According to Professors Chapman, Carpenter and Stuart, the Substantive Tax section is purported to be the most problematic of all the exam parts, and it is now even more difficult. It is by far, the part most EAs and CPAs think they know because it deals mostly with Federal taxes; however, it is the one section they usually fail. One thing for sure, it is comprehensive! It covers all manner of Federal tax procedure, IRC sections, and recent caselaw. And, it has become much more theoretical, requiring the test-taker to explain his/her understanding of the legal applications of the IRC. It is worth 40% of the overall grade. Our emphasis when preparing applicants for the 2025 bar exam is to teach how to answer test questions using a a three-prong methodology derived from experiences shared by successful and unsuccessful test-takers. Whereas in the past, we relied heavily on rote review of prior exam questions and model answers, we now integrate our class discussions and teach 3 separate courses - Federal Tax Procedure + IRC Section Review + Caselaw. And we utilize recently-FBI-vetted USTCPs who passed the 2023 bar exam along with unsuccessful test-takers who missed passing by several points. From them we can learn about the challenges they faced and the mistakes they made. They share copies of their failed exams (redacted) retrieved from the Tax Court and walk-through the questions that in hindsight, they realize they answered incorrectly. We devote time to subject matter that we know applicants should know, such as the legal interpretation and application of the tax regulations as they are defined in the Code. Lastly, we take a deep-dive into precedential caselaw, and recent published opinions. We review the basic tenets of individual, corporate, partnership, gift and estate tax. We also cover Tax Court jurisdiction, the Statutory Notice of Deficiency, and the Petition for Redetermination. We remind the novice test-taker, in case they haven't heard, that there were numerous one-point questions on the 2023 exam that spoke to these topics. Lastly, we tell test-takers that it would be prudent to visit the U.S. Tax Court website regularly and read no fewer than 3-4 published opinions every week.
Fee $1595