2025 Tax Bar Prep

• According to Professors Chapman, Carpenter and Stuart, the Substantive Tax section is purported to be the most problematic of all the exam parts, and it is now even more difficult. It is  by far, the part most EAs and CPAs think they know because it deals mostly with Federal taxes; however, it is the one section they usually fail. One thing for sure, it is comprehensive! It covers all manner of Federal tax procedure, IRC sections, and recent caselaw.

• And, it  has become much more theoretical, requiring the test-taker to explain his/her understanding of the legal applications of the IRC. It is worth 40% of the overall grade. Our emphasis when preparing applicants for the 2025 bar exam is to teach how to answer test questions using a a three-prong methodology derived from experiences shared by successful and unsuccessful test-takers. 

• Whereas in the past, we relied heavily on rote review of prior exam questions and model answers, we now integrate our class discussions and teach 3 separate courses - Federal Tax Procedure + IRC Section Review + Case Law. And we utilize recently-FBI-vetted USTCPs  who passed the 2023 bar exam along with unsuccessful test-takers who missed passing by several points. From them we can learn about the challenges they faced and the mistakes they made. They share copies of their failed exams (redacted) retrieved from the Tax Court and walk-through the questions that in hindsight, they realize they answered incorrectly. 

• We devote time to subject matter that we know applicants should know, such as the legal interpretation and application of the tax regulations as they are defined in the Code. Lastly, we take a deep-dive into precedential caselaw, and recent published opinions. We review the basic tenets of individual, corporate, partnership, gift and estate tax. 

• We also cover Tax Court jurisdiction, the Statutory Notice of Deficiency, and the Petition for Redetermination. We remind the novice test-taker, in case they haven't heard, that there were numerous one-point questions on the 2023 exam that spoke to these topics. Lastly, we tell test-takers that it would be prudent to visit the U.S. Tax Court website regularly and read no fewer than 3-4 published opinions every week. 

• Basic course materials include a digital copy of Title 26 of the U.S. Code, published U.S. Tax Court opinions and cases, U.S. Tax Court bar examination questions and suggested answers for Testing Cycles 2021 and 2023, and handouts pertaining to individual, partnership, corporate, gift, trust and estate tax matters, etc. 

Fee $1595

• Federal Tax Procedure is taught by Federal tax scholar, Professor James H. Chapman. It is an absolute requirement for any EA, CPA or JD who will take the 2025 Tax bar examination. The book and related materials contain text discussion, relevant Code Sections, and certain cases designed to encourage United States Tax Court Practitioner-applicants to think about the Tax Procedure process. It is essential reading to prepare for the  upcoming Tax bar examination. CPAs and  EAs may find it to be an excellent review of subject matter they have not seen since they prepared for the SEE and accountancy examinations that qualified them for approval to practice before the IRS and/or meet requirements of State Accountancy Boards. 

• It also is a great preparatory tool for the Tax Court bar exam. Author, Jack Townsend, eminent scholar, law professor and tax litigator, may continue to be an occasional guest speaker at the Tax Law Institute. Listen to his most recent discussion posted in real-time on the homepage of this website. The content of his book, Federal Tax Procedure, is believed to be the foundation of the the U.S. Tax Court bar examinations. 

• Basic digital course materials include digital copy of free textbook, Federal Tax Procedure. 

Fee $1195

Awards 30 CE credits

RS7E4-T-00051-24-O 

•  Sign-up for our newest course that covers the IRC sections that often appear on the Tax Court bar exam. Presented by our resident scholar on Code section analytics at the Tax Law Institute, Serina Moy EA, Senior Lecturer, this course is an absolute requirement if one wants to pass the 2025 Tax bar examination. Purchase this book from Thomson Reuters. The entire Federal Tax Code, and its complete history, is at your fingertips with the Complete Internal Revenue Code This convenient, easy-to-use volume provides you with the complete legislative history and a comprehensive topic index to speed your tax research. Cautions from our editorial experts provide you with key information about special rules and effective dates needed to properly apply the Code Section. The Complete Internal Revenue Code includes all legislative changes up to its publication date, providing you with a complete history of all amendments affecting a Code Section.

• The Complete Internal Revenue Code provides quick access to the information you need with:

• Complete history reflecting all substantive and technical amendments back to the Codification of the 1954 Code;

• Effective Date Cautions and Special Rules Cautions to ensure you have all the precise information at your fingertips;

• Deep Cite Running heads and Detailed Topical Running heads to  aid your research;

• Complete Topic Index with more than 20,500 entries to help you get to your answer quickly;

• Basic course material include a digital copy of Title 26 of the U.S. Code and related materials.

Fee $1195  

Awards 20 CE credits

• You must master these Tax Court Rules and commit them to memory. You do not want to waste time looking them up. We will show you how they are logical and straight-forward and often string together. If you master these rules, you will gain a better understanding of Evidence and the Substantive Tax Law that give rise to Tax Court jurisdiction and more. 

• Basic course materials include digital copy of U.S. Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure.

Fee $995

• Professor Michael Stuart offers the following advice: Do not waste your time focusing your attention on the entire FRE. Purchase this book from the American Bar Association and sign-up for our course on Tax Evidence. You must learn which rules among the many found in the FRE are applicable to Tax Court practice and how and when to use them. Tax Evidence is tricky so it must be presented in such a way so that the relationships between these rules are made clear. This is a course of study in which one should proceed cautiously and carefully. If you do not learn how to correctly read a Rule then you could be taken down a rabbit hole of legal reasoning and do poorly on the exam. 

• Basic course material include digital copy of the original edition of  A Practitioner's Guide to Tax Evidence.

Fee $995

• Even though Legal Ethics is worth just 10% of the overall grade, applicants fail this section because they don't take the time to truly learn the rules and their relationship to each other. What you may assume to be true about what a lawyer (in our case, a United States Tax Court Practitioner) is allowed to do and not do is going to be most likely incorrect. These are very strict rules that came about after Watergate when the country learned that even the nation's top legal officer was in fact not above reproach. Quick tip. You must learn these rules in the order in which they are presented. Do not make the mistake of glossing over them individually. In the end, you could flunk the section and the exam. 

• Basic materials include a digital copy of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct

Fee $995