SEE Part 1 (Individuals): What to Expect and How to Prepare

SEE Part 1 – Individuals is one of three parts of the IRS Special Enrollment Examination, the test you pass to become an enrolled agent. Each part has 100 questions (85 scored, 15 experimental), runs 3.5 hours with 4 hours of seat time, and is scored on a 200–800 scale with a 500 pass mark. The current test is based on tax law as amended through December 31, 2025, and 'current year' questions refer to calendar year 2025. To prepare, confirm your study materials match that law year, then work through the six official domains — Preliminary Work and Taxpayer Data; Income and Assets; Deductions and Credits; Taxation; Advising the Individual Taxpayer; and Specialized Returns for Individuals — using the worked examples in this guide as models for your own drills.

What SEE Part 1 covers and which tax year applies

Part 1 – Individuals is the first of three SEE parts, and the current test is built on tax law as amended through December 31, 2025, with 'current year' meaning calendar year 2025.

The Special Enrollment Examination (SEE) contains three parts: Part 1 – Individuals, Part 2 – Businesses, and Part 3 – Representation, Practices and Procedures. You may take them in any order. This guide covers Part 1, which tests federal individual taxation.

The law year is fixed and published: all exam references are to the Internal Revenue Code, forms, and publications as amended through December 31, 2025. Questions using the term "current year" refer to calendar year 2025, and you should not account for legislation, court decisions, or penalty amounts effective after that date.

This answers a question many candidates ask: how do you know your study material is current? Match the publication year to the tested law year. The IRS publications linked throughout this guide are the 2025 editions, and the IRS sample questions are also written on law through December 31, 2025, so they align with the current test. If a commercial course or article cites 2024 figures, check whether it has been updated before you rely on it.

One scope note on international testing: scheduling and testing for candidates outside the United States is temporarily delayed, and new start dates have not been announced. When international testing resumes, it will be available only remotely with a proctor. Domestic testing runs July 1, 2026, through February 28, 2027, with a March–April blackout while the test is updated.

• Confirm every study resource states it covers tax law through December 31, 2025 before drilling with it.
• Use the IRS sample questions to calibrate question style; they have never appeared on an actual exam but model the format.
• If you plan to test internationally, watch the PSI website and IRS tax professionals page for announced dates rather than assuming the domestic window applies.

Official sources used: IRS: Enrolled agents — Frequently asked questions; IRS: Sample Special Enrollment Examination questions and answers

Scheduling, retakes, and exam day rules

You can take each part up to four times per testing window, must wait 24 hours after a failed part before rescheduling it, and need one original unexpired government-issued photo ID whose name exactly matches your registration.

The testing window runs May 1 through the end of February; the current domestic window is July 1, 2026, to February 28, 2027. The $317 fee is paid at scheduling through PSI, online or by phone. Keep your confirmation number — you need it to reschedule, cancel, or print your score report.

Retake rules are specific. Each part may be attempted four times per window. If you fail a part, you must wait 24 hours before scheduling that same part again, but you can book a different part immediately. Rescheduling or canceling at least 48 hours before the appointment is free; inside 48 hours you owe a new full fee, and missing the appointment or arriving 30 or more minutes late forfeits the entire fee.

Passing scores carry over for three years from the date you passed each part, so you have three years from your first pass to clear the other two. On exam day, the test is closed book: no notes, books, reference materials, phones, or smart devices are allowed at any time, and violations can nullify your results. Paper, pencil, and a calculator are provided. Bring one original unexpired government-issued photo ID showing your name, photo, and signature, with the name matching your scheduling exactly — an ID mismatch is treated as a missed appointment.

Official sources used: IRS: Enrolled agents — Frequently asked questions

Who can take it and how enrollment works

The path is: obtain a PTIN, apply for the SEE, pass all three parts in any order, then apply for enrollment within one year of your third pass and clear a suitability check. Work experience alone does not replace the exam for most candidates.

The IRS lists the steps directly: obtain a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN), apply to take the SEE, achieve passing scores on all three parts, apply for enrollment, and pass a suitability check covering tax compliance and criminal background. The parts can be taken in any order, so many candidates start with the domain closest to their daily work.

One exemption exists, and it is narrow: certain former IRS employees may be exempt from the exam requirement based on past technical experience. For everyone else, professional experience — even years of preparing returns — does not substitute for passing the three parts. Experience still helps: it builds the practical judgment the exam tests, but you must sit for the test itself.

