About The EA Exam
About the EA Exam
An Enrolled Agent is an individual who has been federally authorized to represent taxpayers before the IRS. Generally, EAs are unrestricted as to which taxpayers they can represent, what types of tax matters they can handle, and which IRS offices they can represent clients before.
Education and Experience
There are no formal education requirements to become an Enrolled Agent. EA candidates earn their certification by passing all three sections of the Special Enrollment Exam (SEE), however IRS employees with at least 5 years of relevant experience may be exempt from the exam requirement. Candidates must also pass a background check.
Examination Requirements
The Enrolled Agent examination consists of 3 separate exams:
Part 1 - Individuals
Part 2 - Businesses
Part 3 - Representation, Practices and Procedures
About the Exam
The Special Enrollment Examination consists of three examinations, each lasting 3.5 hours, containing 100 multiple-choice questions. Out of the 100 questions, 85 are scored (and weighted equally), while 15 are experimental questions that do not count towards scoring.
Part 1
Individuals
Duration
3.5 Hours
Exam Question Count
100 Multiple Choice
Sections
1. Preliminary Work, Taxpayer Data (17)
2. Income and Assets (21)
3. Deductions and Credits (21)
4. Taxation and Advice (14)
5. Specialized Individual Returns (12)
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Part 2
Businesses
Duration
3.5 Hours
Exam Question Count
100 Multiple Choice
Sections
1. Business Entities (28)
2. Business Financial Information (39)
3. Specialized Returns and Taxpayers (18)
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Part 3
Representation, Practices and Procedures
Duration
3.5 Hours
Exam Question Count
100 Multiple Choice
Sections
1. Practices and Procedures (25)
2. Representation before the IRS (24)
3. Specific Types of Representation (19)
4. Completion of the Filing Process (17)
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