ExamSprintLab

Free SEE Part 1 practice test: 20 questions

Updated September 21, 2026

Twenty questions across the six SEE Part 1 domains, weighted roughly as the real exam’s 85 scored questions: 3 on preliminary work, 4 on income and assets, 4 on deductions and credits, 3 on taxation, 3 on advising and 3 on specialized returns. They are original questions, not real exam items, and they assume tax year 2025. Give yourself about 40 minutes (the exam allows roughly two minutes per question), closed book, calculator only.

Preliminary Work and Taxpayer Data

Question 1. An unmarried couple lived together all year with their 6-year-old daughter, who is the qualifying child of both. Both want to claim her. If both do, who is entitled to treat her as a qualifying child?

  • A. The older parent
  • B. The parent with the higher AGI
  • C. The parent who paid more of her support
  • D. Whichever parent files first
Show answer

Answer: B

When a child is the qualifying child of both parents who do not file jointly and the child lived with each for the same amount of time, the tiebreaker gives the child to the parent with the higher AGI. The older parent, the one who paid more support, and the first to file have no special claim under the tiebreaker rules.

Question 2. Jake is a US citizen. His wife is a nonresident alien with no US income. Which option lets Jake file a joint return for 2025?

  • A. His wife files Form 1040-NR and attaches it to his return
  • B. His wife obtains an ITIN, which automatically allows a joint return
  • C. None; he must wait until she has a green card
  • D. They elect to treat her as a US resident for the entire year
Show answer

Answer: D

A US citizen or resident married to a nonresident alien can elect to treat the spouse as a US resident for the whole year and file jointly. The consequence is that the spouse’s worldwide income becomes subject to US tax. Without the election, a nonresident alien spouse cannot be included on a joint return; getting an ITIN, filing Form 1040-NR or waiting for a green card does not in itself allow a joint return.

Question 3. A taxpayer files Form 4868 by the April due date. What does this do?

  • A. It extends the time to file by six months, but not the time to pay
  • B. It extends both the time to file and the time to pay by six months
  • C. It extends the time to pay but not the time to file
  • D. It is granted only if the taxpayer gives a reasonable cause
Show answer

Answer: A

Form 4868 gives an automatic six-month extension of time to file the return. It does not extend the time to pay, so tax not paid by the original due date accrues interest and possibly a late payment penalty. No reason is needed for the automatic extension.

Income and Assets

Question 4. A lender cancelled $15,000 of Ellen's personal debt. Immediately before the cancellation, her liabilities were $100,000 and her assets were worth $90,000. No other exclusion applies. How much canceled debt must she include in income?

  • A. $0
  • B. $10,000
  • C. $5,000
  • D. $15,000
Show answer

Answer: C

Canceled debt is excluded to the extent the taxpayer was insolvent immediately before the cancellation. Ellen was insolvent by $10,000 (liabilities of $100,000 minus assets of $90,000), so $10,000 is excluded and the remaining $5,000 is income. She reports the exclusion on Form 982.

Question 5. What is the maximum percentage of a taxpayer's Social Security benefits that can be included in taxable income?

  • A. 50%
  • B. 85%
  • C. 100%
  • D. 15%
Show answer

Answer: B

Depending on provisional income, none, up to 50%, or up to 85% of Social Security benefits are taxable. 85% is the maximum under the federal rules. Benefits are never fully taxable.

Question 6. Ruth is 62. She opened her first Roth IRA eight years ago and has made only regular contributions. She now withdraws part of the balance, including earnings. How is the withdrawal taxed?

  • A. Earnings are taxable, but no additional 10% tax applies
  • B. Earnings are taxable and subject to the additional 10% tax
  • C. The whole withdrawal is taxable
  • D. The entire withdrawal is tax-free
Show answer

Answer: D

A qualified Roth IRA distribution is tax-free. It requires that five tax years have passed since the first Roth contribution and that the owner is at least 59½, disabled, deceased, or using up to the lifetime limit for a first home. Ruth meets both the five-year rule and the age test, so contributions and earnings come out tax-free with no additional tax.

Question 7. Omar sold shares at a $4,000 loss on December 10 and bought substantially identical shares on December 28. What is the tax effect?