After your third pass, apply for enrollment within one year. You can apply electronically and pay the $140 fee at Pay.gov, or mail Form 23, Application for Enrollment to Practice Before the IRS, with the fee. Processing generally takes about 60 days (90–120 days for former IRS employees). The suitability check reviews your personal tax compliance — all required returns filed and no unpaid liabilities unless acceptable payment arrangements exist — and your criminal background.

Enrollment also carries ongoing obligations. Enrolled agents generally must complete a minimum of 72 continuing education hours per three-year enrollment cycle, at least 16 hours per year including two hours of ethics, through an IRS-approved CE provider.

Official sources used: IRS: Enrolled agents — Frequently asked questions

The six Part 1 testing areas

The official Part 1 content outline from PSI, the IRS-appointed exam provider, organizes the exam into six domains: Preliminary Work and Taxpayer Data; Income and Assets; Deductions and Credits; Taxation; Advising the Individual Taxpayer; and Specialized Returns for Individuals.

Each domain breaks into lettered subtopics. Domain 1 covers prior-year return review, taxpayer data, residency status, filing requirements and status, sources of income and adjustments, dependency, foreign account reporting, the kiddie tax, and ACA items. Domain 2 spans wages, interest, dividends, rentals, cancellation of debt, foreign income, retirement distributions, property sales and basis, and adjustments such as self-employment tax and health savings accounts.

Domains 3 and 4 cover itemized deductions and the qualified business income deduction; the child, education, foreign tax, earned income, adoption, and premium tax credits; and then the alternative minimum tax, household employees, underpayment penalties, clergy and military provisions, income in respect of a decedent, the Net Investment Income Tax, and the Additional Medicare tax. Domain 5 tests advising: reporting obligations, education, estate, and retirement planning, marriage and divorce, estimated tax, filing-status trade-offs, and refund claims.

Domain 6 covers specialized returns: estate tax on Form 706, gift tax on Form 709, and international information reporting such as the FBAR and Form 8938. The outline does not publish per-domain question counts, so treat all six as preparation priorities and study the subtopics directly.

The study sections below follow this order under short descriptive labels: "Deductions and adjustments" works through Domain 3 material, "Tax credits and special taxes" draws on Domains 3 and 4, and "Estate, gift, and fiduciary tax" covers Domain 6. Use the official subtopic list, not these labels, as your coverage checklist.

The domains also feed each other. Filing status and dependency determinations set the stage for income and deduction questions; adjusted gross income gates credits and phase-outs; basis rules underpin the property and home-sale material. Studying in outline order means each topic's output becomes the next topic's input.

• Preliminary Work and Taxpayer Data — prior-year returns, taxpayer data, residency, filing requirements and status, income and adjustment sources, dependency, credits and payments, special filings, foreign accounts, kiddie tax, ACA
• Income and Assets — wages, interest, dividends, rentals, gambling, cancellation of debt, foreign income, retirement income, property and basis, adjustments to income
• Deductions and Credits — itemized deductions and QBI; child care, child tax and other dependents, education, foreign tax, earned income, adoption, premium, and other credits
• Taxation — alternative minimum tax, household employees, underpayment penalties, self-employment tax, clergy and military provisions, income in respect of a decedent, Net Investment Income Tax, Additional Medicare tax
• Advising the Individual Taxpayer — reporting obligations, property sales, education, estate, and retirement planning, marriage and divorce, carryovers, injured and innocent spouse, estimated tax, filing-status trade-offs, refund claims
• Specialized Returns for Individuals — estate tax (Form 706), gift tax (Form 709), and international information reporting (FBAR, Form 8938, and related forms)

Official sources used: PSI: official EA-SEE Part 1 Individual Taxation examination content outline

Preliminary work and filing requirements

This domain tests dependency determinations, filing status, the standard deduction, and information reporting such as Form 1099-NEC, where incorporation status and the $600 threshold decide what a sole proprietor must report.

Dependency questions require choosing one complete test set. A qualifying child must meet relationship, age, residency, and support tests, with no gross income limit. A qualifying relative must satisfy relationship or member-of-household status, an annually published gross income ceiling, and a support test where the taxpayer provides more than half. Check the child tests first, in order, and only move to the relative tests if a child element fails — blending the two sets is the classic error. The official outline lists dependency qualifications as a Domain 1 subtopic; Publication 501 contains the complete test sets, so drill every element rather than isolated rules.

Filing status follows the taxpayer's situation on the last day of the year. An unmarried taxpayer with a qualifying person who paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home may file as head of household; a married taxpayer chooses joint or separate status, and separate status restricts or eliminates several benefits. The standard deduction is increased for individuals who are age 65 and older and/or blind, a rule the IRS sample questions test directly.

