ACCA TX exam technique

How the TX exam is built

Taxation is a three-hour computer-based exam worth 100 marks, with a pass mark of 50%. Section A has 15 two-mark objective-test questions (30 marks). Section B has three ten-mark objective-test cases (30 marks). Section C has one ten-mark and two 15-mark constructed-response questions (40 marks). The TX-UK syllabus and study guide says the two 15-mark questions focus on income tax and corporation tax, and that tax rates, allowances and information on certain reliefs are given in the exam. TX is set in variants: the examples here come from the TX-UK examiner's reports, so if you sit another variant, check its own syllabus and study guide.

The biggest single block is a 15-mark Section C question, worth about 27 minutes at 1.8 minutes a mark; a ten-mark case or question is worth about 18. In TX the time is often lost not on hard technical points but on longer methods than the question needs.

Where TX candidates lose marks

The TX examiner's reports are specific about presentation and method.

• Ignoring presentation instructions. Candidates are told to indicate with a zero (0) any item that needs no adjustment. In one question there was a single such item, "a very easy half mark for a candidate to overlook by not doing as instructed".
• Unclear signs. Candidates who added totals cell by cell (A1 + A2 + A3) "invariably had problems when it came to negative entries", and markers sometimes could not tell whether a figure was a plus or a minus.
• Doing more work than needed. With both capital allowance pools at £0, "it should have been fairly obvious that a full capital allowances computation was not necessary". Elsewhere, a full computation reached the right answer but took "several minutes longer". Candidates never lose marks for this, the examiner says, but "effectively penalise themselves by taking more time than necessary".
• Over-writing a brief requirement. "Briefly explain FOUR of the badges of trade" meant the name of each badge plus a very brief explanation; the model answer uses fewer than ten words per badge. One detailed answer instead of four brief ones would have earned a single half mark.
• Unlabelled multi-year workings. Where two or more tax years are involved, "it is important to show to which year workings relate".
• Question spotting. Section A aims for broad coverage, and the report advises revising all areas rather than trying to predict topics.

The TX technique that works

1. Fix the variant, the taxpayer and the period first. Before any calculation, note whose tax, which tax and which tax year or accounting period the requirement names. A 16-month period of account, for example, is not one accounting period for corporation tax.
2. Lay out a single-column computation. The model answers show the most appropriate format: one column, with separate workings only where needed, such as capital allowances or a chargeable gain. Enter deductions as negative figures, label each row, and total with =SUM so that both the treatment and the arithmetic are visible.
3. Follow every presentation instruction. If the template says to show exempt or unadjusted items as 0, do it for each one. These are some of the easiest marks in the paper.
4. Match depth to the verb and the marks. Use the verb, the number of requested points and the marks to judge depth. In the report's badges-of-trade example, four brief explanations shared two marks; each needed the badge's name and a short explanation.
5. Look for the short route. If an opening balance is nil, or a figure is already given, use it. As general exam craft, ask before each computation whether the requirement needs the whole pro forma or only one line of it.
6. Label years and keep moving. Use a heading or column for each tax year. If you are stuck on one adjustment, make a sensible assumption, note it and complete the computation rather than leaving it unfinished: the remaining lines carry their own marks.

Check your TX technique

The interactive check below asks you to make TX-style decisions under the same pressures: setting out a computation, following a template instruction, choosing between a full pro forma and a shortcut, recovering when a question overruns. It scores you per habit rather than per technical answer, and saves your latest result on this device, plus your account if you are signed in. A good first run is one you answer as you would in the exam. Read the debrief, change one habit, and retake.

Before the exam

In the final week, sit a full mock on the ACCA Practice Platform using the spreadsheet for every computation, and compare your layout with the model answer. On the day, check that your exam docket shows the variant you have prepared for, note your start time, and read each Section C requirement before you read its scenario.