AF1 – What it’s all about?
Here it is an opportunity to prove your worth and demonstrate your in depth financial planning skills related to personal tax and trusts. A 3 hour question paper based on a case study approach with a whopping 30 credits available and a total of 160 marks there for the taking!
AF1 Personal tax and trust planning – R03 and JO2 complement the AF1 well and whilst a majority will already have R03, relatively few will have done JO2. This is often cited by the examiner as a problem in this exam – most candidates don’t have the necessary level of trust knowledge required to do well in the AF1 exam. But don’t panic as we spend five weeks looking at trusts in detail!
AF1 exam is one of the core exams that most people will need if they want to become Chartered. The AF1 syllabus is pretty broad. You need to be comfortable with calculations so look at past papers to see how they have been tested in previous sittings. J02 complements and consolidates your knowledge for AF1 so is a great ‘dress rehearsal’ before the AF1 exam.
R03 or Jo2?
We would suggest using either/or both of these exams as ‘dress rehearsals’ for the big day. Many people make the mistake of not sitting the JO2 exam and having good trust knowledge is essential for the AF1 exam – so if you haven’t ticked JO2 off on your ‘to do list’ then you can do these alongside your AF1 studies to reinforce your learning.
How can I maximise my chances?
AF1 is all about getting the basics right for your income tax, NIC, CGT and IHT calculations. These are the questions that appear the most often. The more you practise, the more they’ll become second nature to you, and this will free up time in the exam for you to think about any trickier elements that the examiner has in store for you. For trusts, think about making lists of key revision areas. For example, the roles and responsibilities of a trustee, the conditions for a deed of variation or a deed of disclaimer to be valid, and so on.
Do yo have any top tips?
In April 2019, the examiners reported that candidates performed well on calculations. But less well on some of the broader concepts that were tested. Where candidates did not provide sufficient detail in their answers to get all the marks on offer. We spend a lot of time on AF1 practising calculations. So, this is a timely reminder that we also need to ensure we are comfortable with tax theory as well. Preparing lists or mind maps on these topics could therefore be useful.
Can you help me pass?
You might have a really clear idea about what you want to do, but make sure you know what it really involves. Expert Pensions can help you decide which direction you want to go and help you focus on the best way of getting there, preparing for and overcoming any potential obstacles along the way.
We start our structured stuy plan on the 18th January 2021. We are ready. Are you?
Click here to browse our award winning AF1 study resources
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