  • A. The loss is disallowed and added to the basis of the new shares
  • B. The loss is deductible in full
  • C. The loss is permanently lost
  • D. The loss is deductible, but the new shares take a zero basis
Show answer

Answer: A

Buying substantially identical stock within 30 days before or after a sale at a loss triggers the wash sale rule. The loss is not deductible now, and the disallowed loss is added to the basis of the new shares, so it is effectively deferred until those shares are sold. The holding period of the old shares also carries over.

Deductions and Credits

Question 8. In 2025, Kai took out a home equity loan secured by his main home and used all the proceeds to buy a car. He itemizes. Is the interest on the loan deductible?

  • A. Yes, because the loan is secured by his main home
  • B. Yes, but only up to half of the interest
  • C. No, because the proceeds were not used to buy, build or improve the home
  • D. Yes, as investment interest
Show answer

Answer: C

Home mortgage interest is deductible only on debt used to buy, build or substantially improve the home that secures it. Because the proceeds bought a car, the interest is personal interest and not deductible, regardless of how the loan is labelled or secured.

Question 9. Lucia's son turned 17 in November 2025. He lived with her all year and is her dependent. Which credit may she claim for him for 2025?

  • A. The child tax credit
  • B. The credit for other dependents
  • C. The additional child tax credit
  • D. No credit is available for him
Show answer

Answer: B

The child tax credit requires a qualifying child who is under 17 at the end of the year. Her son was 17 on December 31, 2025, so he does not qualify, but as a dependent he can qualify her for the nonrefundable credit for other dependents. The additional child tax credit is the refundable part of the child tax credit and has the same age test.

Question 10. A taxpayer paid foreign income tax on dividends from foreign shares. How can she treat the foreign tax?

  • A. Only as an itemized deduction
  • B. Only as a credit
  • C. As both a credit and a deduction for the same tax
  • D. As either a credit or an itemized deduction, but not both in the same year
Show answer

Answer: D

Qualifying foreign income taxes can be taken as a foreign tax credit or as an itemized deduction. The taxpayer chooses one treatment for all qualifying foreign taxes for the year; she cannot use both for the same year. The credit usually gives the larger benefit because it reduces tax dollar for dollar.

Question 11. Hana received advance payments of the premium tax credit for Marketplace health coverage in 2025. What must she do on her return?

  • A. Reconcile the advance payments on Form 8962
  • B. Nothing, because the payments went to the insurer
  • C. Report the advance payments as wages
  • D. Claim the credit again on Schedule A
Show answer

Answer: A

Anyone who received advance payments of the premium tax credit must file a return and reconcile the advance payments with the actual credit on Form 8962. If the advance payments were more than the allowed credit, the excess may have to be repaid; if less, the difference increases the refund.

Taxation

Question 12. A taxpayer's modified AGI exceeds the net investment income tax threshold for her filing status. On what amount is the 3.8% tax calculated?

  • A. Her total modified AGI
  • B. Her net investment income, regardless of the threshold
  • C. The lesser of net investment income or MAGI above the threshold
  • D. Her wages above the threshold
Show answer

Answer: C

The net investment income tax applies to the lesser of net investment income or the amount by which modified AGI exceeds the threshold. It is not applied to total MAGI, and wages are not net investment income.

Question 13. Victor worked for two unrelated employers in 2025. Each withheld Social Security tax correctly, but the combined amount exceeds the annual maximum. How does he recover the excess?

  • A. He asks each employer to refund half of the excess
  • B. He claims the excess as a credit on his Form 1040
  • C. It is lost; there is no recovery
  • D. He files Form 843 with the Social Security Administration
Show answer

Answer: B

When too much Social Security tax is withheld because of two or more employers, the excess is claimed as a credit on the individual’s income tax return. If a single employer withheld too much, the employee must get the refund from that employer instead.

Question 14. Reverend Paul receives a salary and a designated housing allowance from his church. He does not have an approved exemption from self-employment tax. How is the housing allowance treated?

