Enrolled Agent Examination Topics – Part 1 Individuals (100 items)

Section 1: Preliminary Work and Tax Payer Data (15 items)
Section 2; Income and Assets (25 items)
Section 3: Deductions and Credits (25 items)
Section 4: Taxation and Advice (20 items)
Section 5. Specialized Returns for Individuals (15 items)

Section 1: Preliminary Work and Tax Payer Data (15 items)

Preliminary work to prepare tax returns
Use of prior years’ returns for comparison (e.g., reviewing prior Individual form 1040
returns)
Accuracy of prior year’s return (e.g., Review of prior year’s return for compliance,
accuracy and completeness)
Taxpayer biographical information (e.g., date of birth, age, marital status, dependents)
Immigration status and/or citizenship (e.g., citizen, visas, green cards, resident alien or
non-resident alien)
Taxpayer filing status (e.g., single, MFJ, MFS, widow, HOH)
Sources of all income (e.g., interest, wages, business, sales of property, dividends,
interest, rental income)
Sources of applicable adjustments to gross income (e.g., retirement plans, HSAs,
alimony, health insurance, moving expenses, self employment tax)
Sources of applicable deductions (e.g., itemized, standard)
Sources of applicable credits (e.g., education, file tax, retirement, energy, child care)
Tax payments (e.g. withholding, estimated payments, earned income tax credit)
Determine if individual and/or business entity involved (e.g., methods of determination)
Items that will affect future returns (e.g., carryover, operating losses, NOL, schedule D,
8801)
All required taxes filed (e.g., employment, gift, estimated)
Special filing requirements (e.g., gifts, foreign income, presidentially declared disaster
areas)

Tax returns for individuals, taxpayer data
Filing requirements for tax returns and extensions (e.g., dates)
Personal exemptions including dependents
Taxation of unearned income of certain minor children (Kiddie tax)
Special requirements for Form 1040-NR
Section 2; Income and Assets (25%)
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Section 2; Income and Assets (25 items)

Income
Taxability of wages, salaries and other earnings (e.g., earned income)
Interest Income (e.g., taxable and non-taxable)
Dividends and other distributions from mutual funds, corporations, and other entities
(e.g., qualified dividends)
Rental income and expenses (e.g., vacation homes, NFP rentals, calculation of
deprecation)
Gambling income and allowable deductions (e.g., W-2G, documentation)
Tax treatment of forgiveness of debt (e.g, 1099C)
Tax treatment of a U.S. citizen/resident with foreign earned income (e.g, individual tax
treaties, form 2555)
Other income (e.g., scholarships, fellowships, Social Security benefits, barter income,
independent contractor income, hobby income, alimony, non-taxable combat pay,
earned income vs non-earned income)
Constructive receipt of income (e.g., cash vs accrual)

Retirement income
Basis in a traditional IRA (Form 8606)
Comparison of traditional IRA and Roth IRA
Distributions from qualified plans (e.g., pre-tax, after-tax)
Excess contributions and tax treatment (e.g., penalties, 1099R)
Prohibited transactions and tax effects relating to IRAs
IRA conversions and recharacterizations (Form 8606)
Excess accumulations and required minimum distributions
Loans from IRC section 401(k) plans and other qualified plans

Property, real and personal
Capital gains and losses (e.g., netting effect, short-term, long-term)
Basis of assets (e.g., purchased, gifted or inherited)
Basis of stock after stock splits and/or stock dividends (e.g., research, schedules,
brokerage records, options)
Sale of property (e.g., documentation)
Sale of a personal residence (e.g., Sec 121 exclusions)
Installment sales (e.g., related parties, original cost, date of acquisition, possible
recalculations and recharacterization)

Adjustments to income
Adjustments to income (e.g., retirement contributions, student loan interest, alimony)
Self-employment tax
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Section 3: Deductions and Credits (25 items)

Retirement deductions – (relating to IRAs)
Contribution limits and deductibility of contributions
Earned compensation
Modified adjusted gross income

Itemized deductions
Medical and dental expenses (e.g., subject to AGI limitation)
Deductibility of various types of taxes (e.g., sales, real estate, state and local)
Interest expense (e.g., mortgage interest, investment interest, tracing rules, points)
Charitable contributions (e.g., cash, non-cash, 50% vs 30%, documentation required)
Nonbusiness casualty and theft losses (e.g., form 4864)
Non-business bad debts (e.g, documentation required)
Miscellaneous itemized deductions (e.g., subject or not subject to 2%)
Employee travel, transportation and entertainment expenses (e.g., business purpose)
Employee education expenses
AGI limitations on itemized deductions
Allowed itemized deductions for Form 1040-NR

Credits
Child and dependent care credit
Child tax credit
Education credits
Foreign tax credit
Earned income tax credit (EITC)
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Section 4: Taxation and Advice (20 items)

Taxation
Alternative minimum tax
Credit for prior year minimum tax
Premature distribution(s) from retirement plans
Household employees (e.g., Schedule H)
Estimated tax
Injured spouse (e.g., applicable rules)
Conditions for filing a claim for refund (e.g., amended returns, Form 911, documentation)

Minimization of taxes paid
Adjustments, deductions, and credits
Retirement plans
Earned income credit (e.g., eligibility, preparer documentation)
Education credits and tuition deduction
Adoption credits (e.g., carryovers, limitations, disabled child)
Use of capital gain rates versus ordinary income rates (e.g, character of transaction)

Advising the individual taxpayer
Reporting obligations for individuals (e.g. sale of home)
Property sales (e.g., real and personal such as homes, stocks, and businesses, internet
sales)
Education planning (e.g., Hope credit, lifetime learning credit, IRC section 529 plans)
Estate planning (e.g., gift versus inheritance, trusts, family partnerships, charitable giving,
LTC)
Retirement planning (e.g., annuities, IRAs, employer plans, early retirement rules,
required minimum distribution, beneficiary ownership)
Marriage and divorce (e.g., pre- and post-nuptial agreements, divorce settlement,
common-law or community property)
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Section 5. Specialized Returns for Individuals (15 items)

Estate tax
Gross estate
Taxable estate: calculations and payments
Unified credit
Jointly-held property
Life insurance and taxable estate
Marital deduction and other marital issues
IRAs and retirement plans
Filing requirements

Gift tax
Gift-splitting
Annual exclusion
Unified credit
Effect on estate tax (e.g., Generation skipping tax)
Filing requirements
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