Information reporting is a practical favorite. A sole proprietor generally must report payments of $600 or more to unincorporated service providers on Form 1099-NEC, with a specific exception requiring attorney fees to be reported even when the law firm is incorporated. Payment method — cash, check, or transfer — does not matter; the recipient's status and the amount do. The exercise below works through a mixed payment list.

Official sources used: PSI: official EA-SEE Part 1 Individual Taxation examination content outline; IRS: SEE Part 1 – Individuals sample test questions (PDF)

Income and assets: basis and home-sale gain

Compute adjusted basis first — original cost plus improvements and eligible repair-type work in an extensive remodel, minus depreciation and energy credits — then subtract it from the amount realized to find gain.

Amount realized is what the seller receives: sale price minus selling expenses such as a real estate commission. Adjusted basis starts with original cost and moves with capital items. Improvements add to basis; depreciation allowed or allowable subtracts from it; and energy credits received for improvements included in basis must also be subtracted. The subtle rule candidates miss: repair-type work normally never enters basis, but when it is done as part of an extensive remodeling or restoration of the home, the entire job counts as an improvement and does increase basis. Publication 523 gives the example of replacing one broken windowpane (a repair) versus replacing all the windows as a project (an improvement).

Basis also depends on how the home was acquired. A home received as a gift generally carries the donor's adjusted basis, with exceptions when the donor's basis exceeds fair market value or gift tax was paid. A home inherited from a decedent who died before or after 2010 takes a basis equal to its fair market value on the date of death, or the alternate valuation date the personal representative chooses. A jointly owned home of a surviving spouse gets a stepped-up basis in the deceased spouse's half.

The exercise below combines these rules in one computation — the exact pattern Part 1 favors, where a single fact contains a repair, an improvement, a credit, and a selling cost.

Official sources used: IRS Publication 523 (2025), Selling Your Home

Deductions and adjustments: classify first, compute second

Above-the-line adjustments reduce adjusted gross income; itemized deductions matter only when their total exceeds the standard deduction. Classify each expense before any computation, because the bucket drives downstream limits.

Two expenses of identical size can produce different tax results depending on their classification. Adjustments reduce AGI, which in turn shrinks every AGI-gated number: medical floors, credit phase-outs, and income-based eligibility tests. Itemized deductions operate below AGI and matter only above the standard deduction. The classification table below summarizes the pattern.

One classification traps even experienced preparers: tax preparation fees. For individuals, fees to prepare a personal return are not deductible — the IRS sample questions confirm the answer is simply "not deductible" under current law. But Publication 334 permits deducting on Schedule C the cost of preparing the part of your return relating to your business as a sole proprietor. So the accurate statement is scoped: personal preparation is not deductible; the business portion is a business expense.

The home office deduction tests exclusive use, regular use, and business purpose, with the space also serving as the principal place of business, a place for meeting clients, or a separate structure. Two refinements matter. The space can be any separately identifiable area and does not need to be marked off by a permanent partition. But exclusive use means the specific area is used only for the business — a corner of a room used for personal storage is not part of the qualifying area, though it does not automatically disqualify the rest of the room.

Other limits in this domain: medical expenses are deductible as an itemized deduction only above 7.5% of AGI; business meals while traveling are generally only 50% deductible; and deductions from an activity not engaged in for profit are limited so the loss cannot offset other income.

• One-half of self-employment tax — adjustment, deducted on Schedule 1
• Self-employed health insurance premiums — adjustment (when eligible)
• Student loan interest — adjustment
• Medical expenses above 7.5% of AGI — itemized
• State and local income taxes, mortgage interest, charitable gifts — itemized
• Business portion of tax preparation fees — Schedule C business expense
• Personal return preparation fee — not deductible
• Meals while traveling for business — Schedule C, generally limited to 50%

Official sources used: IRS Publication 334 (2025), Tax Guide for Small Business; IRS: SEE Part 1 – Individuals sample test questions (PDF)

Tax credits and special taxes

Credits reduce tax dollar for dollar, nonrefundable credits only to zero and refundable credits below it. Education credits require careful allocation when a student receives both restricted and flexible scholarships.

The scholarship coordination rule is a reliable exam favorite. A scholarship is tax-free only to the extent it pays qualified education expenses, and room and board are not qualified expenses for this purpose. When a student receives both a tuition-restricted scholarship and a flexible scholarship, the restricted amount goes to tuition first, and any flexible amount applied to room and board becomes taxable scholarship income to the student. The parent who claims the student as a dependent then claims the American opportunity credit on the tuition left uncovered. The worked example below shows the full allocation.

