Fellow ATX-UK takers

@f6ali said:
I was wondering who else is attempting ATX-UK in September 2020. I am yet to start proper preparation for the exam and am interested to see how other students are doing.

Any response is greatly appreciated.

I am sitting ATX-UK in September 2020. To be honest with you, I started going through the study text in early March and I will finish it this week. The reason I started so early is that I will probably sit SBR-UK as well in September (already ordered the books). I am using Kaplan for study text and BPP for revision and my plan is to finish the BPP kit by early June. I also ordered the Kaplan revision kit last week (first time I am using the revision kit from both publishers), so that I can practice ATX questions and retain as much as possible while I am going through the SBR syllabus (by the way, Kaplan has an amazing cheat sheet which has all the deadlines for HMRC for claims, penalties, and fines – I wanted this part cause ATX questions in the exam might come in a form of advisory and the client might ask when they should make a claim or when they can pay, etc).

Based on what I’ve seen, almost the entire book is a revision of the TX syllabus, with about 10% being additional content (every chapter starts with “this is basically a revision of the TX knowledge on Inheritance Tax, the only new thing is added for ATX is BPR and APR”). There are some notable exceptions, however, such as the overseas aspect of tax which is not examinable in TX. Overall, I think it’s definitely doable – for me, the virus has freed up a lot of space from my work commute since I work from home now and my study schedule has become much more flexible.

I do suggest that you start studying rather early though. If it wasn’t for the virus, I don’t think I would have been able to finish and comprehend both the study the revision kit based on the amount of knowledge you need to retain. Although it’s mostly previous knowledge from TX, the volume is too much. For TX, I spent 3 months on both study and revision and got 69. I think for this one, an extra month might be needed. Again, study types vary and other people may be more efficient.

If you have any more questions, just let me know.

Thanks!

@f6ali said:
Thanks alot for your response.

I started late because my classes started late. I am a full time student so i tend to study with the classes. I initially took classes for June 2020 attempt, but due to the corona outbreak, all classes were shifted to September 2020. Plus the book shops are still closed in my country and there’s no Amazon to call for help. The restrictions have just started to be lifted temporarily so i ordered Kaplan Study Text and Exam Kit, which arrived yesterday. All these factors contributed to starting so late despite having a lot of time.

Looking at your situation, taking SBR and ATX together is a huge burden. Both of them have very large syllabi. In SBR you have to remember what standards guide and how to apply them in exam questions. Each standard has its own set of rules and a number of them have quite complex issues. I struggled to remember specific details when i attempted SBR in December 2019. Somehow i managed to get over the line.

Regarding ATX, it is even bigger syllabus plus it is more detail-oriented than SBR. You must feel like Superman while preparing for both!

I understand…the whole pandemic brought a weird period to be honest, even in my company all classes were canceled but the online courses were still up. Nevertheless, I like to see this as an opportunity. Although my company offers study support, I self-study which takes a lot more time. As I am writing this, it’s 00:45 and I literally just finished another chapter in the book. However, if there was a commute to and back from work during the day, I would not have been able to do that, but, since I work from home now, I have more time to study. There were talks in the company to rotate us 1 day in the office and 4 days home as they lift the lockdown measures which I think will buy me enough time to start SBR as well.

As for SBR, I got the book today and it doesn’t look that bad. About half the size of the ATX book, and more or less familiar topics so I am not that worried about it. I will start the SBR study text once I am done with the first ATX revision kit. At the end of the day, it will also depend on how the ATX revision goes. If it becomes challenging, I might just drop SBR mid-summer and just focus on ATX, not the first time I have done that. But given the fact that the lockdown has freed up so much time, I think it’s doable.

@f6ali said:
Very sensible approach, especially considering that all of us are economically hit by the pandemic to some extent and are forced to spend wisely. Both the exams are expensive and attempting both together is a bigger financial burden than in normal circumstances.

Anyways, good luck with your preparation. I hope and pray that this pandemic is over soon and things get back to normal.
Stay safe.

You too mate, good luck!