Take TCP soon after REG, put your first and biggest block of hours into individual planning and entity compliance, and start simulations by week 4. It's a 4-hour Discipline section with roughly 68 multiple-choice questions and 7 task-based simulations, weighted about 50/50, and most candidates need 120 to 160 hours of focused study over 8 to 12 weeks.
Under the CPA Evolution model, everyone passes three Core sections (AUD, FAR and REG) and then picks one of three Discipline sections. TCP is the tax one. If you already like tax, or you got through REG without much pain, it's usually the natural choice. It assumes you have the REG foundation and doesn't re-teach the basics of individual taxation. It takes them further into planning scenarios and into the entity mechanics REG only introduces, which is why it's easiest while REG is still fresh. The free TCP question bank is a good way to see the depth for yourself before you commit to it.
Format, scoring and the blueprint
The 68 multiple-choice questions and 7 simulations come in five testlets, and each format contributes about half of your reported score, so you can't coast on one and ignore the other. The scale runs from 0 to 99 and you need 75, which isn't a raw percentage of questions correct. It reflects difficulty weighting across the questions you saw, so don't try to work it out backwards from your practice percentages.
The AICPA blueprint has four areas. The ranges get refreshed from time to time, so confirm the current blueprint before you build your plan.
| Area | Weight | What's in it |
|---|---|---|
| Tax compliance and planning for individuals, plus personal financial planning | 30 to 40% | Gift tax, estate planning basics, retirement and education planning, multi-year individual tax strategy |
| Entity tax compliance | 30 to 40% | C corporations, S corporations and partnerships: formation, operations, distributions and the compliance mechanics of each |
| Entity tax planning | 10 to 20% | Choosing and changing entity type, timing of income and deductions, planning around distributions and liquidations |
| Property transactions (disposition of assets) | 10 to 20% | Basis, realized versus recognized gain, character of gain or loss, like-kind exchanges, depreciation recapture |
Individual planning and entity compliance together can be 70 percent of the exam, so that's where your first hours should go. Property transactions is smaller but dense, and it shows up inside simulations often enough that you can't skip it.
A 9-week plan and how to practice
If you work in tax, you may land near the low end of 120 to 160 hours. If your background is audit or industry, plan for the high end, since the entity distribution rules and basis tracking will be less familiar. At roughly 12 to 15 hours a week, about 9 weeks looks like this:
- Weeks 1 to 3: individual tax and personal financial planning. It's the largest area, so do it while you're fresh.
- Weeks 4 to 6: entity compliance, C corp first, then S corp, then partnership. Keep separate notes on how basis and distributions differ across the three, because the exam likes to test the contrasts.
- Week 7: entity planning and property transactions. They're smaller and build on the entity material you just covered.
- Weeks 8 to 9: mixed review and simulations under time pressure, with no new material.
If you can only give 8 or 9 hours a week, stretch this to 11 or 12 weeks rather than cutting the simulation phase, since simulations are about half your score.
TCP simulations expect you to calculate a partner's outside basis, a shareholder's stock basis after distributions, a recognized gain on a property disposition or a multi-year planning outcome, and that takes reps more than reading. After you learn a topic, do 20 to 30 multiple-choice questions on it right away instead of saving MCQs for the end. Review every question you miss and every one you got right by guessing, and write one sentence on the rule. That file of sentences becomes your final-week review. Start simulations around week 4, earlier than feels comfortable, because they take longer to get good at than MCQs. In the last two weeks, take at least two full mixed sessions under real time limits so you know how your focus holds up in hour three of four.
Track your accuracy by blueprint area as well as overall. An 80 percent average can hide a 55 percent in property transactions that will sink a simulation. The other mistakes I'd watch for:
- Treating TCP as REG round two. REG tests breadth and TCP tests depth in planning and entity mechanics. Passing REG gives you the foundation to move faster, but you still need to prep.
- Shaky basis. Stock basis, outside basis and property basis run through almost every entity and property simulation. Drill it until it's automatic.
- Too much time on MCQs. They're quicker and more satisfying, but simulations are half your score and take longer to master, so protect that practice time.
- Treating personal financial planning as filler. Retirement, education, gift and estate planning sit inside the largest weighted area.
- Chasing one percentage. Your practice scores don't map directly onto the scaled 75, so aim to be consistently strong across all four areas.
For drilling, the TCP bank on FreeFellow has 1,095 original practice questions with step-by-step solutions and 25 written lessons, free with an account, and Fellow adds task-based simulations and timed mock exams. FreeFellow is independent and isn't connected to the AICPA, so confirm the current format and blueprint against the exam body's published materials before your test date.