Podcast
Finance Exam Prep
Hosted by Ran Chen, EA, CFP® · EN
Finance Exam Prep is a daily podcast designed to help future tax and finance professionals pass their certification and licensing exams with clarity and confidence.
Built and operated by OpenExamPrep, this podcast breaks down major tax exams into focused, easy-to-digest episodes covering the CPA & Enrolled Agent (EA) Exam, including Part 1 (Individuals), Part 2 (Businesses), and Part 3 (Representation, Practices, and Procedures). Each episode targets one key tax concept, common exam trap, or high-frequency test topic—making it ideal for studying during commutes, workouts, or short study sessions.
Created by Ran Chen, EA, CFP®, a financial professional and exam specialist who has personally passed multiple professional licensing exams, Tax Exam Prep was developed from firsthand experience with how complex—and often poorly explained—tax exam material can be. The goal is simple: make tax exam preparation clearer, more accessible, and more effective through structured explanations and modern learning tools. Whether you’re preparing for the EA Exam, transitioning into a tax career, or reviewing before test day, this podcast is designed to guide you step by step—one concept at a time.
Free practice tools, AI-powered explanations, and additional exam prep resources are available at: https://open-exam-prep.com/
93episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 2] 81, Simple vs Complex Trusts
Jul 1700:03:07Tap to summarizeThis podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The three strict requirements a trust must meet to be classified as 'simple.' - How a trust's classification can change from simple to complex on a year-by-year basis based on its actions. - Why the specific terms written in the trust document, not just the annual distributions, can automatically make a trust complex. - The difference in personal exemption amounts: $300 for a simple trust versus $100 for a complex trust. - A simple mnemonic to help you remember the rules and avoid common exam traps related to simple trusts. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
Transcribe →Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 2] 80, Trust Income Tax — Form 1041 Basics
Jul 1600:03:12Tap to summarizeThis podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The purpose of Form 1041 for reporting income for estates and trusts. - How severely compressed tax brackets cause trust income to be taxed at the highest rates at very low thresholds. - The fundamental pass-through principle: trusts are taxed on retained income, while beneficiaries are taxed on distributed income. - The role of Distributable Net Income (DNI) as a ceiling on both the trust's distribution deduction and the beneficiary's taxable income. - The requirement for most trusts to use a calendar tax year and how Schedule K-1 is used to report income to beneficiaries. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
Transcribe →Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 2] 79, Advising Clients on Entity Tax Planning
Jul 1500:05:11Tap to summarizeThis podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - Why an S corporation is often the optimal choice for a single-owner business aiming to reduce self-employment taxes. - The critical differences in tax treatment for buyers and sellers in asset versus stock acquisitions, and why buyers prefer a stepped-up basis. - How the related-party rules under IRC Section 267 disallow immediate loss recognition on property sales between family members. - Key distinctions between retirement plans like SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, and Solo 401(k)s, and which is best for a self-employed individual. - The tax implications of employee classification and why misclassifying an employee as an independent contractor is a common exam trap. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
Transcribe →Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 2] 78, Estimated Tax Payments — Corporations
Jul 1400:02:48Tap to summarizeThis podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - C corporations must make estimated tax payments if their expected annual tax is $500 or more. - The four quarterly payment due dates for a calendar-year corporation are April 15, June 15, September 15, and December 15. - Safe harbors to avoid the underpayment penalty include paying 100% of the current year's tax or 100% of the prior year's tax. - A 'large corporation,' with $1M or more in taxable income in any of the three prior years, can only use the prior-year safe harbor for its first installment. - The underpayment penalty for corporations is governed by IRC Section 6655 and payments are figured using Form 1120-W. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
Transcribe →Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 2] 77, Schedule M-1 / M-3 Reconciliation
Jul 1300:03:39Tap to summarizeThis podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The purpose of Schedule M-1 and its role in reconciling book income to taxable income for corporations with assets under $10 million. - When the more detailed and complex Schedule M-3 is required for corporations with $10 million or more in assets. - How to properly add back non-deductible expenses, such as federal income tax, to book income. - Why tax-exempt income, like municipal bond interest, is subtracted from book income during the reconciliation. - How to handle the common temporary difference created by using straight-line depreciation for books and accelerated methods (MACRS) for tax. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
Transcribe →Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 2] 76, Form 1065 — Partnership Return Filing
Jul 1200:02:59Tap to summarizeThis podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The due date for a calendar-year Form 1065 is March 15th, with a six-month extension available via Form 7004. - Form 1065 is an informational return; tax liability flows through to individual partners via the Schedule K-1. - Separately stated items, like capital gains and charitable contributions, are not part of ordinary business income and are reported directly to partners. - A common exam trap is to incorrectly subtract separately stated items when calculating a partnership's ordinary business income. - Under the BBA audit regime, tax deficiencies are assessed at the partnership level unless a 'push-out' election is made to pass the liability to the partners from the year under review. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
Transcribe →Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 2] 75, Form 1120-S — S Corp Return Filing
Jul 1100:03:37Tap to summarizeThis podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The annual due date for Form 1120-S is the 15th day of the 3rd month after year-end (March 15 for calendar year filers). - S corps are pass-through entities, reporting income, deductions, and credits to shareholders on Schedule K-1. - Shareholders are taxed on their pro-rata share of income, regardless of whether they receive distributions. - Two critical exam traps involve corporate-level taxes: the Built-In Gains (BIG) tax for former C corps and the Excess Net Passive Income tax. - A helpful mnemonic: "S Corps and Partnerships March together on the 15th," distinguishing their deadline from the April 15th C corp and individual deadline. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
Transcribe →Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 2] 69, Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)
Jul 500:03:30Tap to summarizeThis podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The WOTC is a general business credit for hiring individuals from specific targeted groups who face employment barriers. - The credit is calculated as either 25% (for 120-399 hours worked) or 40% (for 400+ hours worked) of qualified first-year wages. - Qualified wages are generally capped at the first $6,000 of earnings, resulting in a maximum credit of $2,400 per employee for most groups. - Employers MUST file Form 8850 with their state workforce agency within 28 days of the employee's start date to be eligible for the credit. - A critical exam trap: The employer's deduction for salaries and wages must be reduced by the amount of the WOTC claimed. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
Transcribe →Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 2] 68, Research and Development Credit (§41)
Jul 400:03:22Tap to summarizeThis podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - Post-2021, §174 R&D costs must be capitalized and amortized over 5 years for domestic research or 15 years for foreign research. - The §41 credit is calculated on Qualified Research Expenses (QREs), such as wages and supplies, but excludes costs like research after commercial production begins. - Claiming the R&D credit requires you to reduce your otherwise allowable deduction for those same research expenses by the amount of the credit. - A Qualified Small Business may elect to use the R&D credit to offset payroll taxes. - To be a Qualified Small Business for the payroll tax offset, the business must have less than $5 million in gross receipts and be in its first five years of having gross receipts. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
Transcribe →Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 2] 67, W-2 Wage and UBIA Limitation for QBI
Jul 300:03:12Tap to summarizeThis podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - How to calculate the two separate QBI limitations for high-income taxpayers with non-SSTB businesses. - The specific formula: the QBI deduction is limited to the greater of (a) 50% of W-2 wages or (b) 25% of W-2 wages plus 2.5% of UBIA. - A critical exam trap: always use the Unadjusted Basis Immediately after Acquisition (UBIA), not the depreciated or adjusted basis of property. - The key difference between the limitation for a non-SSTB and the complete disallowance of the QBI deduction for a high-income SSTB owner. - A mental shortcut for remembering that the UBIA part of the formula is designed to benefit capital-intensive businesses. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
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