# CPA REG Study Plan — Regulation (Core) CPA REG study plan aligned to the 2026 AICPA Blueprint. Federal taxation of individuals and entities, business law, professional responsibilities. Canonical URL: https://exclam.ai/cpa/reg/ [CPA](https://exclam.ai/cpa/index.md)›REG REG·core Updated August 2026 CPA REG (Regulation) is the tax-heavy Core section with business law and professional responsibilities. Upload your Becker, Wiley/UWorld, Gleim, or Surgent REG notes and exclam.ai builds a fully guided study plan covering all 5 areas. Typical prep ~140h Timeline ~12w Areas 5 Type core [Back to CPA hub](https://exclam.ai/cpa/index.md) [REG in 30 days? Retaking this section or behind schedule — see the cram plan + retaker advice. See cram options](https://exclam.ai/cpa/reg/cram/index.md) [2026 CPA Blueprints + 30-month credit window. What changed, what didn't, plus the policy update affecting your credit timer. See 2026 changes](https://exclam.ai/cpa/changes-2026/index.md) ## Exam format 4 hours. 72 MCQs and 8 TBSs. Scored 50% MCQs / 50% TBSs. Passing score: 75. ## REG areas (AICPA Blueprint) The 5 areas tested on REG, with approximate weights from the 2026 AICPA Blueprint. Each area is broken into groups, topics, and representative tasks in the full Blueprint PDF. 1 ### Ethics, Professional Responsibilities, and Federal Tax Procedures 10–20% Tax practice ethics, Circular 230, IRS practice and procedure, taxpayer penalties, statute of limitations. Key topics - •IRS Circular 230 and preparer responsibilities - •Penalties for tax preparers and taxpayers - •Statute of limitations for assessment and collection - •Tax return audits, appeals, and litigation - •Authoritative hierarchy of tax sources - •Taxpayer representation and authorization - •Disclosure and confidentiality requirements 2 ### Business Law 15–25% Agency, contracts, UCC sales and secured transactions, debtor-creditor relationships, employment law, and business structures. Key topics - •Agency relationships - •Contracts (formation, performance, breach) - •UCC Article 2 (sales) - •UCC Article 9 (secured transactions) - •Debtor-creditor relationships - •Bankruptcy (Chapters 7, 11, 13) - •Business structures (sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, corporation) - •Employment law basics - •Federal securities regulation (1933 and 1934 Acts) 3 ### Federal Taxation of Property Transactions 5–15% Taxation of gains and losses on property sales, depreciation, capital gain/loss netting, and basis rules. Key topics - •Basis calculation (cost, gift, inheritance) - •Realized vs recognized gain or loss - •Capital gains and losses (short-term, long-term) - •Section 1231 property - •Section 1245 and 1250 depreciation recapture - •Like-kind exchanges (Section 1031) - •Involuntary conversions - •Wash sales 4 ### Federal Taxation of Individuals 22–32% Individual tax return preparation, filing status, gross income, deductions, credits, and alternative minimum tax. Key topics - •Filing status determination - •Gross income inclusions and exclusions - •Above-the-line deductions (AGI adjustments) - •Itemized deductions vs standard deduction - •Personal and dependency exemptions - •Tax credits (earned income, child tax, education) - •Alternative minimum tax (AMT) - •Estimated tax payments - •Self-employment tax 5 ### Federal Taxation of Entities 23–33% Taxation of C corporations, S corporations, partnerships, trusts, and estates. Largest area on REG. Key topics - •C corporation taxation - •S corporation election and taxation - •Partnership taxation and basis - •Partner distributions and allocations - •Trust and estate income taxation - •Gift tax basics - •Estate tax basics - •Multi-jurisdictional taxation (state apportionment) - •Tax-exempt organizations ## Bloom's skill-level distribution The AICPA Blueprint specifies what percentage of REG tests each Bloom's skill level. Use this to calibrate how much pure memorization vs application vs analysis practice you need. | Skill level | Weight | | --- | --- | | Remembering and Understanding | 25–35% | | Application | 35–45% | | Analysis | 25–35% | ## How exclam.ai helps with REG ### Area-weighted flashcards Upload your REG review notes and exclam.ai generates flashcards weighted by area percentages. Heavy areas get more cards; light areas get proportionally fewer. ### Skill-level-tuned quizzes If REG is Application and Analysis heavy, quizzes generate accordingly — not just pure recall drills. ### Adaptive review across sections exclam.ai remembers what you know from FAR when you start AUD. Concepts that overlap (ratios, internal control) don't restart from zero. ## Popular REG review courses exclam.ai works alongside any of these review courses. Upload your session notes, we don't reproduce or redistribute commercial review content. Becker Upload your notes Wiley/UWorld Upload your notes Gleim Upload your notes Surgent Upload your notes ## REG study plan One adaptive CPA study plan with a built-in timeline toggle — pick a 6-, 8-, 12-, 16-, or 20-week window and the schedule recomputes for your section and exam date. [Open the CPA study plan](https://exclam.ai/cpa/index.md) ## Other Core sections [AUD Auditing and Attestation 4 areas · ~120h](https://exclam.ai/cpa/aud/index.md) [FAR Financial Accounting and Reporting 3 areas · ~180h](https://exclam.ai/cpa/far/index.md) ## REG questions How much of REG is tax vs business law? Roughly 60-70% tax (Federal Taxation of Property, Individuals, Entities + Tax Procedures = 60–80%) and 15–25% business law. Ethics/Tax Procedures makes up the remaining 10–20%. Do I need prior tax experience for REG? No, but it helps. Candidates who completed tax courses in undergrad or work in tax/audit typically pass REG on first attempt. Candidates from audit-only backgrounds or industry accounting often need extra time. How often does REG content change? Tax law changes annually (new thresholds, phase-outs, credits). The AICPA Blueprints lag major tax law changes by 6–18 months. Study from materials published in the current year of your exam.