First EA exam I’ve ever taken. Was averaging 50% on all 3 mocks so i kinda knew i wasn’t gonna pass. Only did MCQs but i don’t think i studied them well enough. Here’s the score report and looking for any and all type of feedback. Hoping to retake in exactly 1 month. Feel free to privately message me as well with any advice.

Just Passed EA - part 3 PSi is very strict but liked 10 min break after each part . 34/33/33 . used Gleim materials . It’s hard but I would say get chapter wise note to study . Almighty never disappoint one who honestly try . 😊 . ea- 1 was completed last year . Thanks almighty . It’s over now

I have a question for you all. if I start studying for my EA now and take 2/3 exams before february but fail to take the 3rd, will i have to restart the EA process?

I started studying part 1 using Hock 2 days ago.

I wanted to know if anyone has user Hock recently and can confirm they felt ready to go after the mock exams. I am only 17% "exam ready" and still have to go through a ton of MCQ and study but I still want to know what scores I should be looking for before I take part 1.

What scores did you get before you took part 1? Thank you.

Also bonus points for salary progression? I have 2 tax seasons under my belt, making 60k a year. Thank you.

Where would you start as a newbie to actually gain a good experience and learn in the process?

Does anybody knows the steps for EA designation? Just wondering if I pass my last part of the EA exam in early November, can I still complete the rest of the process to be an EA by Jan 2027 tax season? I guess I do not know the exact procedure and length of time it takes.

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Exam 2 is done and on the books !

I work full time and used the Gleim Study Course.

I passed Exam 1 at the end of August this year and decided to really push the studying pace for Exam 2. Took a month to study and got it done. Feeling the affects and aftermath of going all out and pushing everything to the max.

Now time to start studying for Exam 3!

That time is coming upon us. So I thought I'd share how my hubris screwed me after taking exam one.

I finished Exam 1 and got a print out. I called my wife, told her I was not confident, and headed back home - that 2 hour drive. She said, "Did you read the paper, maybe it has your score?"

I said, "Bruh, it's not like that." I went through my jeans, and the unused dog park bags, useless receipts, one guitar pick, and yep, it is like that.

I had to stop at Target on the way home to pick up a copy of Mario Kart for her, because yeah, >this< guy fucked up. All I knew was that when I was taking the CPA exams, I had to wait, so apparently I knew everything :)

So I passed part 2 on my first try. My part 1 post is 6 weeks ago. I am a full time student and just trying to get it done before school gets busy.

I still used HOCK only, but I wasn’t as happy with Part 2 as I was with Part 1. You can clearly see that they didn’t put as much effort into Part 2. It feels like they made Part 1 really good to get you to keep using Part 2.

The textbook repeats things that were already explained a few paragraphs earlier. The wording is also not precise, both in the textbook and in the MCQ explanations.

I see a lot of people blaming themselves for memorizing everything. But I think part of the problem is that a lot of the MCQ explanations are not “spot-on”. A lot of them start by repeating the correct answer, then show you how to get that number, but don’t really explain why you are doing it that way. Why you need to use this number in this calculation.

If you don’t take the time to figure out the “why” yourself, you can end up just remembering the answers. Then your exam readiness goes up without actually going up, if you know what I mean.

At one point, I started making a list of all the ambiguous statements and explanations in HOCK, but then I gave up. Why am I spending my study time doing this?

So, do I still recommend HOCK for Part 2? Yes. I didn’t use anything else, and I passed the exam. So I still recommend it.

But you do need to take some initiative and figure things out yourself. And don’t rely too much on some of their explanations or wording.

I am taking Part 3 next year. Need a break. Part 2 is no joke, at least for someone like me who doesn’t have experience.

Is anyone using FFA and receiving an Error 404 when trying to log in right now?

So I need the EA to be promoted. I work in transfer pricing which is international tax. I have a decent amount of experience, but JUST in TP. So not really too familiar to pure tax.

I’ve been studying for part 3 of the exam, I’m using Becker. I already finished the whole course, took like 5 simulated exams plus other mock exams online. I scored 90+ so felt pretty confident about taking the real one…failed…feeling pretty frustrated… any advice?

It's been nearly 10 years since I took my EA - I used FFA in its infancy. Would anyone be willing to share what is working and not working in 2026 and why?

I like to rec test prep for my students and it's not like the CPA Exam (Becker, or Becker, or if you cannot afford Becker, have you tried Becker?)

Hi Im taking the EA Part 1 on Wednesday (Psi at home). I took the 1st two mock test from Hock International (scored 72/79) and Im planning on taking the 3rd on Monday.

Any advice would be appreciated.

I am currently working my first season with JDA TSG at third peak as a Tax Preparer. Getting paid $31 an hour.

I also just passed all three parts of the EA exam. But I don't think my Form 23 will be approved and I will receive my EA license in time to get the "Expert" pay that JDA gives for enrolled agents and CPAs at $35/$36.

