Build Your Personalized REG Study Plan
Five quick questions. We'll build a REG plan from the 2026 AICPA Blueprint: weighted topic priorities, a schedule for your timeline, and strategies for where you're stuck.
Where you are
Where are you in your REG preparation?
What REG actually tests (2026 AICPA Blueprint)
Plan for roughly 95 hours of focused study for REG (most candidates land between 80 and 110). The personalized plan above tailors this to your stage, timeline, and biggest challenge. Here is the blueprint it is built on.
REG content areas and weights
Area I: Ethics, Professional Responsibilities & Federal Tax Procedures
10-20% · ≈ 14 hrsEthics and responsibilities in tax practice (Circular 230, preparer rules); licensing and disciplinary systems; federal tax procedures (audits, appeals, assessments, collection, judicial process); legal duties and responsibilities.
Area II: Business Law
15-25% · ≈ 19 hrsAgency; contracts; debtor-creditor relationships; federal laws and regulations (employment tax, bankruptcy, worker classification, anti-bribery); business structure.
Area III: Federal Taxation of Property Transactions
5-15% · ≈ 9 hrsBasis of assets; cost recovery (depreciation and amortization); gains and losses, character, and nonrecognition transactions.
Area IV: Federal Taxation of Individuals
22-32% · ≈ 26 hrsGross income (inclusions and exclusions); items from pass-through entities; adjustments and deductions to AGI and taxable income; loss limitations; filing status; computation of tax and credits.
Area V: Federal Taxation of Entities
23-33% · ≈ 27 hrsBook-tax differences; C corporations; S corporations; partnerships; limited liability companies; tax-exempt organizations.
REG mixes tax computation with rule-recall. The biggest swing factor is your exam date relative to the OBBBA cutover (see the note below), so confirm it before you start.
OBBBA and your exam date
REG is a tax section, and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) changed several rules that run through both individual and entity taxation. The timing matters more than anything here:
- If your exam is BEFORE July 1, 2026, OBBBA is NOT tested. You will be tested on the prior, pre-OBBBA rules, so study those and ignore the OBBBA versions.
- If your exam is ON OR AFTER July 1, 2026, expect the OBBBA versions of these rules.
The main OBBBA changes to know for REG:
- SALT (state and local tax) deduction cap raised from $10,000, with a phase-out at higher incomes.
- The §199A qualified business income deduction made permanent (it had been set to expire after 2025).
- 100% bonus depreciation restored permanently, instead of the scheduled phase-down.
- Domestic research and experimental (R&E) costs deductible currently again, instead of 5-year amortization.
- Standard deduction increased and the personal exemption permanently eliminated.
- Child tax credit increased and made permanent.
- Estate and gift exclusion raised, with no scheduled sunset.
- §163(j) business interest limitation returned to an EBITDA-based calculation.
Know which set applies to your exam date, and do not mix the two. The single most common OBBBA-era mistake is studying a current-law figure for an exam that still tests the prior rule, or vice versa.
REG study plan FAQ
How many hours should I study for REG?
Plan for roughly 95 hours of focused study for REG. Most candidates spend between 80 and 110 hours, depending on their background, how consistently they study, and their timeline.
Which areas are most heavily weighted on the REG CPA exam?
Under the 2026 AICPA Blueprint, REG covers 5 weighted areas: Area I: Ethics, Professional Responsibilities & Federal Tax Procedures (10-20%); Area II: Business Law (15-25%); Area III: Federal Taxation of Property Transactions (5-15%); Area IV: Federal Taxation of Individuals (22-32%); Area V: Federal Taxation of Entities (23-33%). Allocate your study time to match these weights, because that is where the exam awards its points.
What should I know about REG under the 2026 Blueprint?
REG mixes tax computation with rule-recall. The biggest swing factor is your exam date relative to the OBBBA cutover (see the note below), so confirm it before you start.
Will the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) be on my REG exam?
It depends on your exam date. If you sit REG before July 1, 2026, OBBBA is not tested and you study the prior rules. If you sit on or after July 1, 2026, expect the OBBBA versions: the higher SALT deduction cap, the permanent Section 199A deduction, permanent 100% bonus depreciation, current deduction of domestic research and experimental costs, and the EBITDA-based Section 163(j) interest limitation. Study one set, not both, based on your date.