How to Pass the REG CPA Exam: My 140-Hour Study Plan (2026)
Kyle Ashcraft, CPA · 2019 CPA Exam Scores · 95 FAR · 98 BEC · 91 REG · 90 AUD
REG punishes memorization. Candidates try to hold every threshold, phase-out and dollar limit in their head, run out of room, and then meet a simulation that stacks basis, depreciation and entity rules into a single problem. Knowing the numbers does not help there. Knowing how the rules interact does.
I passed REG with a 91 in 2019, and I founded Maxwell CPA Review to teach it the way it actually gets tested: mechanics first, numbers second. This article is the study plan I used and the four areas that carry the most weight on exam day.
Prefer the app? Watch the REG walkthrough on YouTube.
What is actually on the REG exam?
REG runs four hours: 72 multiple choice questions across two testlets, then 8 task-based simulations across three more. MCQs and simulations are weighted equally in scoring, which is worth sitting with. Half your score comes from eight problems.
The AICPA Blueprint splits the content into five areas, each with a published weight range:
| Content area | Weight |
|---|---|
| I. Ethics, professional responsibilities and federal tax procedures | 10 to 20% |
| II. Business law | 15 to 25% |
| III. Federal taxation of property transactions | 5 to 15% |
| IV. Federal taxation of individuals | 22 to 32% |
| V. Federal taxation of entities | 23 to 33% |
Read the table as a budget. Areas IV and V together run 45% to 65% of the exam, so individual and entity taxation get the bulk of your hours. Property transactions is the lightest area at 5% to 15% and should get the fewest.
On memorizing numbers. Do not spend your evenings drilling inflation-adjusted limits. The exam generally supplies the figures it needs you to have, such as contribution caps and standard deduction amounts. What it will not supply is the mechanism. Learn the mechanism.
How long should you study for REG?
I studied roughly 140 hours over seven to eight weeks while working full time. Common guidance lands nearer 110 hours, and I went past it deliberately, because REG rewards repetition more than most sections. The same rule shows up in three different disguises across a single simulation, and you only start recognizing that pattern after you have seen it a lot.
| Block | Time | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Monday to Friday | 2.5 hrs/night | New content only. Lectures, notes, build the outline. |
| Saturday and Sunday | 5 hrs/day | Review and practice. MCQs and simulations. |
| Weekly total | ~20 hrs | Five days forward, two days locking it in |
REG candidates tend to sit closer to their test date than candidates in other sections, so five weeks is a more common reality than eight. If that is you, do not compress by studying faster. Compress by cutting: give Areas IV and V their full time, run business law as lighter evening sessions, and hold property transactions to a single weekend.
The scheduling mistake I see most. Spending weekday evenings re-reviewing material you already covered. It feels productive because the questions get easier. Then week six arrives and a third of the Blueprint is untouched. Weekdays move you forward. Weekends consolidate.
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How do you keep individual taxation straight?
Sort every dollar of income into one of three buckets before you do anything else. The buckets exist because losses in one category do not freely offset gains in another, and almost every individual tax limitation you will be tested on traces back to that.
| Bucket | What lands there |
|---|---|
| Ordinary | W-2 wages and self-employment income |
| Passive | Rental income, and activity where the taxpayer does not materially participate |
| Portfolio | Interest, dividends and capital gains from investments |
Then know where the line falls between adjustments taken before AGI and deductions taken after it. Pre-AGI items reduce AGI itself, which is what makes them worth more than their face value.
AGI is a gatekeeper, not a subtotal. A long list of deductions, credits and limitations either phases out against AGI or is computed as a percentage of it. Move AGI and you move all of them. That is why the exam cares which side of the line an item falls on.
Why does basis decide so many REG questions?
Basis answers three separate questions that the exam asks constantly: is this distribution taxable, is this loss deductible, and what is the gain on disposition. One concept, three payoffs. It is the highest-leverage thing in the section.
At its core, basis is the amount you have invested in something that has not yet been recovered tax-free. Work it as a roll-forward, one layer at a time, in this order:
| Layer | Effect on a partner's basis |
|---|---|
| Beginning basis | Cash plus adjusted basis of property contributed |
| Contributions | Increase |
| Share of income | Increase, including tax-exempt income |
| Share of liabilities | Increase when the share rises, decrease when it falls |
| Distributions | Decrease |
| Share of losses | Decrease, but not below zero |
The distinction the exam returns to again and again is the fourth row. A partner includes a share of partnership liabilities in basis. An S corporation shareholder does not include corporate-level debt in stock basis. A shareholder who lends directly to the corporation creates debt basis, which is tracked separately from stock basis and restored on its own schedule.
That single difference decides whether a loss is deductible this year or suspended, and it is the reason two otherwise identical fact patterns produce different answers depending on entity type.
How to survive a basis simulation. They look intimidating because five moving pieces arrive at once. Do not solve it in one pass. Write the roll-forward down the page and update one line at a time. REG rewards candidates who stay organized under pressure more than it rewards candidates who are fast.
How do you classify a property transaction?
Sale price minus basis gives you the amount. It does not give you the answer. You still have to determine what kind of gain or loss it is, and three things drive that:
- Holding period. Short-term or long-term.
- Character of the property. Ordinary, Section 1231, or capital.
- Depreciation recapture. Prior depreciation deductions convert part of what looks like capital gain back into ordinary income.
Recapture is where most candidates lose points, because it is counterintuitive. You took the deduction at ordinary rates on the way in, so the exam takes it back at ordinary rates on the way out.
