This course focuses on the Individuals portion of the Enrolled Agent (EA) Exam – Part 1, with an emphasis on filing fundamentals, preliminary work, and key Form 1040 concepts that are essential for both the exam and real-world tax practice. The material is structured to reflect how tax professionals actually approach an individual return—starting with filing requirements and preliminary analysis, then moving systematically through IRS correspondence, personal information gathering, due dates, credits, deductions, and filing status determinations.
Rather than treating topics in isolation, this bootcamp connects concepts across multiple areas of the tax return. Students learn why filing requirements matter, how prior-year returns affect current filings, and how IRS notices such as CP2000 are handled in practice. Special attention is given to understanding IRS forms, due dates, and information returns that frequently appear on the EA exam.
Throughout the course, “Tax Side Notes” are used to clarify commonly tested concepts, including:
- Standard deduction versus itemized deduction considerations
- Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) and AMT credit mechanics
- Foreign tax credit and foreign reporting obligations
- General business credits and Form 3800
- Section 179 deduction and carryover rules
- Qualified Business Income (QBI) carryovers
- Installment sales and Form 6252
- Foreign income reporting, including FBAR and Forms 8938, 5471, 3520, and 8865
The course also provides in-depth coverage of Form 1040 filing statuses, including married filing jointly, married filing separately, qualifying surviving spouse, and head of household. Complex real-world scenarios—such as injured spouse allocation (Form 8379) and innocent spouse relief (Form 8857)—are explained step by step, with an emphasis on eligibility, decision logic, and exam-relevant reasoning.
Quizzes and explanations are included to reinforce understanding and help learners verify their comprehension of key topics. This bootcamp is designed to build a strong technical foundation for EA Part 1 while remaining practical and adaptable. The concepts taught here remain relevant beyond the exam and form a base for future expansion into additional EA topics and advanced applications.
