CPA REG

Five content areas: ethics, professional responsibilities and federal tax procedures; business law; federal taxation of property transactions; federal taxation of individuals; and federal taxation of entities. Individual taxation carries the largest weight, followed by entity taxation, so budget study time accordingly rather than spreading effort evenly.

We do not publish those figures here because exam specifications are revised periodically and must come from an authoritative, current AICPA source. Confirm the current number of multiple-choice questions, task-based simulations, and total testing time directly with the AICPA and your state board before you schedule.

Passing scores and score-validity periods are set by the AICPA and individual state boards, and they change. Check your jurisdiction's board rules for the score required and how long a passed section remains valid toward licensure. Do not rely on figures remembered from older exam versions.

Retake rules, waiting periods, and fees vary by jurisdiction and are periodically revised. Verify the current policy with your state board of accountancy before assuming you can immediately reschedule. Build your study plan so a retake is a contingency, not part of the plan.

Difficulty is personal, but many candidates find REG demanding because it requires memorizing many precise thresholds and rules across tax and legal topics with little room for approximation. Candidates comfortable with tax return mechanics and legal reasoning generally find it more tractable than those who prefer conceptual or computational sections.

Start with individual taxation and property transactions, since they build foundational rules you will reuse. Move to entity taxation next, then finish with business law and ethics/tax procedures. Practicing mixed sets late in your review helps you switch between rule sets the way the exam requires.

Treat practice as diagnosis, not scoring. After each set, write down why every wrong answer was wrong and which rule it tested, then revisit that rule in your reference materials. Volume without review produces familiarity, not competence; spaced repetition of missed rules is what moves scores.

Memorizing numbers without understanding the underlying rule, skipping business law and ethics because they feel peripheral, and neglecting task-based simulations in favor of multiple-choice drills. Simulations test application and research skills, so practice reading authoritative guidance and applying it to a fact pattern.

Use the AICPA for exam content and administration information and your state board of accountancy for licensure, fees, and score validity. This page is an independent study resource and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the AICPA, CIMA, or any state board.