[Meadows30]

Does this happen at every firm? If I had known that before I bought it, I may have gone with a cheaper review course.

Reg 11/26/2012 80
BEC 01/05/2012
Audit
FAR

[Anonymous]

I'm confused. Were you given a choice of review courses and your employer paid for them?

[SeePeeAyy]

Yea, they let me know ahead of time though.

[huskies1026]

To be clear, it isn't the firm that taxes you on those materials. The US Government – and perhaps your state and/or local government – taxes you on those materials. CPA review courses are explicitly non-deductible according to IRS Pub 970. At entry-level CPA earnings, the $3,000 of additional income from the review course and reimbursed testing fees won't likely result in (m)any AGI-related phaseouts, so your marginal tax rate is probably something like 35-40%. That means your increased tax liability due to CPA exam related expenses is about $1,000-1,200. If you go for a course that's half the price of Becker, your savings will be $350-400. So, ask yourself, “Is the marginal value of Becker over, say, Bisk worth the extra $350-400 I pay in taxes this year?” For myself, I enthusiastically answer yes.

[jeff]

My assumption is that firms don't pay close to retail price.

[nsmith9]

my firm pays 1900 for Becker which is pretty close to what people can pay if they dont take the financing offers.

[jeff]

I thought Becker was $3k-ish

[Jpgrocho]

I paid 3300. So, I would say 1900 is a heck of a deal

10/03/12 AUD- 91!!!
12-07-12 BEC- 75!!! (Half way)
01/18/13 REG - 68, 78.
02/28/13 FAR -68, 65 11/6/13 PLEASE!!!!
Using Becker Self Study 2012

[nsmith9]

I was a campus rep my senior year so I got a free Becker course but im pretty sure they were offering Becker at $3000 with 0% financing or $1900 cash. It may vary from state to state and i could be completely wrong because I never paid but I do know my firm pays $1900 because that is the amount they will reimburse you for if you choose a course other than Becker

[Jpgrocho]

Perhaps a state to state thing….but that doesn't make sense to me. I paid cash and it was still 3300. Maybe I got ripped off. Or, a different package. Either way……too expensive.

10/03/12 AUD- 91!!!
12-07-12 BEC- 75!!! (Half way)
01/18/13 REG - 68, 78.
02/28/13 FAR -68, 65 11/6/13 PLEASE!!!!
Using Becker Self Study 2012

[huskies1026]

If it weren't covered by my firm, I wouldn't have chosen Becker. I don't think Becker would have delivered that kind of value for me. Hell, $3,500 is my entire post-tax CPA bonus. I probably just would have gone with Wiley for about $500. However, because my firm picks up the tab, I'm paying about 20-25% of what I would have paid had I bought the review course and flashcards myself. That's enough of a discount to make Becker worth it for me.

[acamp]

Yeah my firm taxed me on $1,100 for JUST AUDIT, I went so far as having them provide me a copy of the Becker invoice, and it showed $1,100–but I have a time believing that the best deal my firm could get on a single section is $1,100! They probably get quarterly rebate or something.

Oh well, cost me a few hundred in taxes, but paved the way to getting the thing done and getting my bonus and fees reimbursed (including those paid for Ninja!)

Ninja + Wiley Test Bank: [FAR - 81] [REG - 76] [BEC - 88] [AUD - 73](doh!)

Becker Videos: [AUD - 82]

California CPA

[RedskinsCPA]

At my Big 4 they tax you on anything over $3k, so they taxed me on around $500 which came out to about $200 that I paid for Becker out of pocket… much less then what others have paid

This exam has bigger issues to worry about then uncontrollable taxes

BEC - Pass
REG - Pass
AUD - Pass
FAR - Pass

[Anonymous]

@nsmith9 you received a discount due to the position you had. Normal price for Becker is $3300. The 1900 price is a huge discount. Think about it though, paying taxes on that amount is well worth it when you consider the fact that you're getting a $3300 study guide for well under 1000 in taxes.

[kgirl]

I'd have assumed firms don't pay the retail price for Becker but would get a discount.

That being said, my employer didn't pay $.01 for my testing fees or any review courses. My Mastercard was completely maxed out paying for Becker, Ninja notes and testing fees. Hopefully I'll recoup some of the fees back via a larger salary at my next position.

[Anonymous]

Not every firm gets a discount and yes the full course is about $3300. There is no pay half price if you are paying cash. I recently ordered and got half price because it was my second time ordering. I work for a health insurance company and will probably see it on my taxes as well. Not that big of a deal since I'm sure I'll be getting a refund anyways.

[Author]

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