I have a long way to go.

[arlo]

I took 21 sections of test on Pub. 17 from APlusCpe. I think it cost me $59.00.
The test were very good.At the end there was 120 questions with a 90 minute
allowed. I passed the test with 75% but took me 7 hours (not good). To me Pub. 17 is
a hard read. I was weaned on Tax Book. Matter of fact some of the answers
that I could not find I went to Tax Book. Someone said you must get to know Pub 17
very well to pass the test. I agree!!! Those 21 sections covered every thing. I think they overed too much. Iam looking for new material to study. Any suggestions?

[Koss]

RTRP Exam

I agree that you do need to be very familiar with Pub. 17 in order to do well on the test.

To narrow down the focus of your study, you might consider this:

During the exam, in addition to Pub. 17, you also have access to the instructions for Form 1040.

Some of the information in Pub. 17 is also in the 1040 instructions.

So you could start by identifying the material that can be found in both publications.

And believe it or not, there is some information in the 1040 instructions that is not in Publication 17. (Can you picture a Venn diagram?)

As a quick example: taxable social security. There is certainly a discussion of taxable social security somewhere in Pub. 17. But you won't find the worksheet. That's in the 1040 instructions. And it should be a lot easier to find. The 1040 instructions go line-by-line. So the worksheet should be in the instructions for line...

Umm... is it line 17?

I'm not cheating. I don't have a Form 1040 in front of me.

BMK

[BP.]

Iam looking for new material to study. Any suggestions?

Not sure what you are studying for, but assuming RTRP, would suggest also studying Circular 230. While it is great to study Pub 17, it is very useful to simply know what sections cover which topics so you can research your answers much more quickly. Thoroughly knowing your TTB is also a great way to prepare. Good Luck!

[jacobtaxbook]

Arlo, look no further.

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I would like to sincerly thank everyone for your participting on our message board. We truley appreciate your patronage.
(I had posted this same msg some on a different thread some time back.)

[BP.]

I would like to sincerly thank everyone for your participting on our message board. We truley appreciate your patronage.

That's a nice message, Jacob!
Thank you for providing this forum. I sincerely appreciate it.
Barb

[David1980]

Publication 17 / Circular 230 are good. I think you could probably pass the test easier using a purpose-built class - something that puts extra focus on areas that are more likely to be in the test and glosses over those areas that aren't likely to be in the test. Obviously that would cost money while Pub 17/Circular 230 are free.