Once credits are computed, order matters. Nonrefundable credits can drive liability only to zero; refundable credits can produce a payment beyond it. Applying a refundable credit first can strand part of a nonrefundable credit. Illustratively: $900 of tax, a $600 nonrefundable credit, and a $500 refundable credit leave, in the correct order, a $200 refund; reversed, the refundable credit absorbs the liability first and $200 of the nonrefundable credit is wasted.

The domain also covers the credit for other dependents — a $500 nonrefundable credit for dependents who do not qualify for the child tax credit — the kiddie tax, which can apply to a child under 18 with unearned income, and the Net Investment Income Tax, which reaches items such as taxable mutual fund distributions but not traditional IRA distributions, alimony, or tax-exempt municipal bond interest. Premium tax credit questions turn on mechanics: Form 1095-A feeds Form 8962, which reconciles advance payments or claims the credit, and no credit is allowed for coverage periods in which the individual was not lawfully present in the United States.

Official sources used: IRS Publication 970 (2025), Tax Benefits for Education; IRS: SEE Part 1 – Individuals sample test questions (PDF)

Taxation of specialized transactions

When a home with business or rental use is sold, the key distinction is whether the business space sits within the dwelling unit or separate from it — and depreciation taken after May 6, 1997 is recognized as unrecaptured section 1250 gain, a capital-gain category, not ordinary income.

If the business or rental space is within the living area — a home office room, a rented spare bedroom — gain is not allocated between the business and residential parts, and the sale of that part is not reported on Form 4797. However, the portion of gain equal to depreciation adjustments allowed or allowable after May 6, 1997 must be recognized. Publication 523's example: Logan uses part of a house as a law office, claims $2,000 of depreciation, and sells with a $13,000 gain. Logan recognizes $2,000 of the gain as unrecaptured section 1250 gain and may exclude the remaining $11,000.

Character matters here. Unrecaptured section 1250 gain is a category of capital gain taxed at its own special maximum rate — the Stacey example in Publication 523 separates a gain into unrecaptured section 1250 gain and adjusted net capital gain precisely because the two are treated differently. Do not describe it as ordinary income; that description fits other recapture regimes, not real property depreciation under section 1250.

When the business or rental portion is separate from the dwelling — a duplex with a rented unit, a store with an upstairs apartment, a stable on acreage — the exclusion does not reach that part unless you also owned and lived in it for at least two of the five years before the sale. Otherwise, basis and amount realized must be allocated between residential and nonresidential portions, the business-part gain is reported on Form 4797, and only the residential-part gain can qualify for exclusion. In the Stacey example, $14,000 of a $24,000 gain is allocated to the nonresidential stable and acreage (reported on Form 4797, including $9,000 of unrecaptured section 1250 gain), while the $10,000 residential gain is excludable.

This domain also includes deferral mechanisms such as the installment method and deferred exchanges. The retrieved sources do not cover their 2025 computation details, so treat any figures you drill with as illustrative practice and verify the mechanics against the current-year IRS publications before the exam.

Official sources used: PSI: official EA-SEE Part 1 Individual Taxation examination content outline; IRS Publication 523 (2025), Selling Your Home

Estate, gift, and fiduciary tax

Gift tax is generally the donor's liability, tested per donee per year against an annual exclusion, with excess amounts reported and applied against a lifetime exclusion; inherited property takes a fair-market-value basis at death. The gift-tax rules and figures below follow the general framework — verify current amounts and mechanics in the Form 709 instructions.

The gift-tax framework works per donee and per year: an annual exclusion shields a set amount given to each donee, a gift above that amount is reported on a gift tax return, and the excess first draws down the donor's lifetime applicable exclusion rather than triggering immediate tax — the same exclusion that shelters the estate at death. Neither these mechanics nor the current exclusion amounts appear in the publications checked for this guide, so confirm both in the current-year instructions for Form 709 before relying on any figure. The exercise below uses illustrative numbers for that reason.

At death, basis resets. A home inherited from a decedent who died before or after 2010 takes a basis equal to the property's fair market value on the date of death, or the alternate valuation date chosen by the estate's personal representative; if a Form 706 estate tax return was filed or required, the value listed there controls. This step-up is why inherited property is treated so differently from gifted property, which generally carries the donor's basis.