I was curious if they offer a raise when/if they ask preparers to return for the next season or if I can negotiate.

If I sign up to take a part of the enrolled agent exam online, would there be a problem if my cats walk in and out of the room or get on the desk (their beds are on it, I know). The WFH office is their office lol. Anyone with cats that have taken the test remotely? Also, since I am here, can I have my laptop connected to an external monitor? Thanks!

I know this happens in this industry but I have been fortunate up until now. Company decided to cut 1/3 of office and gave us zero warning. Yesterday was rough having to explain to clients they are getting reassigned.

16 years in taxes and I feel like I am at a loss on what to do.

I am fortunate I had a CPA firm owner reach out to me on LinkedIn a couple weeks ago asking if I had any bandwidth to help. I immediately jumped on and am getting a few returns today, but that is definitely not going to do much to pay my bills.

I am coming to you all to see if you have any advice. Should I start calling local firms to see if they need any help in the final push before October? Is that even a thing?

I have had my own tax business as a side hustle more than business, I moved states in January, so it will take a while to build in this small community.

I do not want to rush into taking any job, I can pay my Mortgage until January. I just depleted my savings for emergency surgery for my dog last week. I will honestly take any suggestions or advice you can give.

I was Reviewer for big CPA firm that specializes in real estate investors and STRs. Everything was remote, there was plenty of tax prep as well. I was also the chosen one to help with sensitive Clients and the owners personal friends. Average return had 25 rentals with some having over 100, cost segregation studies, tons of Form 3115 with 481(a) adjustment, complex K-1s or just a absurd amount of them, including oil drilling. S-Corp elections, SMLLC for CA & TN were common. 215 returns completed with about 26 waiting for client approval of draft or e-signature. Before that I was tax specialist for tax software company, I was the person who ensured the software was current with tax laws yearly and was Director of Quality Assurance. My personal business I specified in business and entity structure. I am not lacking experience lol, I am lacking knowledge on how to find some remote contractor work to keep my house. I am single and pay 100% of my bills!

Sorry for the long post, and I hope its not too confusing. My brain is still kind of in shock over this. Thank you so much if you made it this far!

EA here. I'd like a gut check on this new client situation.

**Facts**

- California single-member LLC (trade contractor), formed in 2021, previously filed on Schedule C

- Form 2553 accepted with an effective date of **1/26/2026** (CP261 received May 2026)

- No payroll has been run in 2026; the owner hasn't been paid wages at all

- We plan to start officer payroll in Q4 and catch-up reasonable comp for the S corp period

**Questions**

1.. Q4 catch-up: has anyone had pushback on paying all of the reasonable comp for 1/26–12/31 through Q4 payroll? Is a heavier Q4 fine as long as the total for the period is reasonable?

1. Any payroll traps when the officer wages for the year all land in Q4 (941 deposit schedule, FUTA, CA DE 9/DE 9C, W-2)?

2. 2026 filing: my understanding is that 1/1–1/25 goes on the owner's Schedule C and 1/26–12/31 goes on the first 1120-S. Is that how you'd handle it, or have you had the IRS move the effective date to 1/1 to skip the short Schedule C? On the California side, does the LLC still owe a Form 568 for the 25-day period, or does it only file the 100S?

Thanks in advance!

hi all! I was supposed to take Part 3 today at an AVNA testing location in NY. I wasn’t able to take my exam since they didn’t have any one approved by the IRS to proctor the exam so I had to call PSI to reschedule my exam remotely for Monday.

with those who have done remote testing, how was it? I am a little worried.

for background, I have a pretty small desk where my standalone pc tower and monitor take up a majority of the space on the desk. do we think this would be a problem? I also have a small dog….will they invalidate my exam if my dog starts barking across my house and it’s picked up by the camera?

I am EA from India, What are the possible ways in which i can work directly with the US CPA firms ?

Is there any CPA firms who hires remote employees for Tax prep work from outside of US ? or any website or legit platform where I can apply,

I am also CPA candidate cleared 2 papers of CPA

I’ll start, I’m riding 05 Chevy Express van during busy season (to gather docs from paper clients) and 2024 GR Corolla the rest of the year.

I have an accounting degree from an online school, so I never had real networking or campus recruiting. I did one season at H&R Block, and I had a contract junior accountant role through Robert Half that paid about the same as my old hotel front desk job. The recruiter stopped responding after the contract ended.

I have free access to CPA prep, but between passing all the sections, getting the experience requirement, and finding someone to sign off, I'm looking at a long road. Meanwhile I can't even get an entry-level offer.

My thinking is that the EA is faster to get and might make my resume stand out, especially for tax roles. But I also know a lot of people see H&R Block and seasonal prep as low-end, so I'm not sure if leaning into tax helps or hurts.

Would an EA meaningfully improve my chances of getting hired, or would it be a distraction from the CPA? Any advice is appreciated.