Customer Reviews

PassKey EA Review, Part 1: Individuals, IRS Enrolled Agent Exam Study Guide 2010-2011 Edition

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you have any thoughts about a career in the IRS or just want to tackle the bigger scope of tax preparation, this is a good (and fun) book to read. I passed the EA exam in 1997 and read it over since new regulations are coming out for certification and I wanted to keep current. The test format remains true to form and without studying it, passing is difficult. Knowledge is priority, but test taking skills factor in and this book gives you both.
Reading over the IRS publications is suggested and always will be an added benefit but I found some one paragraph explanations made by the author made up for pages of IRS regulations. Some of the phrases (definitions) of tax terms are so simply put that I have used them to explain things to my customers.
All in all, just a good, keep current, fun book for tax people.

I purchased this product as additional material for my preparation for the EA exam. I had already last purchased last year's version of the Gleim Enrolled Agent preparation materials, current IRS materials on CD and a couple of exam testing programs. I found that this book had good clear explanations of various important tax topics such as who qualifies as your dependent, filing status etc. I would call this book, the "Cliff Notes" version of the exam. You will need additional resources to pass the exam especially some test simulation software which this has none. For the price this is a great value as my Gleim materials were several hundred dollars. If you are an experienced tax professional this book will help you focus on the critical components of the exam that you may not see in your practice.

This book helped me self-study the important terms and concept about tax without taking any class. I recently passed the test of Part 1 and just started studying Part 2. The only short point is the printing size is small.

I am studying to take the IRS EA examen. This is the first part I book of of 3 books.
So far this book has been easy for me to understand. What I really like about this book is the fact that the Author give you example of the subject matter. It is easy to understand the theory when an example is giving and then you can analyze the point behind it.

The invaluable information in this book will prepare me to study and be ready to take the IRS EA examination.

I will review books Part II and Part III when I am finished reading.

Volume one of this three volume set covers taxes for individuals quite thoroughly, more thoroughly than the other internet-available tax guides currently in print. I should know because I've bought them all in the past, only to be disappointed when having taken the Prometric exam. I've already read halfway through the book (Volume I) of her book and am easily convinced that I'll be able to pass all three IRS EA exams this time.

Carefully organized, topically presented, and thoroughly covered, Ms. Pinheiro has covered all the angles, all the stops. I'm especially impressed with the area on gains and losses as she explains it in greater detail than the H&R Block courses I've taken in the past, along with a Veteran's Administration - approved tax course I recently took as a refresher. Her manuals also give a greater depth of actual IRS - Prometric questions that are found on the actual exams along with a full explanation of each answer.

Her section on depreciation in Volume II for businesses is exceptionally well done and much clearer than the tax course I took with another school.

I've done tax consulting, accounting, and bookkeeping work for the past several years. I'm now using all three guides as my bible for passing the Enrolled Agent Exam. All three volumes are thicker, cover vastly greater material than the others out there (G, WG, etc...), and are much more visibly and clearly presented.

Don't be alarmed by the thickness of each volume. They are an easy read and I've almost had to do NO research to confirm what she says. She's right on the money!

I gave this purchase an instant five-star rating.

Sincerely,
John Kidd (USN / Ret.)
Tax Consultant
Certified Professional Consultant
Certified Public Bookkeeper

Barbra this EA study fits the bill. The book covers every thing you need to pass the EA test

Thanks
WILLIAM HENDRIX

I have the set of three books and ,as a tax professional,I can tell Ms Pintero really knows not only her taxes but how to teach in an easy yet through manner.
The questions and explanations of the correct answers are right on the money.These books are not only for studing for the EA exam but a great source of knowledge in a tax office.They are great research books and they have been used many times in our office to look up an answer and we handle all returns from 1040EZ to estates and trusts and we refer to this as much as the Quickfinder.
The IRS will be testing all tax preparers staring this year and these books will be invaluable as study material and test prep for that as well as the EA exam.
The cost of the set of 3 is the best buy out there.There are books that cost more for part 1 then the cost for all three of this set.The author wants to be affordable for everyone and for that I applaud her.
On the negative side the only fault I find ,and it is personal,I would prefer larger and darker print.

Here are some confusions... that I found in the book.

1. On page 16 and page 22, the 2009 filing requirement threshold for widow(er) is not correct. It should be $15,050 instead of $18,700.

2. Page 303, regarding "time requirements & other rules", it says that for the business use real property, the replacement period is 3 years. However on page 311, question 7, the factory building is destroyed but the owner has to replace it in 2 years !! So I guess the factory building is not a business use property!!

3. Page 314, question 15. I don't understand why a sale in December 2009 has to be reported on 2008 tax return as the answer in the book!!! (typo??)

4. Page 315, question 18, The military service should not make any different, Fernando already owned and lived in the house for 2 years before joining the Army so he can sell and get the full exclusion regardless!!

Anyway, be aware of those... and the ones in the kid's review.

I also found quite a few amounts of errors especially dealing with CORE concepts. However, you should be able to clarify in pub 17. Must use pub 17 to back yourself up. To the writer, please cross check the book. It will create extra unnecessary time to verify unclear items.

I bought the Passkey EA review from Amazon...
Reading the book, I found many errors in the books, I could not list every errors but below are some examples:

1. Page 64, last example, I don't know why it doesn't count $870 in the calculation !
2. Page 83, in the example, it said Bo and Marie should file their tax return since their income is $20,500. That is wrong, they are both over 65, so they only need to file tax return when their income is more than ($18,700 + $1,100 + $1,100) = $20,900.
3. Page 104, question 41. I never understand the answer, I think there are some missing information in the question.
4. Page 131, question 14, the answer should be D, but it is B instead ! (correct me if I'm wrong?)
5. Page 287, question 1, the answer is B instead of A (typo)
6. Page 289. question 9, duplicated answer A and C.
7. Page 290, question 11, the answer is right, but the calculation is wrong (typo). It should be $500 instead of $200.
8. Page 294, question 21, Laurel should have received payment for the sale on January 4, 2010 instead of January 4, 2009.
9. Page 301, Don't understand the calculation in the example of Shasta and Cindy properties !
10. Page 311, question 8. The answer should be B instead of C (typo).
11. Page 312, question 11, None of the answer is correct, total gain should be $670,000 - $42,250 instead of $670,000!

Anyone reads this, please correct if I'm wrong...