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Free CPA Exam practice · Next

Free CPA Exam practice questions for AUD, FAR, REG and your Discipline

The CPA Exam is four separate four-hour sections: three Core sections, AUD, FAR and REG, plus one Discipline you choose from BAR, ISC or TCP. You need a 75 on each, reported by AICPA on a 0–99 scale that is not a percentage correct. Published 2025 section pass rates ran from 41.94% on BAR to 77.65% on TCP.

Formally the Uniform CPA Examination. Awarding body: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and NASBA. Neuron Trainer is an independent study app and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the organization that owns this exam.

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CPA Exam at a glance, with the source for every line

Every row below is quoted from a document published by AICPA and carries the date we checked it. Where AICPA publishes nothing, the row says so instead of quoting a number from somewhere else.

Structure
Three four-hour Core sections (AUD, FAR, REG) plus one four-hour Discipline section you choose from BAR, ISC or TCP.Source: AICPA & CIMA, verified 7 August 2026
Total testing time
A four-section, 16-hour assessment, four hours per section.Source: AICPA & CIMA, verified 7 August 2026
Passing score
A minimum of 75 on each section.Source: AICPA & CIMA, verified 7 August 2026Checked against AICPA & CIMA: the 75 is AICPA’s published minimum section score on its 0–99 scale, which AICPA states is not a percentage correct. It is unrelated to the app’s 75% in-app practice threshold.
Score scale
Scores are reported on a scale from 0 to 99. AICPA states the reported score “does not represent a percentage correct, nor can you interpret it as such.”Source: AICPA & CIMA, verified 7 August 2026
How it is scored
Scaled scores on the multiple-choice and task-based-simulation portions are calculated using formulas that account for whether the question was answered correctly and the relative difficulty of each question.Source: AICPA & CIMA, verified 7 August 2026
Published pass rates (calendar 2025)
AUD 48.21% · FAR 42.12% · REG 63.12% · BAR 41.94% · ISC 67.79% · TCP 77.65%.Source: AICPA & CIMA, verified 7 August 2026
Published pass rates (2026 year to date)
AUD 48.65% · FAR 42.95% · REG 66.78% · BAR 43.64% · ISC 67.45% · TCP 79.53%.Source: AICPA & CIMA, verified 7 August 2026
Exam fee
Not published by AICPA. There is no single national CPA Exam fee. Section fees and application fees are set by the state board of accountancy you apply through, so we do not publish a number.Checked against: AICPA & CIMA, verified 7 August 2026
Credit window
Not published by AICPA. How long a passed section stays valid is set by your state board of accountancy, not by AICPA. Check your board before you plan a four-section sequence.Checked against: AICPA & CIMA, verified 7 August 2026
Questions
Not published by AICPA. AICPA’s own CPA Exam scoring article describes each section as a weighted combination of multiple-choice questions and task-based simulations and states no question count for any section.Checked against: AICPA & CIMA, Learn more about CPA Exam scoring and pass rates, verified 7 August 2026

Always verify: section fees, application fees and the credit window for passed sections come from your state board of accountancy, not from AICPA. Confirm the current rules with your board before you plan your four-section sequence.

What our CPA Exam question bank covers

What this app's question bank covers — our own category shares across 649 questions, not AICPA's published blueprint.
CategoryQuestions in our bankShare of our bank
AUD - Auditing & Attestation
GAAS, AICPA professional standards, risk assessment, internal control, audit evidence, reporting
16225%
FAR - Financial Accounting & Reporting
US GAAP / IFRS for for-profit, governmental (GASB), and not-for-profit entities
19530%
REG - Regulation
Federal taxation (individuals & entities), business law, ethics, professional responsibilities
16225%
Discipline (BAR / ISC / TCP)
Business Analysis & Reporting, Information Systems & Controls, or Tax Compliance & Planning - pick one
13020%

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

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4 questions from our CPA Exam bank

Four questions from the 649 inside the app, one from each section. Every answer carries the full explanation, including why each distractor is wrong.

CPA Exam · Free practice Every answer explained. No signup, no email wall.

  1. Question 1 of 4

    Which of the following is NOT one of the five components of internal control identified in the COSO Internal Control–Integrated Framework?
    Answer and explanation

    Correct answer: Segregation of duties

    The five COSO components are control environment, risk assessment, control activities, information and communication, and monitoring activities. Segregation of duties is a specific example of a control activity, not a standalone component of the framework itself, making it the correct answer to this negatively worded item. Control environment, risk assessment, and monitoring activities are each genuine, named components of the framework, so they are incorrect distractors here.