Fiduciary income tax is a separate system for estates and trusts: as background, income retained by the estate or trust is taxed to the entity, and income distributed is typically picked up by the beneficiaries. The retrieved sources do not detail these mechanics, so treat them as a preparation priority to study in the current-year fiduciary publications.

Domain 6 also covers international information reporting: FBAR and Form 8938 filing requirements, the accounts each covers, potential penalties, and the distinctions between the two. The publications checked for this guide do not detail these rules, so study them directly from the Form 8938 instructions and FinCEN guidance as their own preparation priority.

Official sources used: PSI: official EA-SEE Part 1 Individual Taxation examination content outline; IRS Publication 523 (2025), Selling Your Home

Common mistakes to avoid

The recurring Part 1 errors blend adjacent test sets, reverse scholarship allocation, mishandle the remodeling exception, and overstate or understate deduction scope.

Each mistake below maps to a corrected example earlier in this guide, so re-run the relevant exercise if any item feels uncertain.

• Blending the qualifying child and qualifying relative test sets — the gross income ceiling belongs to the relative test only
• Treating a flexible scholarship applied to room and board as tax-free — room and board are not qualified education expenses for tax-free scholarship treatment, so that amount is taxable income
• Assuming repair-type work never enters basis — within an extensive remodeling or restoration project, the entire job counts as an improvement
• Describing unrecaptured section 1250 gain as ordinary income — it is a capital-gain category with its own special rate
• Saying tax preparation fees are never deductible for individuals — personal preparation is not deductible, but the business portion is deductible on Schedule C
• Claiming a whole home office area when part of it serves personal use — exclusive use applies to the specific area measured, and no permanent partition is required for a qualifying separately identifiable space

Official sources used: IRS Publication 334 (2025), Tax Guide for Small Business; IRS Publication 523 (2025), Selling Your Home; IRS: SEE Part 1 – Individuals sample test questions (PDF)

A domain-by-domain study sequence

Study the domains in dependency order, drill one worked calculation per domain, and finish with mixed fact patterns under a clock — an optional routine, not an official requirement.

A sequence that respects how the domains feed each other: start with preliminary work and filing requirements, because status and dependency outputs gate everything downstream. Move to income, assets, and basis computation, then deductions and adjustments, then credits and special taxes, which share the AGI gateway. Cover specialized transactions and estate, gift, and fiduciary tax last, then spend the final stretch on mixed fact patterns that combine two or three domains.

For self-tracking, some candidates score each drill on a simple fluency scale: 4 if you named the correct test, listed every element, and concluded without hesitation; 3 if one element needed prompting; 2 if you reached the right answer through the wrong test; 1 if the test itself was wrong; 0 if you could not start. Low scores tell you which branch points to restudy. These are personal learning signals only — they indicate fluency with the material, not a prediction of any exam result.

Final checklist and official documents

Work from the Candidate Information Bulletin, IRS sample questions, Circular 230, and the current-year publications, and confirm your PTIN and scheduling details before booking an appointment.

The IRS points candidates to the Internal Revenue Code, Treasury Department Circular 230, IRS publications, and forms with their instructions as study sources, plus the IRS sample questions and the Candidate Information Bulletin on the PSI website. The IRS does not recommend specific commercial providers, though some approved CE providers offer SEE preparation courses.

• Read the Candidate Information Bulletin for the current testing window, test center rules, and the official content outline
• Work through the IRS sample questions for Part 1, written on law through December 31, 2025
• Build or refresh notes from the 2025 editions of the key publications: 334 (small business), 523 (selling your home), 970 (education benefits), 501 (dependents and standard deduction), 502 (medical), 915 (social security), and 974 (premium tax credit)
• Obtain or renew your PTIN before applying for the SEE
• Create your PSI account, schedule Part 1, and confirm your photo ID name matches your registration exactly
• Try the free practice questions and broader study guides linked below before your first attempt

Official sources used: PSI: official EA-SEE Part 1 Individual Taxation examination content outline; IRS: Enrolled agents — Frequently asked questions; IRS: Sample Special Enrollment Examination questions and answers

Official sources used

Exam facts verified: Sep 12, 2026

• PSI: official EA-SEE Part 1 Individual Taxation examination content outline
• IRS Publication 334 (2025), Tax Guide for Small Business
• IRS Publication 523 (2025), Selling Your Home
• IRS: Enrolled agents — Frequently asked questions
• IRS: Sample Special Enrollment Examination questions and answers
• IRS Publication 970 (2025), Tax Benefits for Education
• IRS: SEE Part 1 – Individuals sample test questions (PDF)

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