CPA Exam study guide: the AICPA Blueprints

What the Blueprints tell you

Each section is broken into areas, then groups and topics. For each topic, the Blueprint says what you should be able to do and at what skill level. It also gives each area’s share of the section.

Use it as a checklist. If a topic isn’t in the Blueprint, it won’t be tested.

2026 or 2027?

The 2026 Blueprints apply to exams from January 1, 2026. New ones take effect on January 1, 2027, and the AICPA publishes a summary of what changed. If you’ll test early in 2027, study from the 2027 version.

Tax law changes come in on a delay. Provisions of H.R. 1, signed July 4, 2025, with 2024 and 2025 effective dates, became testable in REG and TCP from July 1, 2026.

Free official practice

The AICPA sample test runs on the real exam software and covers all six sections. It isn’t scored, but you can see the right answers. The AICPA also explains how sections are scored.

Review course books

Most candidates study from a review course’s books, not separate textbooks. Becker, UWorld, Gleim and others sell printed or digital guides for each section. UWorld sells its study guides on their own, for $75 per section. Make sure any book you buy matches your Blueprint year.