PocketCPA

What is tested on the TCP CPA Exam?

The AICPA blueprint splits TCP into 4 content areas: Tax Compliance and Planning for Individuals and Personal Financial Planning at 30 to 40% of the section, Entity Tax Compliance at 30 to 40% of the section, Entity Tax Planning at 10 to 20% of the section, Property Transactions (disposition of assets) at 10 to 20% of the section. Below them sit 16 groups.

AreaContentScore weight
TCP.ITax Compliance and Planning for Individuals and Personal Financial Planning30 to 40%
TCP.IIEntity Tax Compliance30 to 40%
TCP.IIIEntity Tax Planning10 to 20%
TCP.IVProperty Transactions (disposition of assets)10 to 20%

Which area of TCP carries the most weight?

Tax Compliance and Planning for Individuals and Personal Financial Planning and Entity Tax Compliance are jointly the heaviest areas of TCP, each at 30 to 40% of the section.

How many topics are in the TCP blueprint?

The TCP blueprint lists 4 areas and 16 groups, without naming individual topics. Each area carries a published score weight range rather than a fixed percentage, so the exact mix varies between sittings.

What skill levels does the CPA Exam test?

The AICPA tests CPA Exam content at 3 skill levels: Remembering, Application, Analysis. The level assigned to a given TCP topic is published in the AICPA blueprint document itself.

Which accounting standards does the TCP CPA Exam test?

TCP is tested against 153 pieces of authoritative literature, among them IRC Sec. 53, IRC Sec. 55, IRC Sec. 56, IRC Sec. 57, IRC Sec. 108, IRC Sec. 199A, IRC Sec. 275, IRC Sec. 453, IRC Sec. 1411, IRC Sec. 6621. The remaining 143 are on the CPA Exam standards page, each listed against the blueprint groups that test it. The AICPA blueprint names the topics but not the standards behind them outside FAR, so this mapping is built from PocketCPA's own lesson citations and item sources rather than published by the AICPA.

What is tested in TCP Area I, Tax Compliance and Planning for Individuals and Personal Financial Planning?

TCP Area I, Tax Compliance and Planning for Individuals and Personal Financial Planning, is 30 to 40% of the section and covers 4 groups: Individual compliance and tax planning for gross income, AGI, taxable income and estimated taxes, Compliance for passive activity and at-risk loss limitations (excluding tax credit implications), Gift taxation compliance and planning, Personal financial planning for individuals.

GroupContentAuthoritative literature
TCP.I.AIndividual compliance and tax planning for gross income, AGI, taxable income and estimated taxesIRC Sec. 53, IRC Sec. 55, IRC Sec. 56, IRC Sec. 57, IRC Sec. 108, IRC Sec. 199A, IRC Sec. 275, IRC Sec. 453, IRC Sec. 1411, IRC Sec. 6621, IRC Sec. 6654
TCP.I.BCompliance for passive activity and at-risk loss limitations (excluding tax credit implications)IRC Sec. 461, IRC Sec. 465, IRC Sec. 469, IRC Sec. 704, IRC Sec. 1366
TCP.I.CGift taxation compliance and planningIRC Sec. 61, IRC Sec. 102, IRC Sec. 267, IRC Sec. 1012, IRC Sec. 1015, IRC Sec. 2503, IRC Sec. 2505, IRC Sec. 2513, IRC Sec. 2612
TCP.I.DPersonal financial planning for individualsIRC Sec. 25A, IRC Sec. 62, IRC Sec. 72, IRC Sec. 101, IRC Sec. 170, IRC Sec. 213, IRC Sec. 219, IRC Sec. 223, IRC Sec. 401, IRC Sec. 402, IRC Sec. 402A, IRC Sec. 408, IRC Sec. 408A, IRC Sec. 414, IRC Sec. 529, IRC Sec. 530, IRC Sec. 1014, IRC Sec. 1035, IRC Sec. 2010, IRC Sec. 2035, IRC Sec. 2042, IRC Sec. 2503, IRC Sec. 4973, IRC Sec. 4974

What is tested in TCP Area II, Entity Tax Compliance?

TCP Area II, Entity Tax Compliance, is 30 to 40% of the section and covers 5 groups: C corporations, S corporations, Partnerships, Trusts, Tax-exempt organizations.

GroupContentAuthoritative literature
TCP.II.AC corporationsIRC Sec. 11, IRC Sec. 53, IRC Sec. 55, IRC Sec. 56A, IRC Sec. 59, IRC Sec. 162, IRC Sec. 170, IRC Sec. 172, IRC Sec. 243, IRC Sec. 246, IRC Sec. 301, IRC Sec. 331, IRC Sec. 332, IRC Sec. 351, IRC Sec. 368, IRC Sec. 531, IRC Sec. 541, IRC Sec. 1202, IRC Sec. 1212, IRC Sec. 1501, IRC Sec. 1502, IRC Sec. 1504, IRC Sec. 6655
TCP.II.BS corporationsIRC Sec. 1361, IRC Sec. 1362, IRC Sec. 1366, IRC Sec. 1367, IRC Sec. 1368, IRC Sec. 1374, IRC Sec. 1377
TCP.II.CPartnershipsIRC Sec. 704, IRC Sec. 705, IRC Sec. 707, IRC Sec. 723, IRC Sec. 731, IRC Sec. 734, IRC Sec. 743, IRC Sec. 751, IRC Sec. 752, IRC Sec. 754
TCP.II.DTrustsIRC Sec. 641, IRC Sec. 642, IRC Sec. 643, IRC Sec. 651, IRC Sec. 652, IRC Sec. 661, IRC Sec. 662, IRC Sec. 663, IRC Sec. 671, IRC Sec. 673, IRC Sec. 674, IRC Sec. 675, IRC Sec. 676, IRC Sec. 677, Treasury Regulations
TCP.II.ETax-exempt organizationsIRC Sec. 501, IRC Sec. 511, IRC Sec. 512, IRC Sec. 513, IRC Sec. 514, IRC Sec. 4940, IRC Sec. 4941, IRC Sec. 4942, IRC Sec. 4943, IRC Sec. 4944, IRC Sec. 4945, IRC Sec. 4958

What is tested in TCP Area III, Entity Tax Planning?

