ATT (Association of Taxation Technicians) - 6 exams. Awarding body is the ATT.

Summary

  • 2 exams:

    Paper 1 Personal Taxation

    Paper 2 Business Taxation

    Each exam is 3.5 hours long

    To pass an Online Exam, you are required to achieve 50% of the total marks available.

  • 1 exam of the following:

    Paper 3 Business Compliance

    Paper 4 Corporate Taxation

    Paper 5 Inheritance Tax, Trusts and Estates

    Paper 6 VAT

    Each exam is 3.5 hours long

    To pass an Online Exam, you are required to achieve 50% of the total marks available.

  • 3 exams:

    Law

    Professional Responsibilities & Ethics

    Principles of Accounting

    Each exam is 1 hour long

    To pass a CBE you will need to correctly answer 60% of the questions set.

If you are studying via a Level 4 apprenticeship (typically 18-24 months), you will need to complete an End Point Assessment, a training log to record your work and development, and be working a minimum of 30 hours per week. You will need 2 years of practical tax experience to apply for AAT membership!

Compulsory Online Exams.

There are 2 compulsory certificate exams. Each is 3.5 hours. To pass a certificate exam you are required to achieve 50% of the total marks available. The exam is attempted on-screen as a typed exam using your own computer. Certificate exams in 2024 are a mixture of computational and written questions and no question choice.

Paper 1: Personal Taxation.

  • Preparing the information of income and capital gains to be included in the SA personal tax return and any associated computations.

  • Submitting the return and computations under UK self assessment.

  • Completing a client’s claim for tax credits.


Paper 2: Business Taxation.

  • Preparing the information to be included in SA tax returns for sole traders or partners.

  • Preparing the information to be included in the SA partnership tax return.

  • Preparing the information to be included in CTSA returns for companies.

  • Preparing any associated computations in relation to the above.

  • Submitting returns and computations under self assessment and CTSA.

Optional Online Exams.

There is 1 Optional Online exam. It is 3.5 hours. You have a choice of 4 exams. To pass a certificate exam you are required to achieve 50% of the total marks available. The exam is attempted on-screen as a typed exam using your own computer. Certificate exams in 2024 are a mixture of computational and written questions and no question choice.

Paper 3: Business Compliance.

  • Dealing with employer obligations under PAYE, NIC and related matters under the tax system.

  • Dealing with business compliance obligations for sole traders, partnerships and companies

  • Completing and submitting VAT returns.

Paper 6: VAT.

  • Preparing the information to be included in the VAT Return for a taxable trader.

  • Computing any annual or periodic adjustments to be included in a VAT return.

  • Being aware of any special schemes available for taxable traders generally, and to be able to complete returns where such schemes apply.

Paper 4: Corporate Taxation.

  • Dealing with all aspects of the Paper 2 syllabus in more complex situations. This paper is not intended to be a corporation tax paper, rather it will focus on the taxes that affect corporate businesses and their owners.

Paper 5: Inheritance Tax, Trusts & Estates.

  • Preparing the information to be included in the SA Trust & Estate Tax Return.

  • Preparing any associated computations in relation to the above.

  • Submitting the return and computations under UK self assessment.

Compulsory Computer Based Exams (CBEs).

There are 3 Compulsory Computer Based Exams. Each is 1 hour. They will be made up of a mixture from four different types of question: multiple choice, multiple response, drop and drag, and select from a list. Each question type is worth one mark. At least 60% of the responses to the questions must be correct to pass each CBE. CBEs can be sat at a test centre or remotely.

Law.

  • Successful completion of this CBE will involve you being able to demonstrate your understanding of those areas of the law that are likely to impact upon a taxation practitioner’s duties, including the legal framework within which they will operate. You should also understand the law relating to businesses, property, trusts, wills and intestacy.

    Scottish candidates may present answers based on Scottish legal equivalents within the syllabus.

Professional Responsibilities & Ethics.

  • Successful completion of this CBE will involve you being able to demonstrate your understanding of the ethical framework within which a taxation practitioner operates and their legal obligations regarding money laundering.

Accounting.

  • Successful completion of this CBE will involve you being able to demonstrate your understanding of those areas of accounting that are likely to impact upon a tax practitioner’s duties. You should understand how accounting applies to sole traders, partnerships and companies, and how users of accounts can analyse performance of a business.

This information and more can be found on the ATT website