TCP: Tax Compliance and Planning
Last reviewed
The TCP section of the CPA Exam has a 79.75% pass rate for 2026 through Q3, the highest of the three discipline sections.
- Pass rate, 2026 through Q3
- 79.75%
- Pass rate, 2025
- 77.65%
- Section type
- Discipline, one of three you choose between
- Length
- 4 hours
- Score weighting
- 50% multiple choice, 50% task based simulations
Discipline: advanced individual and entity tax compliance and planning. Pairs well with a tax career. In 2025 it was 77.65%, so it has risen 2.10 points.
TCP pass rate by year
| Year | Pass rate |
|---|---|
| 2026 (through Q3) | 79.75% |
| 2025 | 77.65% |
| 2024 | 73.91% |
TCP was first tested in 2024, when the exam moved to three cores and three disciplines. Every section, every year has the quarterly figures and where each year comes from.
What is tested, by AICPA blueprint area
| Area | Content | Score weight |
|---|---|---|
| TCP.I | Tax Compliance and Planning for Individuals and Personal Financial Planning | 30 to 40% |
| TCP.II | Entity Tax Compliance | 30 to 40% |
| TCP.III | Entity Tax Planning | 10 to 20% |
| TCP.IV | Property Transactions (disposition of assets) | 10 to 20% |
Area weightings are the AICPA published score ranges. Pass rates are the AICPA published candidate pass rates for 2026 through Q3, read from AICPA & CIMA on 2026-10-22. The AICPA publishes them quarterly.
Every TCP blueprint area, group and topic
Which discipline to choose compares BAR, ISC, TCP side by side.
Common questions
What is the TCP CPA Exam pass rate?
The TCP section of the CPA Exam has a 79.75% pass rate for 2026 through Q3, the highest of the three discipline sections.
Is TCP hard?
The TCP section of the CPA Exam has a 79.75% pass rate for 2026 through Q3, the highest of the three discipline sections. In 2025 it was 77.65%, so it has risen 2.10 points.
What is tested on TCP?
Discipline: advanced individual and entity tax compliance and planning. Pairs well with a tax career. The AICPA blueprint splits TCP into 4 content areas, each with a published score weight range.
How long is the TCP exam?
Every CPA Exam section including TCP is 4 hours. 5 testlets per section: 2 multiple-choice + 3 task-based simulations.
See also
- CPA Exam pass rates by section
- Pass rates by year since 2006
- What score you need to pass
- When scores are released
- When your credit expires
- Which section is hardest
- Which discipline to choose
- What order to take the sections
- When the 30 month window starts
- Which standards the exam tests
- CPA requirements by state