General ACCAACCA qualified - need tax experience - CTA??

Firstly,yes you can be both ACCA and CTA qualified.I don't see any downside from you taking qualification if you are prepared to put time and effort into studying for this qualification.It is well regarded.Of course certain skills such as negotiation with HMRC and dealing with clients can only really be learnt by undertaking them on the job.Effectively then there is no real downside to taking this qualification other than opportunity cost of time and effort which could be used for next best use.

From my understanding CTA goes into far more depth on tax than ACCA does. If you've passed P6/ATX you get an exemption for only the first CTA exam. You still have to take 5 further exams. If you haven't passed P6/ATX then you get no exemptions at all. That shows the comparative level of tax knowledge required between the two. It's quite common to do an accounting qualification and then the tax qualification afterwards. You can of course be a member of both - as long as you or your employer are prepared to pay two sets of fees!

Thank you for your replies. The main reason I wanted to do CTA was because even though I am an Acca member, I have no specific experience in any one things (ie audit/tax) etc. And eventually I like the idea of doing my own work on the side (not my own business full time, but just accounts/tax returns for local businesses in the small town where I live) Would you advise / recommend CTA for that reason? Thanks!

Hi anon. Thanks. Interesting you’re also Acca qualified and doing CTA? Can I ask why / what made you choose CTA? Unfortunately I never did p6 in Acca so unless I do that as an one off paper, that may cover the general points you think I need for my future instead of doing CTA? Interesting you also have to do CTA experience. That I didn’t know!!