Personal Tax Computer Based Exam

Shell B

Hello

I am revising for my personal tax exam which is early jan, but was wondering if someone who has already doen the exam could answer a couple of questions please.

1) What info are you suplied with at the start i.e are you given the personal allowance rates, car mileage, tax bands that kind of thing???

2) do you have to get 70% on both sections to pass or is it overall

3) what did you think to it, was it bloomin hard????

Any other tips that i may need would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Shell

Shell B

PTC Info

Hello

If there anyone who has done the online personal tax exam out there who would not mind putting my mind at ease on the pointers below i would much appreciate it.

thanks

Shell B

Bluewednesday

I haven't done the exam but there is a practice one on the website which should tell you most of what you need to know.

It doesn't tell you a pass mark though jsut a pass or fail, don't know if that's what happens with the live one.

jenny3549

Hi Shell,

Did mine today!

You are given all the rates etc like you would be in the paper based - you can click on a little icon to bring them up at any time.

You need to pass both sections ie get 70% in each.

I can only speak personally but I hated it. Would much prefer to have done the paper based. Most of it was true or false or pick the correct answer type things which would have been fine if some of them hadn't been so ambiguous or badly worded that you had to guess what they meant.

Honestly, I felt as though that was a really poor test of my knowledge - there was hardly anything in the way of proper calculations - it was more like a theory exam than a practical one.

Sorry, don't mean to put you off! I was just very disappointed given the amount of study I put in. Don't necessarily think I failed - it just felt like a let down!

Good luck with yours.

Susan Dennis

O ay I don't like the sound of these CBAs bring back the good old paper and pen exams!!!

anniebabe

wheres the thumbs up button when we need one - i agree, bring back paper exams.

keane155

I agree - or we should have the choice of computer based or paper based. I would choose paper based.

Matt444

I think the CBAs are good in that they assess much more of the syllabus than you would cover in a paper based exam because of the drop downs and true / false, but it seems from looking into CBAs that they don't go into as much depth on the core areas.

I certainly don't think they are an easier option...what does everybody else think?

SusieQtips

jenny3549 wrote: »

Hi Shell,

Did mine today!

You are given all the rates etc like you would be in the paper based - you can click on a little icon to bring them up at any time.

You need to pass both sections ie get 70% in each.

I can only speak personally but I hated it. Would much prefer to have done the paper based. Most of it was true or false or pick the correct answer type things which would have been fine if some of them hadn't been so ambiguous or badly worded that you had to guess what they meant.

Honestly, I felt as though that was a really poor test of my knowledge - there was hardly anything in the way of proper calculations - it was more like a theory exam than a practical one.

Sorry, don't mean to put you off! I was just very disappointed given the amount of study I put in. Don't necessarily think I failed - it just felt like a let down!

Good luck with yours.

I took mine on Friday and I agree totally with everything you say. Questions very ambiguous, felt i was tested on very minor things and the major subjects were not covered. Like you I felt let down after the amount of study I put in. One of my questions wasn't even covered in my text book. I'm expecting a fail.

keane155

Matt444 wrote: »

I think the CBAs are good in that they assess much more of the syllabus than you would cover in a paper based exam because of the drop downs and true / false, but it seems from looking into CBAs that they don't go into as much depth on the core areas.

I certainly don't think they are an easier option...what does everybody else think?

I personally really don't like the multiple choice true false questions - it wasn't really testing skills that I had learnt, I didn't understand some of the questions - so having to guess true or false on what I thought the question meant wasn't great. I like the long questions on the paper based, the ones where you have to do calculations and use the knowledge that I have learnt - the ones where questions make sense and they are testing more calculations. Just my opinion though.

anniebabe

yes, i think we should have an option. really think that the AAT havent thought about it properly.

Dipak Thanki

I have mines on Friday, I think that it's unfair that the big questions don't come up. When you have done revision you really want to go ahead and nail the big questions.

Someone could just turn up to the exam pick a random answer, get it right and pass, and someone who revised can fail.

Could be very harsh.

miskysbabe

The books should have the full information for exams.

SusieQtips wrote: »

I took mine on Friday and I agree totally with everything you say. Questions very ambiguous, felt i was tested on very minor things and the major subjects were not covered. Like you I felt let down after the amount of study I put in. One of my questions wasn't even covered in my text book. I'm expecting a fail.

In my ECR exam the other year, I got really angry about a question and exercise that was not in my study books - Osbourne - and I think something should be done about that. It is all very well tutors saying get your info from different sources, but how do you know what you are missing from your studies? And personally I can't afford to buy multiple books on the same subject.
I find PCR has such stupidly worded questions. What are they trying to test you on? I want to learn something that will help me in my job not sit there for half an hour trying to work out what the hell they want!
Very disappointed... rant over.

katie2008

I think I know which ecr question you mean!

as far as im concerned, the college tell me what books to buy, and I only purchase those!