First of all, by no means is this an anti-foreigner post. Don’t take it that way.

This is a post in favor of quality tax work and helping domestic economies. I’ve seen too many times 1) atrocious work from outsourced EAs 2) taxpayers paying top dollar just to find their sensitive information overseas 3) hurts the local economy.

Don’t tell me that there are many good outsourced EAs and that it is perfect secure, that is a complete lie. Most taxpayers when they realize it, don’t want their work outsourced.

I mean imagine, I told you about your countries legal system and pretend to be an expert on it.

Outsourcing this high credential actively devalues it, it hurts college graduates here trying to get into the field.

Of course, outsourcing is completely replaceable by AI and will be replaced in the near future.

Anyway, I am also saying this because I heard some rummaging that the treasury is going to put limits on where this credential can be earned.

I just finished watching Tom Norton's Youtube videos and I'm ready to move on to the Hock questions this week. I'm thinking we could meet once or twice a week to go over questions we got wrong, or were unclear on, and see if the other person knows more about it.

I've been preparing taxes for about 10 years, but I'm a bad test taker and I'm aware of the areas I'm not familiar or experienced with. It'd be great if you have a different program than Hock, though it's ok if you're also using it, because then we'll hopefully have a wider range of practice questions.

I'm on mountain time, and study around 2/3 pm during the weekday afternoons, and late mornings on the weekends.

After finishing part 1, I plan to take part 3 a few weeks later, and then aim for part 2 around end of September.

Hello,

Is anyone else having issues booking ea exam to take online? I dont see any slots available for Aug, sep, oct, nov, or dec? Just 1 slot beg of July and thats it? I want to take it towards the end of July but not seeing anything available for the next few months.

Do they release available slots by month or is everything actually booked for the rest of the year. ​​

EA Exam Passing Score — Old vs. New

The old EA exam passing score was 105 out of 130 (40–130 scale), and the new passing score is 500 out of 800 (200–800 scale) with 3 breaks, 10 minutes, and the exam now 3 sections.

Old system (pre‑2026)

• Score range: 40–130
• Passing score: 105
• Format: 3 parts, each with 100 multiple‑choice questions, scored on a percentage basis.
• Administration: Prometric ran the exam for many years before the change
• Does this mean a harder exam? It went from 80% to pass to like 62.5%

I miss Christy :(

Took Exam 1 at PSI location on Wednesday! Yas! I am now going to be working on Exam 3, then Exam 2 by the end of the year. 🤞🏻

I am currently using Hock for my SEE1 prep, I did Mock #2 and got 68. Mock #1 I got like 87. I was wondering if that was enough. I plan on doing the Mock #3 the before my exam (on 7/10). I am trying to understand it conceptually but I just default to memorizing. What should I do next?

This was the final exam for me as I already passed Part I and Part III last year. I took the exam remotely from the comfort of my home which was great! I’ve been filing individual tax returns as a side gig for 4 years now. I’ve never prepared a 1120/1065/990/1041 although I’m looking to build that skillset now. My day job is in healthcare. I happen to stumble on tax prep by accident few years ago and have developed a passion for it. Hoping to transition my career to tax prep full time over the next couple years. ✌️

https://preview.redd.it/bdzf56emlvah1.png?width=771&format=png&auto=webp&s=d83a0fa7992163456fcc651e8f32455afb764b96

Passed Part 1 today. Taking the other 2 next week. I am ready!

What did your study schedule look like and how long did it take you to pass all 3?

Took the test this morning and the check in process was pretty rough.

My finder wouldn’t force quit on Mac. So I called the phone number support line and it takes you to hold music for a few minutes, then the music stops, and no one picks up, finally it automatically hangs up.

It says there should be a live chat feature in the menu but that’s non existent.

I was scrambling to get into contact with someone so I didn’t miss the exam timeframe.

Eventually I was able to get logged in and waited 20 minutes for a “Check In Specialist” lol

Very frustrating to say the least.

I had taken and passed my series 7 10 years ago. Has anyone else passed both series 7 and EA and would you equate them both being similarly in difficulty? I am starting to study and anxiety kicking in from remembering how difficult S7 was …

Be sure to report back on how you did and your opinion of the test!

Good luck to all test takers !!

Would love to hear your experience / feedback back.
I am testing for part 3 July 18th