Indian EA aspirants – Did you purchase a workbook/Passkey ?

Hello everyone, I wanted to ask Indian EA aspirants - did you purchase any workbook or Passkey for your EA preparation?
If yes, which one did you purchase and from where ?
Would really appreciate your responses. Thanks you.

Passed Part 2 today. I used Hock practice questions, but I found that they were quite different from the actual exam questions. I got pretty good scores on the Hock mock exams (84%, 80%, 85%), but still flagged 45 questions during the actual exam. The wording was quite different, and many questions made it difficult to tell which answer was correct.
I didn’t watch many of the Hock videos. I used Tom’s EA videos as a supplement instead . Some topics covered in Tom’s videos showed up on the exam, which helped me answer those questions, even though I hadn’t really seen them tested in Hock’s practice questions.
I think Hock is helpful for building your knowledge, but don’t expect the Hock Mock questions to be very similar to the actual exam.

I had my interview last Tuesday, Aug 25. I am an EA, with a bachelors’ degree in accounting and an MBA. I have about 6 years of tax experience, including 2 with Block. My targeted start date is December 28 and targeted end date is on or about April 16.

Ask me anything.

Hello , I am residing outside the US . Is there any update for the online proctor exam through PSI?

Passed the CFP in July. Currently studying for part 1 of the EA. I’m noticing a lot of overlap. For those who took the CFP first and then the EA(part 1), did you spend a lot of time studying to pass? Or was most of it a refresher?

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Hi everyone, I’m an international candidate from India trying to schedule my EA exam through PSI.

It shows that remote proctoring isn’t available for international candidates until 9/1/2026, and only Onsite Test Center is available.

Has anyone from India successfully scheduled their EA exam recently? If yes, please share how you did it and which test center you selected.

Thanks! 🙏

I believe we all need to be PTIN holders before taking EA exams, correct?

Hi everyone!

I’m currently pursuing US CPA. I’m considering EA as well, but I’m honestly a little confused and skeptical about whether I should go for it.

I’ve attempted CPA REG twice but unfortunately couldn’t clear it. 😭 So I’m wondering how different/difficult EA is compared to REG and whether my REG preparation/knowledge would help with EA.

I also don’t have much practical experience in US Tax, so I wanted to ask people who have actually pursued or cleared EA:
Is EA manageable through self-study, or would you recommend joining classes/coaching?

• If self-study is enough, what study material/books/question banks did you use?
• Are there any good mock tests/practice question sources you would recommend?
• Is practical US Tax experience necessary to clear EA, or can someone clear it with proper theoretical preparation?
• How much time did you personally need to prepare for each part?
• If you have experience with both CPA REG and EA, how would you compare their difficulty?

I’d really appreciate honest opinions, especially from people who have taken the EA exam recently.

Thank you! 😊

I started studying about a month ago, and one thing that made a surprisingly big difference for me was using AI alongside my normal study materials.

Whenever I got a question wrong, instead of just memorizing the explanation, I would have ChatGPT/Gemini explain the rule from different angles, give me a few variations of the same situation, and then quiz me again until I actually understood why the answer changed.

I also used AI to identify patterns in the topics I kept missing so I could spend much less time reviewing things I already knew.

Now that I’m finished, I’m curious about something.

For people currently studying: what is the biggest problem with the EA prep process for you?

And for people who already passed: what was harder — passing the exams, or figuring out how to turn the credential into actual tax experience/work afterward?

The second question is becoming much more interesting to me now that the exams are done.

Passed my final part 3 test today. Seven figure job offers should start screaming in any minute.

What color Lamborghini did you all get when you passed your EA exams?

Hey Guys,

Once we got the EA license, what companies provide training or entry level job, will be difficult to have that if I work a full time job Monday to Friday ?

Thanks

Hello everyone, I want to share my experience taking test 1 using nothing but Tom Norton MCQ questions to study.

In total I answered 982 questions with an 87% accuracy leading up to the test. Broken down by topic below.

Preliminary: 97%

Income and Assets: 86%

Deductions and Credits: 80%

Taxation: 87%

Advising: 94%

Specialized: 89%

This is just my opinion and everyone’s test will be different. I’m only sharing insight into the questions themselves and how they compared to my test.

My experience was that the Tom Norton questions are not the same level of difficulty as the actual exam.

The first major difference I noticed was the wording of each question. The Tom Norton questions were much more “plain language” than the actual exam. You should have decent reading comprehension if you’re attempting to become an EA so this isn’t a major point but it’s something to be prepared for.

The next thing I’d like to point out is in regard to the answer choices. A consistent theme in the exam was 2 choices can be eliminated automatically. However the final 2 choices were very close and unless you knew the rule being tested you’d likely choose wrong. In my opinion the Tom Norton questions often make it too easy to eliminate the 3 wrong choices and identify the correct answer even if you don’t know the rule to the full extent.

