CTA qualification

Take the Chartered Tax Adviser exam and achieve the gold standard in tax. Our training programme helps you prepare and decide the right route for your specialism.

  • Proven track record for securing exceedingly high pass rates
  • Some of the most well-known and experienced tutors in the country
  • Guaranteed Pass Scheme to keep you motivated and on track

Book a CTA exam training course



Dates and prices
Download Exam Training brochure

CTA Logo

Important notice: Coronavirus

In light of the current situation, all tuition courses for the May 2021 ATT and CTA exams will be run as Online Tuition Live (OTL).  We will continue to monitor the situation to determine whether it is safe to run a reduced number of face to face revision courses from April 2021 onwards.

All 2021 ADIT tuition and revision courses will now be run as Online Tuition Live (OTL).

See our FAQS for further information

Dates and
prices

Our upcoming course dates and prices will help you to plan ahead and organise your schedule.

See dates and prices

How you'll qualify

To become a member of the CIOT, you must sit and pass four written papers (two Advanced Technical papers, the Awareness paper and the Application and Professional Skills paper), three online Computer Based Examinations and have three years' practical experience.

CTA Prospectus and Syllabus

The CTA qualification

You must register as a student with the Chartered Institute of Taxation at least four months before you can apply to sit the exams. So you must be registered by the end of December for the May examination, and the end of June for the November examination.

How the CTA qualification works

Exam registration

Exam sittings take place twice a year. Register by the end of February 2020 for the May 2020 sitting and by the end of August 2020 for the November 2020 sitting.

I know what papers I want to book


With our flexible study options, you can book your papers individually or together. You can also assign different sittings that fit around you.

Start booking your CTA tax training course

Help me understand what papers to take


Our expert trainers are on hand with practical advice on what papers you should take, and in what order, to help you succeed.

More about CTA training papers

If you have any queries about any aspect of your studies, please give us a call.


Telephone: 020 3364 4500

Download our Exam Training brochure for more information about studying for this qualification.


Download Exam Training brochure

Study options

One of the reasons for our students’ excellent exam results is the wide range of study options that we offer.

Online Tuition Live


Tolley’s Online Tuition Live (OTL) provides you with the same high-quality teaching you receive in the classroom but with the added flexibility of joining from the comfort of your own home or office.



Find out more

Guaranteed Pass Scheme


Ensuring you have the ability and confidence to pass first time with Tolley.
The scheme combines our tuition and revision courses. All eligible students enrolled on this programme will be given one free distance learning and revision course, if, in the unlikely event, they fail their examinations.

One FREE

Distance learning and revision course

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Distance
learning

Study in your own time, at your own pace. When you sign up for a distance learning course, you will receive a wealth of targeted material written by our own tutors.

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Taught
classes

Kick start your studies by attending our taught classroom courses. Presented by experienced tutors, these classes explain technical topics in a straightforward way, focusing on the key areas for the examination.

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Revision
courses

Fine tune your technical knowledge and practice your exam technique with our question-based revision. Maximise your knowledge with a course that focuses on question practice and best approach.

More about our study options

Ready to book?

Our study options let you book papers individually, or together, and assign different sittings that fit around you.

Book a CTA training course

Our CTA November 2019 pass rates

We are confident our pass rates will continue to significantly surpass the national average and our wide range of study options help to achieve this.

 Tolley Exam Training*National Average
Awareness80% 67%
Technical73% 46%
Application70% 55%

* Pass rates for those enrolled on the Guaranteed Pass Scheme

Meet Tolley’s CTA training tutors

Our training tutors are made up of the most respected tax industry experts in the country.

Jonathan Coletta

Jonathan joined the Exam Training team at Tolley in July 2015 and teaches on courses across all of the tax qualifications.

Karen Bullen

Karen is a senior tutor teaching on all Association of Taxation Technicians and the Chartered Taxation Advisor (CTA) qualification the exams. She is also responsible for the VAT Compliance Diploma as lead tutor / writer / examiner.

Liz Halford

Liz is head of the Bristol Centre and provides an unrivalled level of service to local clients and students, and manages the teaching resource nationally. She also teaches on all of the ATT papers, and CTA papers for Tolley.

Juliet Smith

Juliet joined Tolley Exam training in 2017 as a senior tutor after over 10 years teaching at BPP on CTA and ATT courses as well as ICAEW, ACCA, ICAS and AAT.

Other qualifications you might be interested in

Joint Programme

A unique route for specialising in one of three tax areas. The ACA/CTA Joint Programme allows you to achieve two prestigious qualifications.

ATT - Association of Taxation Technicians

Demonstrate your competence with the Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT) exam.

Frequently Asked Questions

What CTA papers do I have to sit?

The CTA examination consists of three types of written paper: two Advanced Technical papers, the Awareness paper and the Application and Professional Skills paper. The pass mark for each written tax paper is 50%. You must also pass three online Computer Based Examinations.

How do I choose what options to sit for each paper?

The Advanced Technical papers require the most detailed knowledge and your choice limits your options for all other written CTA papers. Choose carefully because you cannot sit the same topic for both the Advanced Technical and Awareness modules. Our expert trainers can help you decide.

The examination is modular, but can I sit all the papers together?

You can choose to sit all the CTA written papers together, or to sit them separately. That decision, along with the order you choose, can be crucial to your exam success. We can discuss your options before you apply to sit the exams.

When must I register to sit the CTA exams?

You must register as a student with the Chartered Institute of Taxation at least four months before you can apply to sit the exams. You must also, separately, enter to sit your chosen examinations..

For more details, visit the Institute’s website at tax.org.uk
or call them on 0844 579 6700