Take the Association of Taxation Technicians’ exams to achieve the essential tax qualification for anyone working in tax compliance. We support you from day one with our proven study programmes and unparalleled tax and training experts.
How the ATT qualification works
To become a member of the ATT, students must sit and pass three tax papers, three Computer Based Examinations (CBEs) and have two years of practical experience.
The ATT qualification is structured as follows:
Tax papers
There are two compulsory core papers and you choose the third non-core paper based on your area of specialism. These papers are sat in May and November each year and are completed online. The exams are open book allowing you to refer to any books, study manuals and online resources. For each paper passed, you are entitled to apply for a certificate of competency from the ATT. The papers are:
Compulsory core papers
- Paper 1 – Personal Taxation
- Paper 2 – Business Taxation
Choice of one non-core paper
- Paper 3 – Business Compliance
- Paper 4 – Corporate Taxation
- Paper 5 – IHT, Trusts & Estates
- Paper 6 – VAT
All papers can also test elements of Law and Ethics and some can also test some Accounting.
The papers are split into short form questions (40%) and between three and six longer style questions (60%). These are a mixture of computational and explanatory questions. Each paper is three and a half hours in length.
From May 2025, there will no longer be any short form questions, and Accounting and Law will be removed from the Certificate exams. They will be examined only via the Computer Based Examinations. Further information on these changes can be viewed here
The pass mark for each paper is 50%. The results are released in January for the November examinations and July for the May examinations.
Computer Based Examinations (CBEs)
Students must also sit and pass three CBEs in:
- Law
- Principles of Accounting
- Professional Responsibilities & Ethics
Each Computer Based Examination is a one-hour online examination of multiple choice and multiple response questions, which you can sit at any time during the year either at a local exam centre or remotely at home. The remote exams are invigilated and no books may be taken into any CBE.
The pass mark for the CBEs is 60% and you receive the results from each exam straight after it is attempted.
Registration with the ATT
You must be at least 16 years old and must register as a student with the ATT at least four months before you can enter to sit any of the tax exams. So you must be registered by the end of December for the May examinations, and the end of June for the November examinations.
You must separately enter for each examination, by the end of February for the May examinations and the end of August for the November examinations. You can enter for the Computer Based Examinations at any time following the acceptance of your registration as a student.