Enrolled Agent ReadyStudyingPart 1
Switch exam
Special Enrollment Examination
Part 1SEE Part 1: Individuals✓Part 2SEE Part 2: BusinessesPart 3SEE Part 3: Representation, Practices and ProceduresThese are Hard Mode questions from our bank: applied questions with dates, amounts and loan-file facts, the style that costs candidates points on the real test. Answers and worked explanations are shown. All questions are original; they are not real EA exam questions.
Rosa's husband died in 2024 and she has not remarried. Her 9-year-old foster daughter, whom she can claim as a dependent, lived with her all of 2025, and Rosa paid all costs of the home. What is Rosa's 2025 filing status?
Why: Qualifying surviving spouse status requires a son, daughter or stepchild the survivor can claim as a dependent; a foster child does not count. A foster child placed by an authorized agency is a qualifying child for head of household, so Rosa files as head of household. Married filing jointly was available only for 2024, the year her husband died. Source: IRC 2(a)(1)(B), 2(b), 152(f)(1)(C); Pub. 501 (2025), Qualifying Surviving Spouse (not a foster child). Tax year: 2025 (law as of 31 Dec 2025).
Ned, 52, has $150,000 of employer-paid group-term life coverage all of 2025 and pays nothing toward it. Using the IRS Table I cost of $0.23 per $1,000 per month for ages 50 to 54, how much is included in his wages?
These are just a taste. The full bank covers every content outline domain in all three parts, with Hard Mode and full 100-question timed practice exams.
Build a daily practice habit — a few exam-style questions a day, with worked answers. Free to start.
Start practicing →Original study material mapped to the public IRS SEE content outlines. Every figure carries its source and tax year; confirm current rules with the IRS before relying on them.
Why: Employer-provided group-term life coverage is tax-free up to $50,000. The cost of the excess, $100,000, is taxable using the Table I monthly rate: 100 x $0.23 x 12 months = $276, included in box 1 of his Form W-2 and subject to Social Security and Medicare tax. Source: IRC 79; Treas. Reg. 1.79-3(d)(2); Pub. 15-B (2025), Group-Term Life Insurance Coverage, Table 2-2. Tax year: 2025 (law as of 31 Dec 2025).
To be a real estate professional for 2025, a taxpayer must perform more than half of his or her personal services in real property trades or businesses in which he or she materially participates and spend in them more than:
Why: Under section 469(c)(7) a taxpayer qualifies if more than half of his or her personal services, and more than 750 hours, are in real property trades or businesses in which he or she materially participates. Each rental must still be materially participated in (or aggregated by election) to be nonpassive. The 500-hour figure is one of the material participation tests. Source: IRC 469(c)(7)(B); Pub. 925 (2025), Real Estate Professional. Tax year: 2025 (law as of 31 Dec 2025).
Fay is single. In 2025 she received $20,000 of Social Security benefits and had $30,000 of other income, with no tax-exempt interest or adjustments. How much of her benefits is taxable?
Why: Provisional income is other income plus half the benefits: $30,000 + $10,000 = $40,000. It is above the $34,000 second threshold, so the taxable amount is the smaller of 85% of benefits ($17,000) or 85% of the excess over $34,000 ($5,100) plus the smaller of half the benefits or $4,500 ($4,500): $9,600. Source: IRC 86(a)-(c); Pub. 915 (2025), Worksheet 1. Tax year: 2025 (law as of 31 Dec 2025).
Ava received stock as a gift when its fair market value was $7,000; the donor's basis was $10,000 and no gift tax was paid. She sold it in 2025 for $6,000. What is her deductible loss?
Why: When the value at the gift is below the donor's basis, the basis for figuring a loss is the lower fair market value, $7,000. The sale for $6,000 is below that, so the loss is $7,000 - $6,000 = $1,000. The $3,000 decline while the donor held the stock is never deductible by Ava. Source: IRC 1015(a); Pub. 551 (2025), Property Received as a Gift. Tax year: 2025 (law as of 31 Dec 2025).
Cal, single, paid $3,000 of qualified passenger vehicle loan interest in 2025 on a new U.S.-assembled car he bought in February. His modified AGI is $104,500. What is his deduction?
Why: The deduction is the smaller of the interest or $10,000, reduced by $200 for each $1,000 (or part of $1,000) of MAGI over $100,000: $4,500 / $1,000 = 4.5, increased to 5, times $200 = $1,000. $3,000 minus that is $2,000. Source: IRC 163(h)(4)(C); Schedule 1-A (Form 1040) 2025 and its instructions; P.L. 119-21, Part IV lines 24-30. Tax year: 2025 (law as of 31 Dec 2025).
Pat and Sam file jointly with modified AGI of $437,250. They have 2 qualifying children under 17 with SSNs, and both have SSNs. What child tax credit can they claim for 2025, before any tax liability limit?
Why: The 2025 credit is $2,200 per qualifying child: $4,400. It is reduced by $50 for each $1,000, or part of $1,000, of MAGI over $400,000 (joint): $37,250 rounds up to 38 thousand, a reduction of $1,900. The credit is $2,500. Source: IRC 24(b), 24(h)(2)-(3) as amended by P.L. 119-21; 2025 Schedule 8812 instructions. Tax year: 2025 (law as of 31 Dec 2025).
In 2025 Dee paid her 17-year-old niece $4,000 in cash to babysit in Dee's home. Babysitting is not the niece's principal occupation. Must Dee withhold and pay Social Security and Medicare tax on these wages?
Why: Cash wages of $2,800 or more to a household employee are normally subject to Social Security and Medicare tax for 2025, but wages paid to an employee under age 18 at any time in the year are exempt unless household work is the employee's principal occupation; being a student is a principal occupation other than household work. Some relatives (spouse, own child under 21, parent in most cases) are always exempt, but a niece is not in that group. Source: IRC 3121(b)(21), 3121(a)(7)(B); Pub. 926 (2025), Social Security and Medicare Taxes; 2025 Schedule H instructions. Tax year: 2025 (law as of 31 Dec 2025).