[Focused Tele]

Hello everyone! Quick summary of my educational history- I completed a dual undergraduate degree in Economics and Finance, an MBA with a concentration in Finance, and completed the required accounting courses (at the graduate level as part of an MSA program) to sit for the CPA exam and seek licensure in Indiana. Unfortunately, I never took corporation taxation and partnerships’ taxation courses as they aren’t required courses to sit for the exam in Indiana and I didn’t wish to continue spending on college credits if I didn’t need to. Fast forward nine months later- I am currently studying for REG and am really struggling with Becker Regulation sections R3 and R4. At this point, I am simply trying to look past the mistake I made by not taking a corporate taxation course while still in the MSA program, and am trying to find ways to gain good exposure or foundational knowledge/understanding of corporation and partnership taxation OR at least tools to help me pass the exam. Have any of you ever been in the same predicament, similar predicament, or know anyone who has been in the same predicament? Do you recommend any supplementary tools or studying materials? I have been studying for about two months now but am still really struggling with the corporate taxation concepts. I am not feeling optimistic or confident about the exam that I will be taking in two weeks but am simply trying to stay focused on moving forward and studying for the next section or REG once again should I fail. Any information and/or advice will be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[kcoops44]

I just sat for REG on 10/29. I have a tax background but I still think I can offer some advice for you. There are many YouTube videos that will explain the corporation and partnership topics.

One of the very main points/general rules of corporations and partnerships, is that there is no gain or loss recognized on contributions to the entity and the basis is carryover as well as the holding period. I think that is a very very important concept to understand because if you can drill that into your mind, a decent portion of review questions will be easier for you to answer. There are few exceptions but if you hone in on basis specifics, you will get a handle on it and be able to understand the entities better.

I would also focus on separately stated items for partnerships and S-Corps. C-Corps do not have separately stated items because C-Corps are NOT flow through entities.

For distributions: know that distributions from partnerships are NOT income to the partner unless CASH distributed is GREATER than the basis in the partnership. Property distributions from corporations are treated as a sale of property and will be taxable to the corporation if the property has appreciated in value.

These are just some of the main points that I think you should focus on. So basically, get a grasp on basis and distributions for these entities. YouTube has plenty of videos (I think even Jeff has some) on these topics and I think you will be just fine for the exam. Another thing to keep in mind is that partnerships and s-corps are very similar in the area of separately stated items. So, I wouldn't stress on thinking you need to remember two separate rules because they are different entities as much of the items are treated the same because they are flow through entities.

[RE2PECT]

I'm in the same boat as you. I went back to school in 2014 to get the required accounting credits for licensure. The only tax class I needed to take was individual tax and the rest were part of the masters program, which I didn't do.

I've been through all the material, but just started doing mainly mcq's last week and I've been getting crushed by corporate tax so far. It's not difficult to understand, but there's a lot of things that can easily trip you up if you forget to add or subtract one number.

I have no choice but to take my exam on 11/26 since my NTS is expiring that day. I don't feel like I'll be ready and it's been hard to concentrate lately while waiting for my BEC score.

FAR: 75 Roger & Ninja (notes/flashcards/audio/MCQ)
AUD: 73, 81
BEC: 71, retake 8/29
REG:

[Author]

Replies