SEE Part 2 study plan: pass in 6 weeks

Six weeks at 8–10 hours a week is a realistic plan for SEE Part 2 if you already prepare returns or have passed Part 1. If business returns are new to you — no Schedule C, 1065 or 1120-S experience — stretch it to eight weeks by giving weeks 1 and 3 a second week each. Four weeks is not honest for this part: the entity rules are dense, the basis calculations need practice rather than reading, and 18 questions of specialized returns cover five unrelated topics.

The plan follows the scored question counts: 30 on entities, 37 on business tax preparation, 18 on specialized returns.

Before week 1

• Download the 2025 editions of the forms, instructions and publications you will use. The exam tests law as amended through December 31, 2025, and older editions miss the 2025 changes to section 179 and the special depreciation allowance. The study resources page lists them.
• Work the IRS’s own Part 2 sample questions cold, to see the style and where you stand.

Week 1: entities and partnerships (30 questions, part one)

• Entity types and default classification: sole proprietorship, partnership, qualified joint venture, C corporation, S corporation, LLC, and which elections change them (Form 8832, Form 2553).
• EIN, accounting periods, hobby versus business.
• Partnerships: formation, contributions of property and services, liabilities, guaranteed payments, family partnerships.
• Partner basis: build it from scratch on paper until you can do it without notes — contributions, share of income, share of liabilities up; distributions, losses, liability reductions down, never below zero.
• Dispositions, dissolution, filing requirements and the centralized audit regime with its opt-out.

Week 2: corporations and S corporations (30 questions, part two)

• C corporations: section 351 formation, boot, liabilities in excess of basis, services for stock.
• Earnings and profits and how a distribution splits into dividend, return of basis and gain.
• Dividends-received deduction, charitable limit, estimated tax, accumulated earnings tax, controlled groups, liquidations and redemptions.
• S corporations: eligibility, election timing, separately stated items, shareholder stock and debt basis, loss limits, distributions, revocation and termination.

Week 3: business income and deductions (37 questions, part one)

• Gross receipts, cost of goods sold, inventory and uniform capitalization.
• Compensation, fringe benefits, family employment, statutory employees.
• Travel, meals, gifts and vehicles — the 2025 standard mileage rate and the 50% meal rule.
• Interest, taxes, insurance, bad debts, home office, rent and self-rentals.
• Qualified business income deduction: the concept, specified service businesses, and the 2025 thresholds.
• Employment taxes and deposits, worker classification, Form 1099 series and Form 8300.

Week 4: assets and records (37 questions, part two)

• Depreciation: MACRS classes, section 179 and its 2025 limits, the special depreciation allowance after the 2025 legislation, listed property, recapture, correcting errors.
• Start-up and organizational costs, amortization, depletion.
• Basis of assets, dispositions, like-kind exchanges, converted property, repair regulations.
• Financial records: reading an income statement and balance sheet, Schedule M-1, M-2 and M-3, accounting methods and Form 3115.
• Net operating losses, at-risk rules, cancellation of debt, loans to and from owners.

Week 5: specialized returns (18 questions)

Five topics, a day each:

1. Trusts and estates — trust types, fiduciary accounting income versus DNI, exemptions, Form 1041 filing and the 65-day election.
2. Exempt organisations — 501(c) status, Forms 1023 and 1024, the Form 990 series, unrelated business income and Form 990-T.
3. Retirement plans — SEP, SIMPLE and qualified plans, contribution limits, prohibited transactions, nondiscrimination.
4. Farmers — Schedule F, crop insurance deferral, weather-related livestock sales, Form 4835, Schedule J, estimated tax.
5. Rental property — passive loss rules, the $25,000 allowance, real estate professionals, vacation homes, deposits and advance rent.

Week 6: practice and repair

• Sit a full timed practice exam: 100 questions, 3.5 hours, three sections you do not revisit.
• Sort every miss into did not know the rule, misread the question or arithmetic error. The fixes are different.
• Rebuild the weakest area, then sit a second exam. Re-do every basis calculation you got wrong.

Where the hours go

Study habits that pay off on Part 2

Calculate, don’t just read. A large share of Part 2 is arithmetic on basis, distributions, depreciation and deductions. Reading a publication gives you the rule; only working examples gives you the speed.

Learn which form carries what. Many questions turn on knowing whether an item goes on Schedule C, the 1065, a K-1, Form 4797 or Form 4835. Make a one-page map.

Keep the tax year straight. Several 2025 rules changed for later years. The exam asks about 2025; a figure you remember from a newer article may be the wrong answer.

If time runs short, cut week 5 back to three days rather than trimming weeks 1–4. Entities and tax preparation are 67 of the 85 scored questions.

Check your progress with the free sample questions after week 2 and the 20-question practice test in week 6.