SEE Part 3 study plan: pass in 6 weeks

Six weeks at 8–10 hours a week is an honest target for SEE Part 3 if you have not worked in representation before. The content is less computational than Parts 1 and 2 but more unfamiliar: most preparers have never handled a collection case, an appeal or an e-file infraction. If you already represent clients before the IRS, four weeks is realistic; compress weeks 3 and 4.

The plan follows the four domains in order of weight, then leaves a full week for practice, because Part 3 is won by recall under the EXCEPT format.

Where the hours go

Week 1: Circular 230

The largest domain starts here. Read Circular 230 itself, not a summary — it is the primary source and the exam uses its vocabulary.

• Who may practise and to what extent: attorneys, CPAs and enrolled agents with unlimited rights, and the limited categories.
• Duties: information to be furnished to the IRS, knowledge of a client’s omission, diligence as to accuracy, prompt disposition, return of client records, conflicts of interest, solicitation, negotiation of taxpayer checks.
• Fees: the unconscionable-fee ban and the three contingent-fee exceptions.
• Sanctions: censure, suspension, disbarment and monetary penalties; incompetence and disreputable conduct.
• Enrollment: PTIN, renewal cycle, the 72/16/2 continuing education rule.

Make a one-page table of the section numbers you want to remember. See Practices and Procedures explained.

Week 2: Preparer penalties and record rules

• The two understatement penalties for preparers (unreasonable position; willful or reckless conduct) and how substantial authority, reasonable basis and disclosure interact.
• The per-failure penalties: copy to taxpayer, signing, identifying number, keeping a copy or list, employee records, negotiating a refund check, due diligence on refundable credits and head of household.
• How a preparer penalty is assessed and challenged.
• Frivolous submissions, badges of fraud, and avoidance versus evasion.

Week 3: Representation before the IRS

• Form 2848 versus Form 8821, line by line. What each authorises, who can be named, and what needs specific authorisation.
• The CAF number, revoking and withdrawing, and when an agent may sign a return.
• Building the case: identifying the issue, spotting criminal exposure, conflicts, transcripts, the taxpayer’s ability to pay.
• Legal authority: Code, regulations, rulings, procedures, case law, the IRM, and which of them is authoritative.
• Statutes of limitations for assessment, collection and refund, and the Taxpayer Advocate Service criteria.

See Representation explained.

Week 4: Specific Areas of Representation

• The collection sequence: notices, lien, levy, seizure, and where Collection Due Process and the Collection Appeals Program fit.
• Resolution options: full pay, extension of time to pay, installment agreements, offer in compromise, currently not collectible.
• Trust fund recovery penalty, passport certification, collection summons, the collection statute.
• Examinations: the 30-day letter, revenue agent’s report, CP2000, the practitioner privilege, burden of proof.
• Appeals: the protest, the conference, the 90-day letter.
• Penalty and interest abatement.

Draw the collection and examination timelines from memory by the end of the week. See Specific Areas of Representation explained.

Week 5: Filing Process, then consolidation

The smallest domain takes two or three days:

• The IRS e-file application, EFIN, suitability checks, the role and duties of an ERO.
• Forms 8879 and 8453, rejected returns and the resubmission window, the e-file requirement for preparers and Form 8948.
• Levels of infractions and sanctions; record retention; data security and the written information security plan.

Use the rest of the week to reread your week 1–4 summary tables. See Filing Process explained.

Week 6: Practice and repair

• Sit a full timed practice exam: 100 questions, 3.5 hours, three sections you cannot go back to.
• Sort every wrong answer into one of three causes: did not know the rule, misread an EXCEPT, or confused two similar rules.
• Rebuild the weakest domain, then take a second practice exam.

Start with the 20-question practice test and the five sample questions.

How to study rules you cannot derive

Part 3 punishes vague familiarity. Three techniques that work:

• Tables of pairs. Form 2848 versus 8821. Censure versus suspension. 30-day letter versus 90-day letter. CDP versus CAP. Most wrong answers are the other half of a pair.
• Timelines. Collection and examination are sequences with deadlines. Draw them, with the form or letter at each step.
• Read the EXCEPT first. Before reading the options, note whether the question asks for a true or a false statement.

If time runs short, trim Filing Process, not Representation. Filing Process is 14 questions; Representation and Practices and Procedures together are 51.