SEE Part 2
·Updated August 2026
EA Exam Part 2 — Businesses
SEE Part 2 covers business taxation — entity choice, partnership and corporate returns, employment taxes, depreciation, and specialized returns. 100 multiple-choice questions across three domains. Most candidates rate Part 2 as the hardest of the three.
Exam format
100 multiple-choice questions across three domains. 3.5 hours testing time. Delivered by PSI Services, which replaced Prometric on March 1, 2026. The domestic testing window runs through February 28, 2027. International scheduling and testing remain delayed, with no announced restart date.
Business Tax Preparation alone is ~37 questions — over a third of the exam.
Depreciation (MACRS, §179, bonus depreciation) is a consistent trouble spot.
Entity choice analysis (sole prop vs partnership vs S corp vs C corp) is heavily tested.
Most candidates prep 6–10 weeks at 8–12 hours per week.
Exam fee is $317 per part. PSI Services replaced Prometric on March 1, 2026 and the current testing window runs through February 28, 2027. Always verify current details at irs.gov/enrolled-agents before scheduling.
Part 2 domains
The 3 domains tested on SEE Part 2, paraphrased from the public IRS content outline. Approximate question counts are published by the IRS and may shift between testing cycles.
Business Entities and Considerations
~30 questionsEntity selection, formation, and operation: sole proprietorships, partnerships, C corps, S corps, LLCs, and trusts. Choice-of-entity analysis is heavily tested.
Business Tax Preparation
~37 questionsThe operational mechanics of business tax returns: income recognition, expense deduction, depreciation, and employment taxes. Largest single domain on Part 2.
Specialized Returns and Taxpayers
~18 questionsFarm returns, exempt organizations, retirement plans, trust returns, and niche business filings.
exclam.ai does not reproduce IRS exam questions. Domain names and question shares above are paraphrased from the publicly published SEE content outline at irs.gov.
Free IRS corpus for Part 2
Every IRS publication below is a work of the U.S. federal government, public domain under 17 U.S.C. §105. Download them and upload to exclam.ai to build a study plan from the source material itself.
Sole proprietorship tax treatment, deductible business expenses, and Schedule C mechanics.
Partnership formation, operation, distributions, liquidations, and basis tracking.
C corp taxation, dividends-received deduction, NOLs, and reorganizations.
Employment tax withholding, FICA/FUTA, and Form 941/940 preparation.
MACRS, §179, and bonus depreciation mechanics. Heavily tested.
Deductible travel, meals (with current percentage limit), and vehicle expense methods.
Cash vs accrual method, accounting period elections, and changes in accounting method.
Farm income recognition, farm expenses, and special rules (income averaging, crop insurance).
SEP, SIMPLE, and qualified plan rules for small employers.
How exclam.ai helps with Part 2
Upload the free IRS PDFs
The publications above are all public domain. Upload them to exclam.ai and skip the commercial prep cost entirely — or upload your Gleim/Surgent notes alongside them for a hybrid approach.
Generate flashcards & practice
Adaptive flashcards and SEE-format multiple-choice practice questions, mapped to the 3 Part 2 domains. Edit any card. Add your own.
Weekly adaptive plan
Coverage phase across all 3 domains, review phase for weak topics, mocks in the final 1-2 weeks. Rebalances when you fall behind.
EA study plan
One adaptive EA study plan covering all three SEE parts, with a built-in timeline toggle — pick a 4-, 6-, 10-, 16-, or 24-week window and the schedule recomputes for your testing window.
Open the EA study planCommercial EA prep vendors
exclam.ai works alongside any of these vendors, or with free IRS publications alone. Upload your session notes from any commercial prep program and exclam.ai builds the weekly plan and flashcard layer.
Premium tier ~$598. Extensive partnership and corporate question coverage.
Ultimate Pass ~$999. Adaptive engine shortens study time for those with business tax backgrounds.
Smart Bundle ~$539. Well-regarded video lectures on entity taxation.
Free. Pub 334 + Pub 15 + Pub 541 + Pub 542 + Pub 946 covers most of Part 2.
Part 2 questions
Why is Part 2 considered the hardest?
Breadth. Part 2 spans sole proprietorships, partnerships, C corps, S corps, LLCs, trusts, employment tax, and specialized returns — each with its own rules, forms, and basis concepts. Most candidates have not worked across all entity types professionally.
How much does depreciation appear on Part 2?
A lot. MACRS, §179, bonus depreciation, listed property limits, and Section 1250/1245 recapture all recur. Pub 946 is essentially required reading.
Should I take Part 1 or Part 2 first?
Most candidates take Part 1 first because individual tax knowledge carries into Part 2 (pass-through K-1 items, Schedule C). Some tax professionals with strong business backgrounds reverse the order. Part 3 is almost always last.
Do I need to know bookkeeping to pass Part 2?
Not accounting-grade bookkeeping, but you need comfort with financial statement concepts (balance sheet, income statement), accounting methods (cash vs accrual), and inventory flow. Pub 538 covers the accounting method rules tested.
Start your Part 2 plan today
Upload free IRS publications or your own prep notes and exclam.ai builds an adaptive weekly plan around your exam date.