SEE Part 2 exam tips: timing and traps
The most useful SEE Part 2 exam tips are about time and structure rather than tax: you have 3.5 hours for 100 questions — about 2 minutes 6 seconds each — split into three sections you cannot return to once you leave them. Budget roughly 70 minutes per section, resolve every flagged question before you close a section, take the scheduled breaks because the clock stops, read every EXCEPT question twice, and work basis calculations on paper or the whiteboard in a fixed layout. The rest of this page explains each of those.
Pace each section, not the whole exam
| Section | Questions | Time at an even pace | Checkpoint |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1–34 | ~71 minutes | 3:30 → ~2:19 remaining |
| 2 | 35–67 | ~69 minutes | ~2:19 → ~1:10 remaining |
| 3 | 68–100 | ~69 minutes | ~1:10 → 0:00 |
The on-screen timer shows time remaining. Write your two checkpoints on your scratch paper or whiteboard at the start.
Because each section locks when you finish it, running out of time in section 1 does not just cost you the last few questions of section 1 — it steals time from section 3, where you cannot claw it back by skipping ahead. Aim to finish each section with five minutes to spare for flagged questions.
Flag within the section, then close it clean
Flagging works only inside the current section. Before you confirm a section as finished:
- Go through every flagged question.
- Answer every question. Your score is based on the number of questions answered correctly, so a blank is never better than a guess.
- Only then confirm and move on.
A question you leave blank in section 1 is gone. Treat the end of each section as the end of a mini-exam.
Use the scheduled breaks
After questions 34 and 67 you are offered a 10-minute break, and the exam clock stops. If you are not back and started within 10 minutes, the clock restarts, so keep it short.
Take them. Ten minutes off the clock costs you nothing and Part 2 is long. Unscheduled breaks are different: at a test centre the clock keeps running, and remote candidates get none at all. Plan food, water and the bathroom around the scheduled breaks.
The experimental questions
Fifteen of the 100 questions are unscored and unmarked. You cannot identify them, so do not try. If a question looks strange or out of scope, give it your best answer at normal speed and move on — it may well be experimental, and spending four minutes on it is the worst outcome either way.
EXCEPT questions
“All of the following are … EXCEPT” means three options are true and you want the false one. Under time pressure the brain grabs the first familiar true statement.
- Read the stem twice and say “which is not” to yourself.
- Mark each option true or false on your scratch paper before choosing.
- If two options look false, reread the stem — one of them is probably true in a way you have not spotted.
Calculation questions
Part 2 is heavy on arithmetic. Speed comes from a fixed layout you use every time:
Partner’s basis: opening basis → + contributions → + income items → + liability increase → − distributions → − losses → − liability decrease. Floor at zero.
Corporate distribution: dividend up to E&P → return of basis up to stock basis → the rest is gain.
Section 351: realised gain → recognised gain = lesser of realised gain and boot → watch for liabilities exceeding basis.
Passive rental loss: $25,000 − 50% × (MAGI − $100,000) → compare with the loss.
When your answer matches an option, check it did not come from skipping a step: distractors are built from the common mistakes. Use the on-screen calculator even for easy sums; one keying error can cost a question.
Read the year and the entity first
Before reading the options, note two things: which tax year (2025 unless stated) and which kind of taxpayer — sole proprietor, partnership, C corporation, S corporation, trust, exempt organisation, farmer. The same fact pattern has different answers for a partnership and an S corporation. Questions that seem ambiguous usually stop being ambiguous once you fix the entity.
Know the 2025 figures cold
Closed book means the figures you need must be memorised. The short list for Part 2:
- Section 179: $2,500,000 limit, $4,000,000 phase-out threshold
- Standard mileage: 70 cents
- Business gifts: $25 per recipient; meals 50%
- Start-up costs: $5,000, phase-out from $50,000, 180 months
- Form 1099-NEC: $600 for 2025 payments
- Rental allowance: $25,000, MAGI $100,000–$150,000
The cheat sheet has the full set on one page.
On the day
- Remote: clear your desk, test your system in advance, and remember there is no paper — practise with an on-screen whiteboard.
- Test centre: arrive at least 30 minutes early; arriving 30 or more minutes late forfeits the fee.
- Check the identification rules in the Candidate Information Bulletin before the day.
Practise under real conditions
Do at least one full timed run: 100 questions, 3.5 hours, sections locked. The 20-question practice test is a good warm-up at section pace — aim for about 42 minutes. The study plan schedules the full runs for week 6.