EA syllabus

Complete EA exam syllabus by part and domain.

The course is organized around the official SEE structure, with lessons and practice mapped to each exam part.

EA Part 1: Individuals

Part 1 prepares students for individual tax return issues, taxpayer data, income, deductions, credits, tax computation, advisory topics, and specialized individual filing situations.

Domain	Outline questions	Course coverage
Preliminary Work and Taxpayer Data	14	Gather filing facts, taxpayer identity information, prior-year items, tax payments, correspondence, and special filing requirements.
Income and Assets	17	Classify taxable and nontaxable income, retirement distributions, capital transactions, Social Security benefits, and related reporting issues.
Deductions and Credits	17	Apply adjustments, itemized deductions, standard deduction rules, refundable and nonrefundable credits, and documentation requirements.
Taxation and Advice	20	Compute tax, advise individual taxpayers, identify planning issues, and handle estimated tax and penalty avoidance topics.

EA Part 2: Businesses

Part 2 prepares students for business entities, business income and deductions, basis, depreciation, employment tax, specialized business taxpayers, and business advisory issues.

Domain	Outline questions	Course coverage
Business Entities and Considerations	30	Understand sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, S corporations, filing requirements, distributions, and entity life-cycle issues.
Business Tax Preparation	37	Apply income, expense, depreciation, amortization, inventory, bad debt, travel, meals, vehicle, employment tax, and accounting method rules.
Specialized Returns and Taxpayers	33	Handle farmers, rental activities, exempt organizations, trusts and estates, retirement plans, and other specialized business topics.

EA Part 3: Representation, Practices, and Procedures

Part 3 prepares students for Circular 230, IRS practice, representation forms, penalties, collections, appeals, filing process, data security, and practitioner responsibilities.

Domain	Outline questions	Course coverage
Practices and Procedures	26	Apply Circular 230, enrollment rules, practitioner duties, sanctions, due diligence, conflicts, and preparer responsibilities.
Representation Before the IRS	40	Represent taxpayers in audits, collections, appeals, installment agreements, offers in compromise, penalties, and account adjustments.
Filing Process	14	Handle filing accuracy, record retention, e-file rules, data security, EFIN concepts, and return processing issues.

Official sources guide the course

Course logistics and exam facts must be checked against official IRS and PSI sources before publication.