[SuperAccountingGod]

Just took FAR and now I’m moving to REG. I thought FAR was intense, until I started going through all the REG Ninja notes. How the hell am I supposed to keep track of all these percentages, deductions, limits, rules, thresholds, etc. FAR may have more material, but I found it a lot less to memorize. I’m going through the book and taking notes but everything feels so important I’ll end up rewriting the whole book. How the hell did you guys study for REG?

[To0ld2Pass]

Fixing to take REG for first time thursday. I agree with all the numbers you need to learn. I am going with odds of them asking threshholds/phaseouts is pretty small. Need to know deductions, rules, and some of the limits though. I'll let ya know after thursday if it was a complete flop 🙂

[RaulB]

I am planning to start with REG my CPA journey next year. I want to wish you the best of luck, To0ld2Pass. Think about the finish line and that in 2 weeks you can taste that good turkey. Hopefully you get out of the exam confident. Keep us updated and get a good night sleep the day before the exam.

[chandler]

REG can be an intimidating exam especially if you don't have education/experience in taxation and business law. Of what you mention, I would say that you need to focus on the big picture. Learn the rules, principles, and mechanics of how things work. However, generally the phase-out numbers/thresholds/inflation-adjusted items are given in the question. If you understand the underlying concept, there is no need to kill yourself trying to memorize every arbitrary detail.

[YouCanDoIt]

For REG, I did not worry so much about tedious numbers with phaseouts, the only one that I gave most importance to was to do with the rental income and its exceptions. For all other numbers (deductions, etc.) for individual , business, etc. I had dedicated a couple of handwritten-pages to each to basically bullet point their appropriate deductions, etc. to condense the information.
So when it came to doing the MCQs, with these numbers popping up often, I could easily refer to the pages on hand.

FAR: 76
REG: Currently studying
AUD:
BEC:

[Tncincy]

Hey, jump in with BOTH feet. As many have said, do as many mcq's as possible. I believe it's a good strategy. My problem comes from going from the book to mcq's and back to the book when I get too many wrong. I like to get them all right. I know that's nonsense, but the mcq's are the best way to measure if you know what you know. The other common suggestion is to work toward a high trending percentage, which means you have to keep doing the mcq's until that percentage rise. memorizing phase outs and all that will drive you nuts. The test will give you key figures to include in calculations concerning phaseouts and etc. or it will be available in the authoritative literature. So no stressing, just get to those mcq's and sims.

It begins with a 75
Been here too long as a cheerleader....ready to pass

[Hank Scorpio]

A lot of the numbers aren't being tested as much. They aren't testing a lot of ones that are changing from year to year anymore. They want to test you on the concept. As you study, the numbers you need to know will get stuck in your head. The percentages are more important. For me, I took a long time for REG since it was so foreign to me. I took nearly 10 weeks my first time because I was slogging through the Corporate taxes. Take your time. Good luck.

FAR - 10/3/16
BEC - 69 - 10/31/16
AUD - November 2016
REG - December 2016

[felixsphone]

I just took REG last quarter. I got a 73. I'm currently retaking it this quarter. Everything is not important. But it might be. Here are some of the points of focus I have this time around:

-Focus on Taxation. Corporate, Individual, Entity, Transactions.
Break the studying down into phases.

Phase 1: Acquisition and Orientation. (first 1-2 weeks)
Scan the book. 2x Speed the lectures. Don't take notes during this phase. Just note every time they “IMPORTANT” or “HEAVILY TESTED” or “PASS KEY”
Phase 2: Application (the middle)
Do MCQ's. Work through them with your Book/Notes. Reference it often. Give yourself a time limit for each section and a time limit for each MCQ. I do 1 hour per section, 5 minutes per MCQ. The next week it might be 30 minutes for each section, 2.5 minutes per MCQ.
Phase 3: Troubleshooting (last 2 weeks)
This is the nitty gritty stuff. Focus on the detail. Focus on the concepts. Focus on How the MCQ is asked and how or other concepts tie in. Compare it to those other questions and know that it can be tested differently.
SIMS, AICPA Mock. Do a bunch of MCQ and try to keep everything straight. Try to relax and try not to get too worked up.

Good luck.

[Author]

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