Preliminary Work with Taxpayer Data — Enrolled Agent — SEE Part 1 (Individuals) Practice Test

This Enrolled Agent — SEE Part 1 (Individuals) Preliminary Work with Taxpayer Data practice set has 90 practice questions based on the official exam materials, each with an instant explanation.

Sample questions

Three questions from the Preliminary Work with Taxpayer Data bank with the correct answer and an explanation. The practice quiz above draws 30 questions at random from the same bank.

1. For federal income-tax purposes, a foreign national who is not a U.S. citizen is classified as a resident alien if the individual meets which of the following?

   • Either the green-card test (lawful permanent residence) or the substantial presence test — Correct answer
   • Only the green-card test — physical presence is never relevant
   • Only the substantial presence test — holding a green card is irrelevant
   • Being physically present in the United States on the last day of the tax year

   Explanation: Under IRC §7701(b)(1)(A), a noncitizen is a resident alien if he meets EITHER the green-card test (lawful permanent resident) OR the substantial presence test. Meeting either one is sufficient; otherwise the individual is a nonresident alien. See Pub 519.

   Handbook: Preliminary Work with Taxpayer Data — Residency and Citizenship

2. Elena, a citizen of Peru with no green card, was physically present in the United States for 120 days in each of 2023, 2024, and 2025. Applying the substantial presence test for 2025, does she meet the 183-day weighted threshold?

   • No — her weighted total is 180 days (120 + 40 + 20), just under 183 — Correct answer
   • Yes — 120 days in the current year alone satisfies the test
   • Yes — her three years total 360 actual days, well over 183
   • No — she fails only because she was present fewer than 183 actual days in 2025

   Explanation: IRC §7701(b)(3): count all 120 current-year (2025) days + 1/3 of 2024 (40) + 1/6 of 2023 (20) = 180, which is below 183, so she is NOT a resident under the substantial presence test for 2025 (though she meets the 31-day current-year prong). See Pub 519.

   Handbook: Preliminary Work with Taxpayer Data — Substantial Presence Test

3. A foreign national who has been issued an alien registration card (green card) and has not abandoned that status is, for U.S. federal income-tax purposes, treated as a ______.

   • resident alien taxed on worldwide income — Correct answer
   • nonresident alien taxed only on U.S.-source income
   • dual-status alien for every year the card is held
   • tax-exempt individual whose days are not counted

   Explanation: Under the green-card test (IRC §7701(b)(1)(A)(i)), a lawful permanent resident is a resident alien taxed on worldwide income, and remains one until the status is revoked or administratively or judicially abandoned. See Pub 519.

   Handbook: Preliminary Work with Taxpayer Data — Green-Card Test