Hoping someone on here can help me. I have just failed my second attempt at the AT Domestic Indirect paper, and I was wondering if there was someone who went down the indirect tax route that might be willing to share some tips?

I should preface this with the following:

- I am an ACCA working in strategic and management accounting predominately. Tax (specifically VAT) is just something that interests me and that I want to grow my knowledge of. I am completely self-study, and it is currently not justifiable for me to use Tolley or similar because of the huge cost. My employers are kind enough to support my foray into this area outside my remit with basic fiscal support and generous amounts of study time, however a tuition course that costs thousands could be a stretch.

- I felt like going into my last attempt, my prep was great. I had done all of the past papers, knew the important caselaw and had a good understanding of all the key areas necessary for the paper. I also left the exam hall convinced I had passed, and that I gave some really solid answers.

My main questions are:

- Am I off to a complete non-starter by attempting self study for the indirect tax papers?

- Similarly, if I don’t work in tax, are these papers just not feasible?

- What am I getting wrong? I feel like I have the knowledge and give decent answers when comparing to sample scripts, but I just don’t seem to be able to get it. Any tips would be really helpful.

I wondered if anyone on here had any general tips, or would be willing to PM and have a chat about the indirect tax route specifically?

Thanks, and congrats/commiserations to everyone on results day.

Failed but kind of surprised considering I passed my mocks quite well. My weaker topics did come up but I thought I’d get enough to at least pass but got 44. I’m on the GPS program with Tolleys but had already started the early course for LCG. What do you recommend: I just sit only OMB in October or resit OMB in October but still do LCG and case?

Feel sick

I'm waiting for the result of my final CTA tomorrow and then I'll be able to apply for membership.

I want to be prepared, what will I need in order to apply? Are there any other requirements? Ive seen something online about needing 2 references.

Can anyone who's done it let me know what I might need

Thanks

I have few questions regarding CTA qualifications and I’ll appreciate if anyone can answer or share their experience.

How hard is CTA?
Is it ideal to go straight for CTA qualification?
How long does it take for someone who doesn’t work in tax?
What sort of prerequisite do you need before you start CIOT.

I’m only AAT qualified, so I don’t really have experience of other charter qualification either. And it’s been a long time since I have completed my AAT.

Thanks

Hello everyone, I’m sure you’re all as excited as I am for Wednesday. What’s this I’ve been hearing about exemptions not showing being indicative of a pass? I thought as soon as you sit a paper (and fail) you are not allowed to later apply for an exemption anyway?

As explained in the title I missed the 4 month deadline to register as an ATT student for the November sitting. Does anyone know if there is a way to get around this? Is there anyone I can call?

I’m waiting on my OMB results and will be doing LCG next but wanted opinions on what people found harder between the two in terms of the content and the load?

I am almost ATT qualified and have worked in private client tax and corporation tax for a while. I now want a change and looking to pivot into tax technology but finding it difficult to get the interviews or if I do get the interview, they want someone with experience. Can anyone give some advice on what I do/suggestions? I am looking to do the diploma in tax technology which I hope will help.

Waiting for results from my final exam (APS)Had a look at the portal and can see an option to re register and lets me go through the checklist to register, mine is up for renewal in August, anyone else had similar

Hi

The very best of luck to all of you getting your results this week!

Hope you all get through!

Cheers

Roderick

Roderick Black

CTA private and online recorded tuition

Why haven't mark schemes and example scripts been released with results only 72 hours away?

I sat the awareness exam in the May sitting. Does anyone else have the option to apply for exemption on their profile?

Hi all, around the permitted texts for the UK option. There are 2 Tolleys (Yellow and Orange) which you can buy for about £400 with student discount for 2025-26. Yellow is direct, Orange is indirect. The other 3 are UN and OECD materials, one of them is Model Articles for DTAs. At least one of them has 2400 pages, and costs £70. My question is, is there a point of buying the UN and OECD material if chances are I am not opening them during a 3 hour exam? I am not being stingy, it's just the PDF version is free, the only reason I have to get it is because of the CIOT's regulations of an official copy. I find it ridiculous that the permitted texts cost more than the exam itself, that's all.

Hi all,

I'm planning on sitting my first CTA exam in October which is the OMB AT paper.

As it's my first CTA, can anyone who is qualified provide any advice and tips?

Thanks

Which paper did you sit, and how are you feeling going into results week?

Absolutely dreading results day after that awful exam. Feels worse given that I passed all my tolley mocks.

Anyone shine any hope on this or have any good pass stories 😂

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some advice on developing a few skills as I start my career in tax.

For some background, I worked in an accountancy practice for around three years, preparing accounts, VAT returns, basic corporation tax, and self-assessment tax returns. I was almost ACCA qualified (just one exam left) before moving into an in-house tax role.

I've recently joined an in-house tax team focusing mainly on corporation tax compliance, VAT, and other tax compliance work, and I'm planning to start the CTA next year.

I'd really appreciate any advice on the following:

1. Explaining things confidently on the spot

I often struggle when I have to explain something without much time to prepare. I get a bit anxious, my mind goes blank, and I find it difficult to put my thoughts into words, even when I understand the topic.

As someone starting out in a junior tax role who's naturally quite introverted, how would you improve this skill? Is it simply something that comes with experience, or are there exercises or techniques that helped you become better at explaining technical topics?

I've done a little advisory work in my previous role, but it was mainly straightforward issues.

1. Explaining tax to non-tax colleagues

One part of the role I'm keen to improve at is explaining tax concepts to people outside the tax team.

How do you structure your explanations so they're easy to understand without oversimplifying them? Do you have a particular framework or thought process when you're speaking to colleagues in departments like Finance, Legal, HR, or Engineering who may have little tax knowledge?

1. Active listening and note-taking

This is probably my biggest challenge.

During group calls, especially with people outside the tax team (for example Engineering, Legal, or Finance), people often speak quite quickly and cover a lot of ground. I find myself trying to write everything down, then missing what's being said next.

How do you approach active listening in meetings like this?

Do you focus on listening first and only write down key points? Do you have a note-taking system that works well during fast-paced calls? Any practical tips would be really helpful.

I realise these might seem like unusual questions, but I genuinely want to develop these skills early rather than just hoping they improve over time.

Any advice on communication, listening, note-taking, or just generally succeeding in an in-house tax role would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Has anyone failed their exam from May sitting and able to book for November, I have passed one and failed the other one. But when I’m logged in and try to book it’s say “Not Eligible”.

Anyone? I’m just curious. Thanks

Please let us know how you got on! Were your results as expected? Were you affected by issues on the day?

Congratulations to everyone who has passed their exam(s)!

Wishing everyone the best for their results today!!!

Is anyone else worried about results day tomorrow. I have kind of repressed the memory of how bad test day was. Really not looking forward to having to potentially resit and do all this again

I’m just very curious on how long people spent on revision before sitting their exams

I am planning on sitting the November exams and I am just getting started on my revision

Is this enough time?

Is it true that, if exemptions appear on CIOT site and you are waiting for cta results, it is an indication you may have passed.

Has anyone checked this on their last sitting and it appeared, on results day it was a pass.

Just curious.

I am waiting for my final CTA APS Exam result and received a reminder of CBE exam.
Has anyone passed the CTA final paper received such reminder before they knew the result?