CPA exam and license
CPA exam sections: the Core, the Disciplines and the fees still to pay
Three CPA exam sections are the same for everyone: Auditing (AUD), Financial accounting (FAR) and Tax and regulation (REG). You choose the fourth among Business analysis (BAR), Information systems (ISC) and Tax compliance (TCP). Say how many you have passed to see the section fees left to pay.
Independent site: not run by, or affiliated with, any body that sets these exams or charges these fees.
CPA sections: what is left to pay
Example, not your result yet· change a figure to see yours
Example, not your plan yet (no section passed, no retake): section fees left to pay
$1,074
| Sections still to pass | 4 |
| Sections not yet passed: 4 × $268.59 | $1,074 |
| Retakes you expect: 0 × $268.59 | none typed |
| Tries left to book | 4 |
Choose how many sections you have passed and type the retakes you expect. The fourth section, the one you pick among three topics, costs the same as the others. State board fees are not in this figure. Pass rates for each section are published by the AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants), which writes the exam; this site does not copy them, so retakes are the ones you type.
Since the CPA Evolution model took effect in 2024, every candidate sits four sections of 4 hours each. Three form the Core and are the same for everyone: Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) and Taxation and Regulation (REG). The fourth is a Discipline the candidate chooses: Business Analysis and Reporting (BAR), Information Systems and Controls (ISC) or Tax Compliance and Planning (TCP). The choice does not change the license you receive, and it does not change the price: each section costs $268.59 a try, so the four come to $1,074 if each is passed the first time. What changes the bill is the number of retakes. Pass rates for each section are published by the AICPA; this site links to them without copying them, and lets you type the retakes you expect instead.
Fees read and totals checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
The three Core sections
- AUD, Auditing and Attestation: the audit process, evidence, reporting and professional responsibilities.
- FAR, Financial Accounting and Reporting: financial statements under US GAAP, for business, government and not-for-profit entities.
- REG, Taxation and Regulation: federal taxation, business law and ethics.
Topic descriptions follow the AICPA’s CPA Exam overview; its Blueprints give the detailed content and weights for each section, and they change from one year to the next.
The three Disciplines
- BAR, Business Analysis and Reporting: for candidates leaning toward financial reporting and analysis.
- ISC, Information Systems and Controls: for those in systems, data and controls.
- TCP, Tax Compliance and Planning: for those who work in tax or plan to.
Each Discipline costs the same $268.59 a try and lasts 4 hours, like the Core sections. Passing the Core and any one of the three leads to the same license.
What the pass rates can and cannot tell you
Pass rates are published by the AICPA on its scoring and pass rates page, one cumulative figure per section. This site does not copy them, since the AICPA’s terms limit their use to personal purposes; the pass rates page explains how to turn the rate you read there into tries and fees. A pass rate measures the group that sits the section as much as the section itself: each Discipline is chosen mostly by people from its own field, and the AICPA does not publish rates by candidate background. A rate cannot tell you whether you would do better in one Discipline than in another.
Pick the Discipline that matches your job. The fee is the same whichever you pick; failing a section in a field you do not work in costs another fee and months of study.
Exam time and scheduling
Each section is a 4-hour exam taken at a test center. You apply through your state board, pay the section fees to NASBA, then book each section. The money side of the whole process, board fees included, is on the CPA exam cost page; the education and experience you need for the license are on the CPA requirements page.
A budget for the sections left
The tool above counts what remains. Choose how many sections you have already passed and type the retakes you expect: each section not yet passed and each retake costs $268.59. With none passed and no retake, the four sections come to $1,074; with two passed and one retake expected, three tries remain, $806. Keep in mind the credit window of your board: a passed section stays valid only for a set time while you finish the others, and a section that lapses has to be paid again.