Individual Tax Filing, IRS Forms, Credits, Deductions, and Real-World Scenarios

What you'll learn
- Determine individual filing requirements and perform proper preliminary work using prior-year returns and taxpayer information
- Analyze Form 1040 filing statuses and apply the correct rules for married, surviving spouse, head of household, and special cases
- Interpret IRS correspondence, credits, deductions, and items affecting future returns, including AMT and foreign reporting obligations
- Identify key IRS forms, deadlines, and compliance concepts tested in EA Exam Part 1 and applied in individual tax preparation

Requirements
- No prior EA or tax exam experience is required. Basic familiarity with individual income taxes is helpful but not required

Description
This course focuses on theIndividuals portion of the Enrolled Agent (EA) Exam – Part 1, with an emphasis on filing fundamentals, preliminary work, and key Form 1040 concepts that are essential for both the exam and real-world tax practice.

The material is structured to reflect how tax professionals actually approach an individual return—starting with filing requirements and preliminary analysis, then moving systematically through IRS correspondence, personal information gathering, due dates, credits, deductions, and filing status determinations.

Rather than treating topics in isolation, this bootcamp connects concepts across multiple areas of the tax return. Students learnwhy filing requirements matter, how prior-year returns affect current filings, and how IRS notices such as CP2000 are handled in practice. Special attention is given to understanding IRS forms, due dates, and information returns that frequently appear on the EA exam.

Throughout the course, "Tax Side Notes" are used to clarify commonly tested concepts, including:

Standard deduction versus itemized deduction considerations

Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) and AMT credit mechanics

Foreign tax credit and foreign reporting obligations

General business credits and Form 3800

Section 179 deduction and carryover rules

Qualified Business Income (QBI) carryovers

Installment sales and Form 6252

Foreign income reporting, including FBAR and Forms 8938, 5471, 3520, and 8865

The course also provides in-depth coverage ofForm 1040 filing statuses, including married filing jointly, married filing separately, qualifying surviving spouse, and head of household. Complex real-world scenarios—such as injured spouse allocation (Form 8379) and innocent spouse relief (Form 8857)—are explained step by step, with an emphasis on eligibility, decision logic, and exam-relevant reasoning.

Quizzes and explanations are included to reinforce understanding and help learners verify their comprehension of key topics.

This bootcamp is designed to build astrong technical foundationfor EA Part 1 while remaining practical and adaptable. The concepts taught here remain relevant beyond the exam and form a base for future expansion into additional EA topics and advanced applications.

Who this course is for:
- EA candidates preparing for Part 1, tax professionals strengthening individual tax knowledge, and learners seeking a structured IRS-focused approach
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