The short version
Plan on roughly 60 to 100 study hours for Part 2 if you already prepare returns, and more if business taxation is new to you. Those figures are a general range, not an IRS number, and they vary a lot. Spend your time in proportion to the domains: about 44% on Business Tax Preparation, 35% on Business Entities and Considerations, and 21% on Specialized Returns and Taxpayers. Use practice questions from the first week, not only at the end.
Before you start
Three things shape your schedule.
- Your starting point. If you prepare Schedule C, partnership, and S corporation returns daily, many topics are review. If you have only done individual returns, entity basis and corporate distributions will be new.
- The tax year. For the current window the exam follows law as amended through December 31, 2025. Use study material for tax year 2025. Material for another year will contain figures that are wrong for this exam.
- Your testing window. Testing is closed in March and April and the content is updated before it reopens. Do not plan to finish a part just before a break and hope the same material applies afterward.
Free resources help here: IRS Publications 334, 463, 535, 536, 538, 541, 542, 544, 925, 946, and others, plus the Form instructions for 1065, 1120, 1120-S, and 1041. Your content outline is in the Candidate Information Bulletin. Our how to study page covers general techniques.
The 4-week plan (about 15 to 20 hours a week)
For people with real business-return experience.
Week 1: Entities, partnerships, and S corporations (Domain 1). Entity classification and elections, EINs, tax years, then partnership formation, basis, distributions, and guaranteed payments. Start the S corporation chapter: eligibility, election, stock and debt basis. End the week with 40 untimed questions on these topics.
Week 2: Corporations and business income (Domains 1 and 2). Earnings and profits, distributions, redemptions and liquidations, Section 351, then gross receipts, cost of goods sold, and the major deductions. Do a short quiz after each topic.
Week 3: Depreciation, assets, and the rest of Domain 2. Section 179, bonus depreciation, MACRS conventions, basis and disposition, QBI, NOLs, accounting methods, Schedule M-1 and M-2, employment taxes. This is the heaviest week for calculations.
Week 4: Domain 3 and full practice. Trusts, exempt organizations, retirement plans, farms, rentals. Then one full 100-question practice exam under timed conditions, a day of review on every miss, and a second timed set if you can.
The 8-week plan (about 8 to 12 hours a week)
For people new to business returns, or with a full-time job.
- Week 1: Entity types, EINs, accounting periods, sole proprietorships and Schedule C.
- Week 2: Partnerships: formation, contributions, basis, flow-through, distributions.
- Week 3: S corporations: eligibility, basis, distributions, termination. Practice questions on weeks 1 to 3.
- Week 4: C corporations: E&P, dividends, redemptions, liquidations, controlled groups, accumulated earnings tax.
- Week 5: Business income and deductions, cost of goods sold, employment taxes, credits, QBI.
- Week 6: Depreciation, Section 179, bonus depreciation, asset basis and sales, accounting methods and Form 3115, book-to-tax reconciliation.
- Week 7: Trusts and estates, exempt organizations, retirement plans, farm and rental income. Start timed sets.
- Week 8: Two full-length timed practice exams, review of every miss, light reading of your weakest area.
How to use practice exams in either plan
Take a short diagnostic set early to find gaps. Mid-plan, work questions by topic right after you study it, because retrieval fixes facts better than rereading. In the last two weeks, switch to mixed sets with a clock.
Read the explanation for every question you miss, and for those you guessed. Keep a one-page “mistake log”: the rule, the trap, the page of the IRS publication. Review it daily in the final week.
Treat practice scores as a signal, not a promise. The real exam is scored on a 200 to 800 scale with 500 to pass, and there is no published percentage that matches it. A consistent score well above your target on fresh, original questions is the best readiness signal you can get.
Hours by domain
| Domain | Share of scored questions | Suggested share of study time |
|---|---|---|
| Business Entities and Considerations | about 35% | 35% to 40% (basis rules are slow to learn) |
| Business Tax Preparation | about 44% | 40% |
| Specialized Returns and Taxpayers | about 21% | 20% to 25% (many separate topics) |
The last 3 days
- Three days out: one last timed set. Review only your mistake log and formulas. Confirm your appointment, ID that matches your registration name, and route or remote-testing setup.
- Two days out: skim the must-know lists for your weakest domain: basis computations, E&P, Section 179 and depreciation conventions, QBI limits. Stop new topics.
- One day out: 60 to 90 minutes of light review, then rest. Do not take a full-length exam today.
- Exam day: arrive early or start check-in early for remote testing. Remember the breaks happen after questions 34 and 67, and you cannot go back to a finished section.
More guides for SEE-PART2
- SEE Part 2 Exam Format and Scoring
- SEE Part 2 Sample Questions With Answers
- Is SEE Part 2 Hard? An Honest Look
- SEE Part 2 Prerequisites: What You Need
- SEE Part 2 Retakes and EA Renewal Explained
- Is SEE Part 2 Worth It? An Honest Look
- SEE Part 2 Cheat Sheet: Key Facts to Review
- SEE Part 2 vs Part 3: Which First?
- SEE Part 1 vs Part 2: Which First?
Next step
Learn what each area looks like in practice on the domains explained page. When you are ready to test yourself, the SEE Part 2 practice tests give you six sets, including two full-length simulations.