EA Exam Prep — Part 2: Businesses

About this course

What you'll learn

• Classify a business entity, apply its elections, and determine its return, tax year and accounting method.
• Track owner basis, capital accounts and the four loss limitations in the correct order.
• Compute business gross income, cost of goods sold and deductible expenses, including limited and disallowed items.
• Apply section 179, bonus depreciation, MACRS, amortisation, recapture and deferral on asset dispositions.
• Prepare and reconcile partnership, C corporation and S corporation returns, distributions and owner reporting.
• Handle employment taxes, business credits, farms, rentals, passive activities, fiduciary returns and exempt organisations.

Course details

Level

intermediate

What's included

• 13 lessons
• Progress tracking
• Certificate of completion

Requirements

• No prior credential is required.
• Familiarity with individual return concepts covered in EA Part 1 is helpful.

Curriculum

1. 01

   Lesson 1: Choosing and Classifying Business Entities

   How the exam expects you to classify a business for federal tax purposes, apply the default rules, recognise elections, and match each entity to its return.

   12m
2. 02

   Lesson 2: Business Filing Requirements, Accounting Periods and Methods

   Due dates, extensions, accounting periods, permissible methods, inventories, method changes, information returns and the records that support all of it.

   12m
3. 03

   Lesson 3: Owner Basis, Capital Accounts and Entity-Level Concepts

   Inside and outside basis, partner and shareholder basis, debt basis, capital accounts, contributions and distributions, and the loss limitation ordering.

   12m
4. 04

   Lesson 4: Business Income, Cost of Goods Sold and Gross Profit

   Gross receipts, returns and allowances, inventory and cost of goods sold, other income items including cancellation of debt and barter, and consistent reporting.

   12m
5. 05

   Lesson 5: Business Expenses, Compensation and Employee Benefits

   The ordinary and necessary standard, wages and officer compensation, worker classification, fringe benefits and retirement contributions, and the limited or disallowed deductions the exam loves.

   12m
6. 06

   Lesson 6: Depreciation, Section 179, Amortization and Asset Dispositions

   Depreciable basis, MACRS conventions, expensing elections, amortisation of start-up and intangible costs, and the recapture and deferral rules on disposition.

   12m
7. 07

   Lesson 7: Partnership Taxation

   Formation, liabilities, guaranteed payments, separately stated items, Schedule K-1, current and liquidating distributions, and sales of partnership interests.

   12m
8. 08

   Lesson 8: C Corporation Taxation

   Section 351 formation, corporate taxable income and its special deductions, earnings and profits, dividends, redemptions and liquidations.

   12m
9. 09

   Lesson 9: S Corporation Taxation

   Eligibility and election, termination, pass-through and separately stated items, reasonable compensation, AAA and distributions, built-in gains and passive investment income.

   12m
10. 10

    Lesson 10: Employment Taxes, Payroll Reporting and Business Credits

    FICA, FUTA, withholding and deposits, Forms 941, 940, W-2 and 1099, responsible-person liability, and the business credits tested on Part 2.

    12m
11. 11

    Lesson 11: Farms, Rental Activities and Specialized Business Taxpayers

    Schedule F farm income and expenses, farm-specific rules, rental real estate, passive activity limits, the real estate professional exception, and mixed-use property.

    12m
12. 12

    Lesson 12: Trusts, Estates, Exempt Organizations and Final Part 2 Integration

    Fiduciary income taxation and distributable net income, Form 1041, exempt organisations and Form 990, unrelated business income, business retirement plans, and exam strategy.

    12m
13. 13

    Lesson 13: New lesson

    10m