ACA/CTA Joint Programme

Achieve both the ACA and the CTA in three to four years with the ICAEW and the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) Joint Programme. Ideal for students who want to specialise in one of three areas of tax.

Book A CTA Training Course

How the ACA CTA Joint Programme works

The following information is for the ACA CTA Joint Programme that is in place up to and including the May 2026 CTA exam session. Information about the Joint Programme from 1 July 2025 can be found further down the page. ICAEW students who have enrolled on the Joint Programme on or before 30 June will be subject to transitional rules.

The Joint Programme is one study programme to gain two highly valued professional qualifications – the ACA and CTA. This programme is ideal for those who want to specialise in tax. The three routes are:

  • Larger Companies and Groups – specialising in the tax affairs of large corporates (FTSE 350 companies)
  • Owner-Managed Businesses – specialising in the tax affairs of private businesses
  • Indirect Tax – specialising in VAT and other indirect tax

Under the Joint Programme, you need to study 14 out of the 15 ACA modules and choose one specialist CTA Advanced Technical Paper to gain the ACA qualification. The ACA Professional Level Business Planning: Taxation module is NOT sat under the Joint Programme.

The CTA Specialist Paper at this stage is a choice of one from these three CTA Advanced Technical papers depending on your area of specialisation:

  • Taxation of Larger Companies & Groups
  • Taxation of Owner-Managed Businesses
  • Domestic Indirect Taxation

You cannot sit your ACA Advanced Level Case Study module unless you have attempted your CTA Specialism paper.

To complete the Joint Programme, an additional CIOT paper must be sat along with the Professional Responsibilities and Ethics Computer Based Examination.

The additional CTA paper you can take can be:

  • One further CTA Advanced Technical paper; or
  • The CTA Application and Professional Skills Case Study; or
  • An Advanced Diploma in International Taxation (ADIT) paper;
    • either Paper 2.09 - United Kingdom option
    • or, Paper 2.10 – United States option.

All of the CTA papers are available to sit in May and November each year, and the ADIT papers are sat in June and December

Further details on the CTA papers and the ADIT papers

We also run Joint Programme bridging and booster courses. These are aimed at Joint Programme students doing their first CTA paper to assist in the transition from ACA to CTA exams

  • Bridging – covers topics that ACA students might not have seen but are assumed knowledge at CTA
  • Booster – as revision gets closer as well as revising key topics it also shows the sort of exam questions that can be expected at CTA

ACA CTA Joint Programme (1 July 2025 onwards)

Any students who enrolled with ICAEW for their ACA studies from 1st July 2025 will join the updated ACA CTA Joint Programme. ICAEW students who have enrolled on the Joint Programme on or before 30 June will be subject to transitional rules.

In total, there are 16 assessment in the updated ACA CTA Joint Programme. All students will now need to take the following CTA papers:

  • CTA Professional Responsibilities and Ethics,
  • CTA Tax Knowledge and Skills paper – Direct or Indirect Tax, and
  • one CTA Advanced level paper, being either an Advanced Technical or Application and Professional Skills paper from a selection of papers offered under the Joint Programme.

You will have the opportunity to specialise in one of three areas of tax:

  • Larger Companies and Groups
  • Owner-Managed Businesses
  • Indirect Tax

Tax Knowledge and Skills paper

Tolley Exam Training will be offering study materials and tuition and revision courses for the new Tax Knowledge and Skills paper. The first sitting will be in November 2026 and further details will be available in due course.

To find out more about the updated programme, view the ACA CTA Joint Programme Frequently Asked Questions.