  2. Question 2 of 4

    During a period of steadily rising prices, which inventory costing method results in the highest ending inventory balance on the balance sheet?
    Answer and explanation

    Correct answer: FIFO

    Under FIFO, the earliest (lowest-cost) units are assumed sold first, leaving the most recently purchased (highest-cost) units in ending inventory, which maximizes the reported inventory value during inflation. LIFO leaves the oldest, cheapest units in ending inventory, understating it relative to current costs. Weighted-average blends costs, producing a figure between FIFO and LIFO. Specific identification tracks actual unit costs and isn't systematically higher or lower based on price trends.

  3. Question 3 of 4

    Which of the following is deducted from gross income to arrive at a taxpayer's adjusted gross income (AGI)?
    Answer and explanation

    Correct answer: Traditional IRA contribution deduction

    The deductible traditional IRA contribution is an 'above-the-line' deduction under IRC §62, meaning it reduces gross income directly to arrive at AGI, regardless of whether the taxpayer itemizes. Mortgage interest, state and local taxes, and charitable contributions are all itemized (below-the-line) deductions taken on Schedule A only if the taxpayer chooses to itemize instead of taking the standard deduction, so they reduce AGI, not comprise it.

  4. Question 4 of 4

    A user entity's auditor needs assurance about the design AND operating effectiveness of a cloud service provider's security controls over a period of several months. Which report should the service provider furnish?
    Answer and explanation

    Correct answer: SOC 2 Type II

    A SOC 2 Type II report addresses the Trust Services Criteria (security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, privacy) and reports on both the design and operating effectiveness of controls over a specified period, which is exactly what's needed here. SOC 1 reports focus on controls relevant to user entities' financial reporting, not general security. Type I reports (whether SOC 1 or SOC 2) only address design as of a point in time, not operating effectiveness over a period. SOC 3 is a general-use summary report lacking the detailed control testing found in SOC 2.

What actually trips people up on the CPA Exam

Governmental and not-for-profit accounting inside FAR

FAR is the largest slice of our bank at 195 questions, and the governmental piece uses fund accounting and modified accrual rather than the for-profit GAAP you spent your degree on. It is a second set of rules wearing the same vocabulary, and it is where candidates who “know accounting” lose points.

The four audit report opinions

Unmodified, qualified, adverse and disclaimer are decided by two words: material and pervasive. Material but not pervasive gives you a qualified opinion; material and pervasive gives you adverse. Get the pair straight and a whole family of AUD questions collapses into one decision.

Above-the-line versus itemized deductions

REG questions constantly ask what happens above the AGI line versus below it. A traditional IRA contribution reduces gross income to get to AGI; mortgage interest, state taxes and charitable gifts only help you if you itemize. The line itself is the tested concept.

Choosing a Discipline for the wrong reason

People pick a Discipline by name association rather than by fit, and BAR is the usual default. AICPA’s own 2025 numbers put BAR at 41.94% and TCP at 77.65%. Pick the one that matches the work you actually do, and read the published rates before you commit.

How long to study: one section at a time

Plan around sections, not around the CPA. Roughly five weeks of drilling per section then sit it, which is the shape below. Our bank holds 649 questions split 195 FAR · 162 AUD · 162 REG · 130 Discipline, so the section you pick decides how much material you are actually facing.

Weeks 1–5: one Core section

Pick the section closest to your day job and run Topic Drill on its categories until every one is green. Read the explanation on the questions you get right too, because the distractor analysis is where the second-order rules live.

Week 6: simulate and sit

Run full timed simulations until your readiness score stops moving, then book. Sitting one section while it is fresh beats carrying three half-prepared sections.

Repeat for the remaining two Core sections

Same loop. Check your state board’s credit window before you space them out.

Discipline last

By then you know which of BAR, ISC or TCP fits how you think. Read AICPA’s published pass rates, choose, then give it the same five-week loop.

Is the CPA Exam hard?

AICPA publishes the answer rather than making you guess. In calendar 2025 the section pass rates were FAR 42.12%, BAR 41.94%, AUD 48.21%, REG 63.12%, ISC 67.79% and TCP 77.65%. The spread is the story: the same candidates pass TCP at nearly twice the rate they pass FAR, so “the CPA Exam is hard” is really “FAR and BAR are hard.”

None of that is a curve against other candidates. AICPA states that scaled scores account for whether each question was answered correctly and for the relative difficulty of that question, so a harder form does not punish you and a weak cohort does not rescue you. The other reason it is hard has nothing to do with content: it is four separate four-hour sittings, 16 hours of testing spread over months, with a credit window your state board controls. Sustaining that is a scheduling problem as much as a study problem, and it is why sitting one section fully prepared beats carrying three at 70%.

