CTA Study Guide 2026
Everything you need to pass the CTA exam in one place: the exam format, every topic to study, real practice questions with explanations, flashcards, and full-length practice tests. Free, no sign-up needed.
📋 CTA Exam Format at a Glance
📚 CTA Topics to Study (21)
✍️ Sample CTA Questions & Answers
1. The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) under Section 42 incentivizes:
The LIHTC provides tax credits to investors in qualifying low-income housing projects, incentivizing the development and preservation of affordable rental housing.
2. The taxpayer penalty for substantial understatement of income tax is:
The accuracy-related penalty for substantial understatement of income tax is 20% of the understatement attributable to the substantial understatement.
3. Which of the following is a key characteristic of an S corporation?
S corporations are pass-through entities where income and losses flow through to shareholders' individual tax returns.
4. The step-up in basis at death allows heirs to:
Assets inherited from a decedent receive a new cost basis equal to fair market value at the date of death, potentially eliminating built-in capital gains.
5. What is the current flat federal corporate income tax rate under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act?
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 established a flat 21% federal corporate income tax rate.
6. The alternative minimum tax (AMT) was designed primarily to ensure that:
The AMT was enacted to prevent high-income taxpayers from using deductions and credits to avoid paying federal income tax.