CPA TCP study guide
CPA TCP · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The CPA Tax Compliance and Planning (TCP) exam is one of the discipline sections a CPA candidate selects alongside the three core sections. It is aimed at candidates who intend to work in tax - public accounting tax practices, corporate tax departments, or advisory roles - and who want their licensure path to signal depth in tax rather than a broader, less specialized discipline. The CPA TCP study guide has 4 sections and about 2,119 words.
01Tax Compliance and Planning for Individuals
Individual questions on the TCP exam reward candidates who can move from a client's facts to the specific Code provision that changes the number. Expect the computation chain from gross income to taxable income, the phase-ins that quietly raise a client's marginal rate, and planning moves that shift income or deductions between years.
505 words, about 3 min02Tax Compliance and Planning for Entities
Entity questions test whether you can trace one dollar of business income through the return and onto the owner's Form 1040 with the right character and the right payroll consequences. S corporations, partnerships, and C corporations dominate, and basis with distribution ordering does most of the damage.
536 words, about 3 min03Tax Compliance and Planning for Property Transactions
Property questions test three things at once: the basis you start from, the character of the gain, and whether a deferral or exclusion provision changes the timing. Almost every question turns on depreciation having reduced basis somewhere earlier in the holding period.
555 words, about 3 min04Tax Planning for Specialized Tax Matters
This domain gathers areas that do not sit inside a single Form 1040 or 1120: transfer taxes, fiduciary income taxation, multistate residency, international reporting, and equity compensation. Questions tend to be discrete but fact-heavy, so the exact threshold, rate, or form number is often the answer.
523 words, about 3 min