Finance Exam Prep cover art

Finance Exam Prep

Finance Exam Prep

By: Ran Chen EA CFP®
Listen for free

About this listen

 Finance Exam Prep is a daily podcast designed to help future tax and finance professionals pass their certification and licensing exams with clarity and confidence. Built and operated by OpenExamPrep, this podcast breaks down major tax exams into focused, easy-to-digest episodes covering the CPA & Enrolled Agent (EA) Exam, including Part 1 (Individuals), Part 2 (Businesses), and Part 3 (Representation, Practices, and Procedures). Each episode targets one key tax concept, common exam trap, or high-frequency test topic—making it ideal for studying during commutes, workouts, or short study sessions. Created by Ran Chen, EA, CFP®, a financial professional and exam specialist who has personally passed multiple professional licensing exams, Tax Exam Prep was developed from firsthand experience with how complex—and often poorly explained—tax exam material can be. The goal is simple: make tax exam preparation clearer, more accessible, and more effective through structured explanations and modern learning tools. Whether you’re preparing for the EA Exam, transitioning into a tax career, or reviewing before test day, this podcast is designed to guide you step by step—one concept at a time. Free practice tools, AI-powered explanations, and additional exam prep resources are available at: https://open-exam-prep.com/Copyright 2026 Ran Chen, EA, CFP® Career Success Economics Education
Episodes
  • Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 1] 76, At-Risk Rules and Basis Limitations

    Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 1] 76, At-Risk Rules and Basis Limitations
    Apr 1 2026
    This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: • Loss deductions must sequentially clear three hurdles: Basis, At-Risk, and Passive (B-A-P). • S corp shareholders do not receive basis for entity-level debt, unlike partners in a partnership. • At-risk amounts generally include cash invested plus recourse debt, but exclude nonrecourse financing. • Form 6198 is used to calculate and apply the at-risk limitations to losses. • A key exam exception allows qualified nonrecourse financing for real estate activities to be included in the at-risk amount. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
    Show More Show Less
    3 mins
  • Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 1] 75, Passive Activity Loss Carryovers

    Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 1] 75, Passive Activity Loss Carryovers
    Mar 31 2026
    This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: • Suspended passive losses are not permanently lost; they are carried forward indefinitely to future tax years. • Carryover losses are first used to offset passive income from any source before being applied to nonpassive income. • A complete, taxable disposition of a passive activity unlocks all suspended losses associated with that specific activity. • Upon death, suspended losses are deductible on the final return, but reduced by the step-up in basis. • When a passive activity is gifted, the suspended losses are added to the recipient's basis and are not deductible by the donor. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
    Show More Show Less
    4 mins
  • Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 1] 74, Form 8863 - Education Credits

    Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 1] 74, Form 8863 - Education Credits
    Mar 30 2026
    This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: • The AOTC is a per-student credit with a 40% refundable portion, while the LLC is a per-return credit and is entirely non-refundable. • Qualified education expenses must be reduced by tax-free assistance like scholarships and grants before any credit is calculated. • A student who can be claimed as a dependent cannot claim an education credit, even if the parent does not claim them. • AOTC qualified expenses include required course materials purchased from any vendor, whereas LLC expenses are more restricted. • Taxpayers with a Married Filing Separately status are ineligible to claim either the AOTC or the LLC. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
    Show More Show Less
    4 mins
No reviews yet