Minimum time period and study
When you become a student you will not usually be permitted to sit the examination until you have been registered for at least 6 months. You should therefore be registered by 30 April for the November examination and by 31 October for the May examination of the following year. Council has discretion to grant permission for earlier sitting in exceptional circumstances. You are strongly recommended not to sit the examination until you have been registered as a student for at least 12 months, as experience has shown that more than one year’s study is usually necessary for examination success.
Examination questions and answers
Candidates need to be aware of the standard of questions set in the examination. Careful study of past questions, with suggested solutions, is a key element in exam preparation. Past question papers are available for download
here. Suggested answers will be available from your course provider.
Dates and fees
Examinations are held each year in May and November. The last date for receipt of examination entry forms is the last day of February for the May examination and the last day of August for the November examination.
Please note that the Association does not automatically send out examination entry forms. Entry forms received after the closing date will
not be accepted. If your student registration lapses before the examination, you must apply to re-register when you submit your examination entry form. Please telephone if you do not hear anything after 10 working days, as all exam entries are normally acknowledged and receipted within this time.
Examination Fees for 2009 examinations
| No. of Papers | Cost per Paper | Total |
| 4 | £85 | £340 |
| 3 | £90 | £270 |
| 2 | £95 | £190 |
| 1 | £100 | £100 |
Examination centres
Please note that arrangements cannot be made for you to sit the examination outside the UK.
- Belfast
- Birmingham
- Edinburgh
- Exeter
- Leeds
- London
- Manchester
- Newport
- Reading
- Southampton
Forthcoming examination dates
Personal Taxation (morning)
Business Taxation & Accounting Principles (afternoon) | Non-core papers (morning)
Practice Administration & Ethics (afternoon) |
| 12 May 2009 | 13 May 2009 |
| 3 November 2009 | 4 November 2009 |
| 11 May 2010 | 12 May 2010 |
| 2 November 2010 | 3 November 2010 |
Withdrawal from the examination
Examination fees will be non refundable. If you withdraw from some or all papers entered
before the examination entry closing date then your full fee will be carried forward but only until the next examination session. If there has been an increase in examination fees you will
be required to pay the balance before your new examination entry can be accepted.
If you withdraw from some or all papers entered after the examination entry closing date then your fee will be forfeited.
In exceptional circumstances Council may transfer the fee to the next examination session. Evidence would have to be provided together with a written explanation of the circumstances.
Conferences and events
A conference is held twice a year to prepare students for the examination. These are usually held in March and September each year.
All are welcome to attend technical meetings organised jointly by branches of the Association and The Chartered Institute of Taxation.