Our own bank reflects the difficulty spread rather than flattening it: of 649 questions, 397 sit at difficulty 3 or 4. If the early drills feel easy, that is the gentler end of the bank warming you up.

How the CPA Exam differs from the exams beside it

Every other exam on this site is one sitting. The CPA is four, taken months apart, and the clock on your passed sections is set by your state board rather than by AICPA. That makes sequencing a real strategic decision, not an afterthought. It is also the only exam here where the sponsor publishes a pass rate for each section, so you can pick your Discipline with data instead of folklore.

Questions people actually ask about the CPA Exam

How many sections is the CPA Exam and how long is each one?

Four sections, four hours each, which is 16 hours of testing in total. Three are Core (AUD, FAR, REG) and one is a Discipline you choose from BAR, ISC or TCP. AICPA publishes this structure directly.

What score do you need to pass the CPA Exam?

A 75 on each section. AICPA reports scores on a 0–99 scale and states plainly that the number is not a percentage correct, so “75%” is the wrong way to think about it. Scores are set against a standard, not against the other candidates in your window.

Is the CPA Exam hard?

AICPA publishes the answer instead of leaving you to guess. In calendar 2025 FAR passed at 42.12% and BAR at 41.94%, while TCP passed at 77.65%. The same candidate pool clears TCP at nearly twice the rate it clears FAR, so difficulty here is a section-by-section question rather than one number.

Which CPA Discipline section is easiest?

AICPA publishes the numbers rather than leaving you guessing: in calendar 2025, TCP passed 77.65%, ISC 67.79% and BAR 41.94%. Rates are not difficulty on their own, but they are the only sponsor-published signal you have.

How long should I study for one CPA section?

Long enough to sit that section fully prepared, then start the next one. We will not quote a total, because the clock that matters is your state board’s credit window and AICPA does not set it. What we can size is the volume: our bank holds 649 questions split 195 FAR, 162 AUD, 162 REG and 130 Discipline.

How long do I have to pass all four sections?

That is set by your state board of accountancy, not by AICPA, and it varies. Confirm your board’s credit window before you plan the order. It is the single most expensive thing to get wrong.

What does the CPA Exam cost?

There is no national fee. Section fees and application fees come from the state board you apply through, so we do not publish a number here. Your board’s website is the only source that will be right for you.

Are these real questions from the actual CPA Exam?

No. That would violate exam security and is not something we would do. These are original questions written to the same structure and difficulty, each with a full explanation of why the right answer is right and why the distractors are wrong.

Practice another Next exam

Business, academic & admissions. Every one of these pages is built the same way: sourced facts, an honest admission where the sponsor publishes nothing, and free practice questions.

The app

The CPA Exam app is still in development

The CPA app ships 649 questions across all four sections, split 195 FAR, 162 AUD, 162 REG and 130 Discipline, each with a full written explanation. Smart Quiz targets the categories you keep missing, Topic Drill lets you grind one area, and the Exam Simulator runs a fixed-length timed paper so you practice the clock rather than just the content. There is a built-in calculator for the numeric-entry items and an AI tutor that will re-explain a question in plain English. One thing to be straight about: the CPA app is not on the App Store yet. It is in development, the roadmap page tracks where it sits in the release order, and the shipped build will follow the same model as our live apps, free to start with a subscription for unlimited AI explanations and the whole bank.

  • Smart Quiz — keeps returning to the categories you keep missing
  • Topic Drill — one category at a time, on its own
  • Exam Simulator — a fixed-length timed paper (78 questions in 240 minutes, as this app sets it). It does not get harder as you go; the length and the mix are fixed.
  • AI tutor — re-explains any question in plain English
  • Progress tracking, reported per category
  • On-screen calculator
  • Study reminders
  • Light and dark themes

The app calls you ready at 75% on its own simulator. That is an in-app practice target we chose, not AICPA's passing standard.

Not on the App Store yet. This one is still in development, so there is nothing to download today. The practice questions above are the whole of what we can give you right now, and they are free and complete. See where it sits in the queue, or browse the apps that are live.

Four sections. One app.

The questions on this page are free, with no signup and nothing to install. When the app lands you will be able to drill FAR, AUD, REG and your Discipline in one place, with a readiness score per section so you know which one to book next.

See the apps that are live

Sources, and when we last checked them

This page was last reviewed on . The 7 facts quoted above were last checked against their sources on . Where AICPA publishes nothing, the table above says so rather than guessing.

CPA Exam and Uniform CPA Examination are administered by the AICPA and NASBA. Neuron Trainer is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by either body; the names are used descriptively to identify the exam this app prepares you for.