EAPart 2 — Businesses

SEE Part 2

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Updated April 2026

EA Exam Part 2 — Businesses

SEE Part 2 covers business taxation — entity choice, partnership and corporate returns, employment taxes, depreciation, and specialized returns. 100 multiple-choice questions across three domains. Most candidates rate Part 2 as the hardest of the three.

Typical prep
~60 hours
Typical weeks
~8 weeks
Domains
3
Pass rate
~55–65%

Exam format

100 multiple-choice questions across three domains. 3.5 hours testing time. Delivered by PSI Services starting March 1, 2026. Available May 1 through February 28/29.

Business Tax Preparation alone is ~37 questions — over a third of the exam.

Depreciation (MACRS, §179, bonus depreciation) is a consistent trouble spot.

Entity choice analysis (sole prop vs partnership vs S corp vs C corp) is heavily tested.

Most candidates prep 6–10 weeks at 8–12 hours per week.

Exam fee is $267 per part (as of March 2025). Delivery transitions from Prometric to PSI Services on March 1, 2026. Always verify current details at irs.gov/enrolled-agents before scheduling.

Part 2 domains

The 3 domains tested on SEE Part 2, paraphrased from the public IRS content outline. Approximate question counts are published by the IRS and may shift between testing cycles.

Business Entities and Considerations

~30 questions

Entity selection, formation, and operation: sole proprietorships, partnerships, C corps, S corps, LLCs, and trusts. Choice-of-entity analysis is heavily tested.

Sole proprietorship (Schedule C) tax treatment
Partnership (Form 1065) and K-1 flow-through rules
C Corporation (Form 1120) with double taxation and accumulated earnings
S Corporation (Form 1120-S) eligibility, reasonable compensation, and basis rules
LLC classification (check-the-box elections)
Estate and trust entities (Form 1041)
Tax-exempt organizations (Form 990 series)
Choice-of-entity comparison: liability, tax, and administrative trade-offs
Key IRS publications

Business Tax Preparation

~37 questions

The operational mechanics of business tax returns: income recognition, expense deduction, depreciation, and employment taxes. Largest single domain on Part 2.

Business income recognition (cash vs accrual, long-term contracts)
Deductible business expenses and §263A capitalization rules
Depreciation (MACRS), §179 expensing, and bonus depreciation
Vehicle, travel, meals, and home office deduction rules
Inventory methods (LIFO, FIFO, specific identification) and §471
Employment tax (941, 940, W-2, W-3) and payroll tax deposits
Independent contractor classification (Form 1099-NEC, §530 safe harbor)

Specialized Returns and Taxpayers

~18 questions

Farm returns, exempt organizations, retirement plans, trust returns, and niche business filings.

Farm income and expenses (Schedule F, Form 943)
Retirement plans for small business (SEP, SIMPLE, solo 401(k))
Trust and estate income taxation (Form 1041)
Tax-exempt organizations and Form 990/990-EZ/990-N
International business considerations (foreign tax credit, Form 5471)
Key IRS publications

exclam.ai does not reproduce IRS exam questions. Domain names and question shares above are paraphrased from the publicly published SEE content outline at irs.gov.

How exclam.ai helps with Part 2

Upload the free IRS PDFs

The publications above are all public domain. Upload them to exclam.ai and skip the commercial prep cost entirely — or upload your Gleim/Surgent notes alongside them for a hybrid approach.

Generate flashcards & practice

Adaptive flashcards and SEE-format multiple-choice practice questions, mapped to the 3 Part 2 domains. Edit any card. Add your own.

Weekly adaptive plan

Coverage phase across all 3 domains, review phase for weak topics, mocks in the final 1-2 weeks. Rebalances when you fall behind.

Commercial EA prep vendors

exclam.ai works alongside any of these vendors — or with free IRS publications alone. Upload your session notes from any commercial prep program and exclam.ai builds the weekly plan and flashcard layer.

Gleim EA Review

Premium tier ~$598. Extensive partnership and corporate question coverage.

Surgent EA Review

Ultimate Pass ~$999. Adaptive engine shortens study time for those with business tax backgrounds.

Fast Forward Academy

Smart Bundle ~$539. Well-regarded video lectures on entity taxation.

Direct IRS publications

Free. Pub 334 + Pub 15 + Pub 541 + Pub 542 + Pub 946 covers most of Part 2.

Part 2 questions

Why is Part 2 considered the hardest?

Breadth. Part 2 spans sole proprietorships, partnerships, C corps, S corps, LLCs, trusts, employment tax, and specialized returns — each with its own rules, forms, and basis concepts. Most candidates have not worked across all entity types professionally.

How much does depreciation appear on Part 2?

A lot. MACRS, §179, bonus depreciation, listed property limits, and Section 1250/1245 recapture all recur. Pub 946 is essentially required reading.

Should I take Part 1 or Part 2 first?

Most candidates take Part 1 first because individual tax knowledge carries into Part 2 (pass-through K-1 items, Schedule C). Some tax professionals with strong business backgrounds reverse the order. Part 3 is almost always last.

Do I need to know bookkeeping to pass Part 2?

Not accounting-grade bookkeeping, but you need comfort with financial statement concepts (balance sheet, income statement), accounting methods (cash vs accrual), and inventory flow. Pub 538 covers the accounting method rules tested.

Start your Part 2 plan today

Upload free IRS publications or your own prep notes and exclam.ai builds an adaptive weekly plan around your exam date.

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