[oisbuddy]

I am utterly stunned at how easy Q2 reg 2017 was, and I am not messing around here. I have no idea why people are so upset with the SIMS. If you have done simple 1040s with a K-1, 1099s, etc. and understand what these are, then you will be fine. I literally guessed through the multiple choice because people said that they ran out of time on SIMS. I did MC in 80 minutes. Rest I left for SIMS. At end of exam I had 30 minutes left. My advice is to do the same if you have little tax prep experience. If you do have tax prep experience, I suggest to not stress at all. The SIMS are very straightforward, its like preparing a 1040 through tax season, no joke.

[maj1028]

Congratulations @oisbuddy

While studying, did you memorize amounts or percentages?

Thanks

[Holly]

Good for you @oisbuddy. I hope those who posted see your score!!!

BEC - 79
REG - 85
AUD - 5/27/16

[oisbuddy]

Thx, @maj1028, you do not need to memorize tax bracket percentages. Know the obvious tax rates for capital gains, etc. The one area not to blow off is estate tax returns. I have no idea why it is even tested on the exam, considering it's the most unreported IRS tax return. For amounts, you do not need to memorize these entirely; only amounts that are in a formula are fair game e.g. The $100 subtraction in the casualty loss calculation, etc. Good luck to all.

[samantha09]

Hi congrats on passing!

Did you find it important to memorize the individual tax AMT phase out amount or tax credits? 🙂 Thanks!

[oisbuddy]

One more peice of advice…in the becker book, there are seemingly pointless pages inserted from the IRS tax forms. All of the tax forms are blank. I can't stress this enough, these are not pointless, especially the 1040 form, and especially for ppl who have little tax experience. The point of the new reg exam is to have ppl know how to complete these forms when they start working (the exam may provide tax docs and info from the client and may expect you to give the final taxable income # – exactly what happens when you start working in tax). Read through each line item of the tax form to understand what items are being added to taxable income and what items are being subtracted. Understand taxable vs book income (M-1, M-3) and understand AAA and M-2. @samantha09, phaseouts are not too important I think. The phasout for exemptions or standard defuctions will probably not be tested. I would still study phasout for AMT. AMT is a weird topic on the test…it's relatively hard to understand but from my experience, the exam only tests parts of the calculation, not the entire calculation. For example the corp AMT may only test parts of the ACE adjustment and what is involved in the ACE adjustment.

[maj1028]

Thanks @oisbuddy. It's glad to know that I don't have to freak out about all those amounts… so many numbers… just on the employee benefits alone. Anyway, thanks again for all your advice to us who are preparing for the exam. It's such a good feeling that I am not alone. Not a lot of people really understand what we go through for this board exam.

[shawn in VA]

OIS – congrats.
Since your so good at taxes, and got an 81 on REG, and brag how the exam is SO EASY you should apply to a job at HR Block this coming tax season. They are hiring at a whopping $12 an hour (at least in my area). Assuming they keep people year round that is a cool $25,000 a year.

[oisbuddy]

@Shawn, classy. Sorry if anyone thinks this posts suggests that reg is easy, it's probably the hardest of all 4. I originally posted this in May when nobody on this website had discussed SIMS difficulty under the new exam. Mind you I barely studied business law…the point of this post was just to help ppl gauge the difficulty of the new test and how to tackle the test.

[Rosystilettos]

@oisbuddy Congratulations and thank you for the advice! I take Reg October 1st and needed guidance as to what to put my focus on since I have no tax experience. Once again congrats and enjoy the extra time off not studying!

[AndrewE]

That exam definitely was not easy.. but I also passed with an 81 after failing first try with a 73.

BEC – 77
AUD – 70, 75
REG – 73, 81
FAR – 9/2017

[joonpark1212]

@oisbuddy congrats on passing and thanks for sharing your advice. I will try to get most familiar with the tax forms but with no tax experience not sure review materials will prepare me fully.

[Author]

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