On the depreciation side, be comfortable with MACRS and with the contrast between Section 179 and bonus depreciation. Section 179 is elective, capped in dollars, applied asset by asset, and limited by taxable income, so it cannot create a loss. Bonus depreciation applies automatically to qualifying property unless you elect out, has no taxable income limitation, and can create a loss.
Check the year. Bonus depreciation percentages have been changed by legislation more than once in recent years, and the applicable rate depends on when the property was acquired and placed in service. Confirm the current rule against the Blueprint window your exam falls in rather than trusting an older study note.
Should you skip ethics and business law?
No, and this is the most common self-inflicted wound in REG. Areas I and II combined run 25% to 45% of the exam. Candidates underweight them because they feel less technical than tax, then lose points in the one part of the section where the rules are finite and knowable.
Ethics and federal tax procedures
Circular 230 and the tax preparer penalties. Know the difference between negligence, gross negligence and fraud, and what each one triggers.
Contracts
When a contract is formed and valid, when the Statute of Frauds requires it in writing, and how assignment moves rights while delegation moves duties.
Secured transactions
Attachment versus perfection. Attachment makes the security interest enforceable against the debtor. Perfection makes it good against everyone else. Questions here almost always turn on which one has happened and in what order.
Bankruptcy
The payment hierarchy, in order:
→ Priority unsecured creditors
→ General unsecured creditors
Business law is rote in a way that tax is not, which is exactly why it belongs on your tired evenings. Trade the hour when you cannot face another basis calculation for an hour of contracts, and you will be further ahead than if you had skipped studying entirely.
What changed in REG for 2026?
The 2026 Blueprint keeps the same structure, format and area weights. The substantive change sits in Area IV: the AICPA added an assumption to the section introduction and revised a representative task covering adjustments and deductions used to arrive at adjusted gross income and taxable income, reflecting provisions in H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, that create additional deductions in that calculation.
Practically, that means the individual taxation area is the part of your existing notes most likely to be stale. If you are studying from materials written before this legislation, the AGI computation is the first place to check.
Where does Maxwell CPA Review fit?
A few honest concessions first. If what you want is the largest question bank in the industry, that goes to Gleim or UWorld. If your firm sponsors a course, it is usually Becker, and there is no sense declining something already paid for. If you want adaptive software that scores your readiness, Surgent does that better than I do.
What Maxwell CPA Review does is different. Every other option in this category answers a shortage: more questions, longer explanations, more visuals. Maxwell answers a surplus. The problem is rarely that you have too little material. It is that nobody has told you which material decides the exam, and then taught that part properly.
That is the Max Yield Method. On a high-yield topic like partnership basis, we work the roll-forward from formation through liquidation. On a low-yield topic, we cover the rule quickly in case it appears, then get back to the concepts that matter most.
Here is what is in the REG section:
| Video lessons | 8 hours |
|---|---|
| Practice MCQs | 750 |
| Task-based simulations | 35 |
| Textbook | 120 pages |
| Study outlines | 80 pages |
| Also included | Final review and 6 mini exams |
Across the whole course: 50 hours of video content, 5,000 practice MCQs and 150 task-based simulations, covering all six sections, FAR, AUD, REG, BAR, ISC and TCP, with no discipline upcharge. It is built to the current AICPA Blueprint, and every lecture, textbook and outline was created by one CPA who scored 90 or above on every section.
Best for candidates short on calendar time: Maxwell CPA Review, with bite-sized lessons focused on the concepts that matter most, at $49 per month, billed monthly, cancel anytime.
Use it as your primary course. Use it to retake a section you failed. Use it alongside what you already bought.
Frequently asked questions
How many hours should I study for REG?
Around 140 hours over seven to eight weeks is what worked for me, against common guidance of roughly 110. REG rewards repetition, so the extra hours go into practice rather than into new material.
Do I need to memorize the dollar limits and phase-outs?
No. The exam generally provides inflation-adjusted figures such as contribution caps and standard deduction amounts when a question needs them. Your study time is better spent on the mechanism the number plugs into.
Which REG topics carry the most weight?
Individual taxation at 22 to 32% and entity taxation at 23 to 33%, which together account for 45% to 65% of the exam. Property transactions is the lightest area at 5 to 15%.
Is business law worth studying for REG?
Yes. Ethics and business law together run 25% to 45% of the exam, and the material is finite and rule-based in a way that tax is not, which makes it some of the most reliable scoring on the section.
Can I use Maxwell CPA Review alongside Becker, UWorld, Gleim or Surgent?
Yes. It is built to the current AICPA Blueprint and covers the same sections, so it slots alongside a course you already own. Most candidates use it for the video lessons and outlines and keep their existing question bank.
Is Maxwell CPA Review enough on its own?
Yes. It is a complete CPA review course with video lessons, a textbook, study outlines, MCQs, task-based simulations, final review and mock exams, across all six sections. It is designed to be the course you pass with, not an add-on.
What does Maxwell CPA Review cost?
$49 per month, billed monthly, cancel anytime. All six sections are included with no discipline upcharge.
Ready to put this into practice?
Reading about how to pass is not the same as practicing. Start with the released questions and the study outline, and see whether the approach fits how you learn.
Kyle Ashcraft, CPA scored 90 or above on every section of the CPA exam in 2019, including a 91 on REG and a 95 on FAR. He is the founder and sole instructor of Maxwell CPA Review, where he creates every lecture, textbook and study outline himself.
Reach him at MaxwellCPAreview@gmail.com.
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