It is broad rather than tricky. Each of the three parts has 100 questions in 3.5 hours, closed book, on the tax law in force at the end of 2025, and you must pass all three within three years. The difficulty is the volume of rules and the 2025 dollar figures you have to know without notes.
| Parts | Three: Individuals; Businesses; Representation, Practices and Procedures |
|---|---|
| Questions | 100 a part: 85 scored and 15 unscored |
| Time | 3.5 hours a part, in a 4-hour appointment |
| Scoring | Scaled from 200 to 800; 500 to pass |
| Law tested | As amended through December 31, 2025; questions about 2025 |
The IRS publishes the number of scored questions in every domain, so you know where the marks are. The parts can be taken in any order, each up to four times in a testing window, and a passed part counts for three years. The tested law is fixed for the whole window: tax year 2025.
Choose a part, take its free 12-question diagnostic to find your weakest domain, and work through that domain's lessons and questions first. Learn the 2025 figures by using them in calculations, not by memorizing a list. Finish each part with a full 100-question timed practice exam before you book it.
In 2025 the Garcias finalized the adoption of a US child the state determined has special needs. They paid $3,000 of qualified adoption expenses, claimed no adoption credit in earlier years, and their MAGI is $150,000. What is their adoption credit for 2025, before any limit based on tax liability?
Xena transferred a building with a basis of $40,000 and a value of $150,000, subject to a $65,000 mortgage, to her new corporation for all its stock. The corporation assumed the mortgage, which had a business purpose. How much gain does she recognize?
Appeals and Ken do not settle, and the IRS mails Ken, who lives in Ohio, a notice of deficiency. Which statement is correct?
Each of the three parts has 100 multiple-choice questions: 85 scored and 15 unscored experimental questions you cannot tell apart.
The IRS does not publish results by part on its enrolled agent pages. Part 2 has the largest single domain, 37 scored questions on business tax preparation. Your diagnostic score by domain is the best guide to which part needs most work.
No. The exams are closed book. At a test center you get scratch paper, a pencil and a calculator.
For exams from July 1, 2026 to February 28, 2027, the law as amended through December 31, 2025, with questions about calendar year 2025.