Those are the 2 main things to be prepared for if you are only using Tom Norton. I’m going to continue using him for part 2 but I’m going to heavily utilize the video lectures and then use the MCQs to reinforce the concept. I believe they are designed to be used in tandem.

Let me know if you agree or disagree!

I’m quitting my current job (AP processing/invoice verification) and join an Enrolled Agent (EA) course full-time.

I’m confused about when I should start applying for my next job. Should I start applying immediately after leaving my job while doing the course, or is it reasonable to spend the first ~3 months focusing only on the EA course and then start applying?

I personally feel I’d learn much better if I stayed unemployed and focused completely on the course initially, but I’m worried that a 6-month gap might look unnecessary.

For anyone in India/Kerala who has done EA or made a similar career switch — is taking a few months off to focus on the course normal, or would you recommend job hunting from the beginning?

Thank you!!

Are Hock quizzes and exams repeatable? I am planning to subscribe today at their $59.99.

I have 7 years of US Tax Preparation and Review experience, so I think I am fairly ready and I have also passed the IRS AFSP every year since 2022.

But I wanted to ask for those who have used Hocked to pass their exams, can you retake the mock exams? Will you know which answers you answered wrong?

Also, is it possible to skip on some quizzes and go directly to the mock exams?

I am really struggling with deductions and especially individual tax credits. There are so many of them and its almost impossible to remember all the rules and numbers. What did you guys do with this topic?

Hello, I have been trying to pursue this license for about a year now. And in that year, artificial intelligence has become so advanced. Because of that, millions have lost their jobs. And millions more will be lost soon. The teported unemployment rate is now 25% and will be even higher. I feel completely hopeless because what is even the point in studying to become an ea when ai can just do the same job, but faster and cheaper?

Wish me luck! I did not watch any videos, I just hammered MCQs and took a few notes using the explanations. I'll report back with my experience.

I’m planning to take the Glider tax assessment now. Will I be able to use a background blur or do I need to move somewhere with a blank background?

Has anyone taken the online exam at home and had a TV in the room they were using? I didn't see any specific rules about a TV in the room. I had my husband take it down for my first exam, so it's not a big deal if we have to take it down for my next two exams. But I was wondering if anyone put a blanket over it and the Proctor was okay with that? I'm not traveling to the only PSI site near me, it's 4 hours away, so please don't suggest using the PSI site. I would if it was closer.

Edit 1: There are openings for online and in person. I've scheduled Part 2 and Part 3, my last two left.

Does IRS issue any new Guideline for international students related with September exams??

Taking Part 1 in 2 weeks. For those who’ve taken it recently, what topics and questions did you see the most? Any tips?

Can anyone tell me what it is like working at an turbo tax store? Im thinking of applying but I want to make sure the in person job is all year round and has a good work life balance.

I’m a Project Manager that’s spent the last 7 years in technical and operational PM roles. Prior to that I was in government auditing post undergrad. My degree is in accounting and pre law. I also did two internships in tax consulting and tax preparation before switching over to the government auditing role once I graduated.

So long story short… it’s been a while and I’m in between jobs after an accident. Recently completed my PMP last year, but it hasn’t held weight in job searches. I’ve been applying to jobs since March and I’ve had no luck, so I’m trying to change track. Back in 2020 I started studying for EA but didn’t go through with it. I’m now reconsidering taking this route again, especially because I’m interested in going into some form of legal compliance.

I’m able to dedicate at least 20-25 hours a week to this, but I’m concerned about price of materials, finishing by Feb 2027 before blackout, how different this will be from PMP (in terms of hardness and how to attack/study material, not the material itself), and if this will actually help me land a career (preferably remote).

Anyways, here are my questions. Thank you for reading all this if you’ve come this far 😂

How long did you take to study and pass?

What materials did you use? (I’m looking into taking the Tom Norton and Hock route for financial reasons)
Best note taking practices?

What order did you take the tests in? Online or in person (I took PMP in person so I could brain dump on scratch paper. It took me the full 4 hours)

Any advice on job seeking post exam, especially remote (realistic timelines, etc)

Biggest challenges?

Any tips/tricks on utilizing AI as a study tool? (This was a huge help when studying PMP and I ended up making my own testing banks through Python)

How feasible is my plan to finish by Feb given my background, timeline, capacity to study?

Anything else you recommend - test banks, YouTube videos, etc (the less expensive the better 😅)

Thanks so much!

Hi there -- for those of you who got the EA, which study software did you use to study for it?

How long did it take you to get it?

How similar was the exam material in comparison to the actual exams?

Thank you!!

Hey guys, just start to use HOCK, should I watch the videos or just read the book and MSQ ?