How to Pass CPA REG (Regulation): 2026 Study Guide
I am Jeffrey Ting, FSA, CFA, and I run FreeFellow, a free exam-prep platform. FreeFellow is independent and not connected to the AICPA or NASBA in any way. This guide is the plan I would follow if I were sitting REG in 2026, written for candidates who want a concrete schedule instead of a marketing pitch.
What CPA REG Actually Tests
REG is the Regulation section of the Uniform CPA Examination. Despite the name, the bulk of the section is federal taxation, not a survey of regulations. The exam blends three flavors of content:
- Federal taxation of individuals, entities, and property transactions.
- Business law, including contracts, agency, debtor and creditor relationships, and federal securities regulation in the limited form the AICPA tests it.
- Ethics, professional responsibilities, and federal tax procedures (Circular 230, preparer penalties, statute of limitations).
The testing mode matters as much as the content. Two MCQ testlets together give you 76 questions, and three TBS testlets give you 8 task-based simulations. One of the TBS items is typically a Document Review Simulation, where you read a memo or return and decide which highlighted phrases to keep, edit, or delete. Another usually involves the Authoritative Literature tool, where you must find a relevant Internal Revenue Code section. The total seat time is 4 hours, plus a standardized 15-minute break.
Blueprint and Topic Weights
The AICPA publishes a blueprint that lists every representative task by skill level (Remembering and Understanding, Application, or Analysis). I do not memorize the blueprint, but I do read it cover to cover once before I start studying, then again two weeks before exam day. The five areas with their commonly published weight ranges are:
- Area I: Ethics, Professional Responsibilities, and Federal Tax Procedures, roughly 10 to 20 percent.
- Area II: Business Law, roughly 15 to 25 percent.
- Area III: Federal Taxation of Property Transactions, roughly 5 to 15 percent.
- Area IV: Federal Taxation of Individuals, roughly 22 to 32 percent.
- Area V: Federal Taxation of Entities (including tax-exempt), roughly 23 to 33 percent.
Add up the midpoints of the three tax areas and you land near 65 percent. That is why I tell candidates to plan as if REG is a tax exam with a business-law topping, not the other way around.
Study Hours and Timeline
My default plan is 100 to 160 hours over 6 to 10 weeks. If you are working full time, that translates to roughly 12 to 18 hours per week. Here is how I split it.
Weeks 1 to 2: Individual Taxation. Filing status, gross income inclusions and exclusions, adjustments, itemized deductions, the standard deduction, credits, and the basics of estate and gift tax. Build the Form 1040 mental model. Roughly 25 to 35 hours.
Weeks 3 to 4: Entity Taxation. C corporations (formation, earnings and profits, dividends, redemptions, liquidations), S corporations (eligibility, basis, AAA), partnerships (inside and outside basis, distributions, hot assets), and tax-exempt organizations. Roughly 30 to 40 hours.
Week 5: Property Transactions. Basis, holding period, Section 1231, 1245, and 1250 recapture, like-kind exchanges, installment sales, and wash sales. This is a small area by weight but a high-yield one because the rules are deterministic and the questions repeat patterns. Roughly 15 to 20 hours.
Week 6: Business Law and Ethics. Contracts, sales under UCC Article 2, secured transactions under Article 9, agency, suretyship, bankruptcy, employment law, federal securities law (1933 and 1934 Acts at a survey level), and Circular 230. Roughly 20 to 30 hours.
Final 1 to 2 weeks: Simulations and full mocks. Two full 4-hour mocks under exam conditions, then targeted simulation drills on whatever you missed. Roughly 15 to 25 hours.
For 2026 candidates, confirm any tax constants in your review materials match the current year inflation adjustments (standard deduction, retirement plan limits, gift exclusion). I will not quote a specific number here, because the AICPA tests the constants in effect for the testing window and your review provider should be the source of truth.
Practice Strategy
At least 30 percent of your study hours should be inside a question bank, not reading. The pattern that works for me:
- Read a topic once, fast, to set the shape of the rules.
- Do 20 to 30 questions on that topic in untimed mode. Write a one-line note for every miss describing the rule, not the answer.
- Repeat the same topic in timed sets of 40 questions, mixed with prior topics, until you hit roughly 75 percent on first attempts.
- Add simulations once you have covered two related topics. Do not save all sims for the final week.
FreeFellow keeps a free question bank for CPA REG. You can use it as a primary source or as a sanity check on whatever paid review you are running. The link is here: free CPA REG question bank.
For simulations specifically, the two skills that decide borderline scores are Authoritative Literature searches and time management. I practice Authoritative Literature by guessing the Code section before I search, then verifying. After a few weeks you stop searching for keywords and start searching for sections directly, which is much faster.
Common Mistakes I See
Treating REG as a memorization exam. The MCQs reward pattern recognition, but the simulations reward computation. If you have memorized that Section 1245 recaptures gain as ordinary income up to prior depreciation, but you cannot apply it to a fact pattern with mid-quarter convention, you will lose simulation points.
Skipping basis problems. Outside basis in partnerships and stock basis in S corporations show up everywhere. They are mechanical once you build a worksheet habit. Build the worksheet early.
Underweighting business law. Candidates burn out on tax and try to wing the law area. At 15 to 25 percent of the blueprint, that is too much to leave to luck. A weekend of focused contracts and UCC drilling pays for itself.
Ignoring the break clock. The standardized break does not count against your time, but the optional breaks between testlets do. Decide in advance which breaks you will take and stick to it.
Walking in without a full mock. You should know what 4 straight hours of REG feels like before exam day. Two full-length mocks under realistic conditions are non-negotiable in my plan.
A Note on Score Release and Retakes
REG is scored on a 0 to 99 scale, and 75 is the passing line. Score release follows the AICPA published target dates, which you can confirm on the AICPA website. If you fail, you can retake during the next available testing window. The credit window for previously passed sections is currently 30 months from the date you passed your first section, but states adopt this on their own schedule, so verify with your state board.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the CPA REG pass rate?
Recent quarterly pass rates published by the AICPA have generally fallen in the high 50s to low 60s percent range, placing REG in the middle of the four CPA sections. The exact number moves each quarter, so I treat the band, not any single quarter, as the planning anchor.
How many hours should I study for CPA REG?
I budget 100 to 160 hours. Candidates with a recent tax course or tax work experience tend to land near the lower end. Candidates who have not touched federal tax since undergrad usually need closer to the upper end, with extra time on individual taxation and property transactions.
What topics are on CPA REG?
Five areas: Ethics, Professional Responsibilities, and Federal Tax Procedures; Business Law; Federal Taxation of Property Transactions; Federal Taxation of Individuals; and Federal Taxation of Entities. Federal taxation across the last three areas dominates the score.
How long is the CPA REG exam and what is the format?
Four hours total. You get 76 multiple-choice questions split across two MCQ testlets and 8 task-based simulations split across three TBS testlets. There is a standardized 15-minute break that does not count against exam time.
Is CPA REG harder than FAR or AUD?
Volume-wise FAR is bigger, but REG tests narrower rules at higher precision, which is what makes it sting. If you can comfortably compute basis, depreciation recapture, and partnership distributions under timed conditions, REG stops feeling brutal.