorizes her to represent taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service in all fifty states.