  • A. Excluded for income tax, but included for self-employment tax
  • B. Included for both income tax and self-employment tax
  • C. Excluded for both income tax and self-employment tax
  • D. Included for income tax, but excluded for self-employment tax
Show answer

Answer: A

A minister’s housing allowance, up to the allowable limits, is excluded from income for income tax purposes but included in net earnings from self-employment. Ministers are treated as self-employed for Social Security purposes for their ministerial services unless they have an approved exemption.

Advising the Individual Taxpayer

Question 15. A client withdraws money from a section 529 plan to pay for a vacation. How are the withdrawn earnings treated?

  • A. The entire withdrawal is tax-free
  • B. The earnings are tax-free, but the contributions are taxable
  • C. The earnings are taxable but never subject to an additional tax
  • D. The earnings are taxable and generally subject to an additional 10% tax
Show answer

Answer: D

In a non-qualified 529 distribution, the earnings portion is included in the recipient’s income and is generally subject to an additional 10% tax. The contributions portion comes back tax-free because contributions were made with after-tax money.

Question 16. A married couple lives in a community property state and files separate returns. In general, how is their community income reported?

  • A. Each spouse reports the income they personally earned
  • B. The higher earner reports all community income
  • C. Each spouse generally reports half of the community income
  • D. The spouses may allocate the income however they choose
Show answer

Answer: C

In community property states, spouses filing separate returns generally each report half of the community income, together with their own separate income. The spouse who earned the wages does not report all of them, and income cannot be allocated freely to reduce tax.

Question 17. Irene, aged 74, must take a required minimum distribution from her traditional IRA and wants to support her church. Which option achieves both with the best tax result?

  • A. Take the RMD in cash and donate it, claiming a charitable deduction
  • B. Have the IRA trustee transfer the amount directly to the church as a qualified charitable distribution
  • C. Skip the RMD this year and donate other funds
  • D. Roll the RMD into a Roth IRA and donate from there
Show answer

Answer: B

A qualified charitable distribution from an IRA, paid directly by the trustee to the charity by an owner aged 70½ or older, is excluded from income and counts toward the required minimum distribution. Taking the distribution and donating the cash gives income and an itemized deduction only if she itemizes, and an RMD cannot be skipped.

Specialized Returns for Individuals

Question 18. An individual died on March 10, 2025, and a Form 706 is required. When is it due, without an extension?

  • A. April 15, 2026
  • B. Six months after the date of death
  • C. Fifteen months after the date of death
  • D. Nine months after the date of death
Show answer

Answer: D

Form 706 is due nine months after the date of death, in this case December 10, 2025. An automatic six-month extension of time to file is available on Form 4768; it does not extend the time to pay.

Question 19. A husband and wife own their home as joint tenants with right of survivorship, and both are US citizens. The husband dies. How much of the home's value is included in his gross estate?

  • A. Half of the value
  • B. The full value
  • C. None of the value
  • D. The portion he paid for
Show answer

Answer: A

For a qualified joint interest between spouses, half of the value is included in the gross estate of the first spouse to die, regardless of who paid for the property. The marital deduction then generally removes it from the taxable estate. The contribution rule, which can include the full value, applies to joint owners who are not spouses.

Question 20. Lena, a US citizen, received a large cash gift from her grandmother, a nonresident alien living abroad, above the reporting threshold. Which form does Lena use to report it?

  • A. Form 709
  • B. Form 3520
  • C. Form 8938
  • D. Form 5471
Show answer

Answer: B

A US person who receives gifts or bequests from a nonresident alien individual above the reporting threshold reports them on Form 3520. The gift is not taxable income to Lena, but failing to report it can result in penalties. Form 709 is filed by donors, Form 8938 reports specified foreign financial assets, and Form 5471 concerns foreign corporations.

How did you do?

Sixteen or more correct suggests you are close to exam standard in these areas. Below fourteen, look at which domains your mistakes came from and read those domain guides: preliminary work, income and assets, deductions and credits, taxation, advising and specialized returns.

Then check why you got them wrong. A rule you did not know needs rereading; a rule you knew but misapplied to the facts needs more practice with scenarios. The real exam is scored on a scale where 500 is a pass, so aim to be well above the pass mark on practice questions before booking.