CTC Study Guide 2026
Everything you need to pass the CTC 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.
CTC exam key facts
- The Certified Tax Coach designation has no multiple-choice exam. Candidates earn it by completing a presentation case study in which they build and sell a Proactive Tax Plan after the AICTP Academy. Source
- Holders may use the CTC designation and logo only while they remain active AICTP members. Source
📋 CTC Exam Format at a Glance
📚 CTC Topics to Study (31)
✍️ Sample CTC Questions & Answers
1. A client purchases a $3 million commercial building. Which strategy most directly accelerates depreciation deductions on the building's components?
A cost segregation study reclassifies building components into 5-, 7-, and 15-year property eligible for faster depreciation and bonus depreciation.
2. Regulated futures contracts under Section 1256 are taxed using which gain split, regardless of holding period?
Section 1256 contracts are marked to market at year-end with gains treated as 60% long-term and 40% short-term.
3. A client donates publicly traded stock held for three years to a public charity. What is generally the deduction amount and AGI limit?
Long-term appreciated capital gain property given to a public charity is deductible at FMV up to 30% of AGI, avoiding tax on the appreciation.
4. Gain on sale of depreciated residential rental property attributable to prior straight-line depreciation is taxed at a maximum federal rate of:
Unrecaptured Section 1250 gain is taxed at a maximum 25% rate.
5. What is the maximum criminal penalty for a §7216 violation (outside identity-theft cases)?
A §7216 violation is a misdemeanor punishable by up to $1,000 in fines, up to one year in prison, or both, plus prosecution costs.
6. What tax planning strategy involves a property owner selling a property below its appraised value to a family member and claiming a gift for the difference?
A bargain sale involves selling property for less than fair market value, with the difference treated as a gift; the seller recognizes gain on the sale portion and may owe gift tax on the gifted portion, requiring careful basis allocation.
🎯 Free CTC Practice Tests
📖 CTC Guides & Articles
What Practice Test Geeks adds beyond an AI chat for CTC
An AI chatbot can quiz you, but it can't reproduce the exam conditions or keep your record. Here you get:
- A timed, full-length CTC mock exam — 100 questions in 180 minutes with a 75% pass mark, modeled on the official exam's question count and time limit, followed by a score report broken down by exam domain.
- A fixed CTC question bank: the same test every attempt, so your score is comparable from one try to the next instead of changing with every regenerated quiz.
- Progress saved on your device: completed tests, scores and missed questions stay in My Progress, so you can retake only what you got wrong.
- A printable CTC cheat sheet you can print or save as a PDF.
- CTC flashcards built from the same question bank.
- Free CTC practice tests with the correct answer shown after each question.
How this page was made: written with AI tools and published by Nathan Beja, founder of Practice Test Geeks, who is responsible for its content. Exam facts are checked against the official sources listed below. Not reviewed by a subject-matter expert. Editorial policy
Sources & references
Exam facts on this page (fees, format, dates, passing scores) are checked against these official sources; the date is our last check. Editorial policy
- certifiedtaxcoach.org — Score validity, eligibility, exam format, test delivery · verified Oct 2026