TCP Area III, Entity Tax Planning, is 10 to 20% of the section and covers 4 groups: Formation and liquidation of business entities, Tax planning for C corporations, Tax planning for S corporations, Tax planning for partnerships.

GroupContentAuthoritative literature
TCP.III.AFormation and liquidation of business entitiesIRC Sec. 331, IRC Sec. 332, IRC Sec. 336, IRC Sec. 351, IRC Sec. 357, IRC Sec. 358, IRC Sec. 362, IRC Sec. 368, IRC Sec. 704, IRC Sec. 707, IRC Sec. 708, IRC Sec. 721, IRC Sec. 722, IRC Sec. 723, IRC Sec. 731, IRC Sec. 752, IRC Sec. 754, IRC Sec. 1031
TCP.III.BTax planning for C corporationsIRC Sec. 1, IRC Sec. 11, IRC Sec. 162, IRC Sec. 172, IRC Sec. 243, IRC Sec. 275, IRC Sec. 301, IRC Sec. 302, IRC Sec. 336, IRC Sec. 531, IRC Sec. 532, IRC Sec. 535, IRC Sec. 537, IRC Sec. 541, IRC Sec. 542, IRC Sec. 543, IRC Sec. 545, IRC Sec. 547, IRC Sec. 561, IRC Sec. 1202, IRC Sec. 1244, IRC Sec. 1363, IRC Sec. 1411, IRC Sec. 1501, IRC Sec. 1502, IRC Sec. 1504, IRC Sec. 3101, IRC Sec. 3111, IRC Sec. 3121
TCP.III.CTax planning for S corporationsIRC Sec. 752, IRC Sec. 1361, IRC Sec. 1362, IRC Sec. 1363, IRC Sec. 1366, IRC Sec. 1367, IRC Sec. 1368, IRC Sec. 1372, IRC Sec. 1374, IRC Sec. 1377, IRC Sec. 1378, IRC Sec. 1402, IRC Sec. 1411, IRC Sec. 3101, IRC Sec. 3111
TCP.III.DTax planning for partnershipsIRC Sec. 702, IRC Sec. 704, IRC Sec. 705, IRC Sec. 707, IRC Sec. 721, IRC Sec. 722, IRC Sec. 723, IRC Sec. 731, IRC Sec. 734, IRC Sec. 743, IRC Sec. 752, IRC Sec. 754

What is tested in TCP Area IV, Property Transactions (disposition of assets)?

TCP Area IV, Property Transactions (disposition of assets), is 10 to 20% of the section and covers 3 groups: Nontaxable disposition of assets, Amount and character of gains and losses on asset disposition and netting process, Related party transactions, including imputed interest.

GroupContentAuthoritative literature
TCP.IV.ANontaxable disposition of assetsIRC Sec. 121, IRC Sec. 267, IRC Sec. 351, IRC Sec. 357, IRC Sec. 358, IRC Sec. 362, IRC Sec. 368, IRC Sec. 704, IRC Sec. 707, IRC Sec. 721, IRC Sec. 752, IRC Sec. 1031, IRC Sec. 1033, IRC Sec. 1041, IRC Sec. 1091, IRC Sec. 2503, IRC Sec. 2513
TCP.IV.BAmount and character of gains and losses on asset disposition and netting processIRC Sec. 1, IRC Sec. 102, IRC Sec. 168, IRC Sec. 179, IRC Sec. 197, IRC Sec. 267, IRC Sec. 280F, IRC Sec. 351, IRC Sec. 357, IRC Sec. 362, IRC Sec. 368, IRC Sec. 461, IRC Sec. 465, IRC Sec. 469, IRC Sec. 704, IRC Sec. 707, IRC Sec. 721, IRC Sec. 752, IRC Sec. 1015, IRC Sec. 1031, IRC Sec. 1211, IRC Sec. 1212, IRC Sec. 1222, IRC Sec. 1231, IRC Sec. 1245, IRC Sec. 1250, IRC Sec. 1256, IRC Sec. 2503, IRC Sec. 2513
TCP.IV.CRelated party transactions, including imputed interestIRC Sec. 102, IRC Sec. 267, IRC Sec. 351, IRC Sec. 357, IRC Sec. 358, IRC Sec. 362, IRC Sec. 368, IRC Sec. 453, IRC Sec. 704, IRC Sec. 707, IRC Sec. 721, IRC Sec. 722, IRC Sec. 731, IRC Sec. 743, IRC Sec. 752, IRC Sec. 1015, IRC Sec. 1031, IRC Sec. 1239, IRC Sec. 2503, IRC Sec. 2513, IRC Sec. 7872

Areas, weights, groups and topics are the AICPA published blueprint. Pass rates are the AICPA published candidate pass rates for 2026 through Q2, read from AICPA & CIMA on 2026-08-17. The AICPA publishes them quarterly.

TCP pass rate, format and score weighting

See also