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Wednesday 22nd January 2020 was a significant date for those tax professionals eagerly awaiting their CTA results. The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) announced that from the 1,528 candidates that sat the examinations, 224 successfully completed all CTA exams. Included in this were 54 on the ACA CTA Joint Programme and 34 who now fully completed the ATT CTA Tax Pathway by passing the CTA element.

Comparing this to the previous results that were announced in July 2019, from a total of 1,526 individuals, 132 successfully completed all the CTA exams. Included were 30 candidates on the ACA CTA Joint Programme and 23 who fully completed the Tax Pathway by passing the CTA element.

Below sees a further breakdown and comparison of these results by examination:

Advanced Technical – January 2020 

Paper	Total Sitting Exam	Candidates Passed	Pass Rate
Taxation of Owner-Managed Businesses	697	264	38%
Domestic Indirect Taxation	57	15	26%
Inheritance Tax, Trusts and Estates	93	42	45%
Human Capital Taxes	42	22	52%
Taxation of Individuals	435	222	51%
Cross-Border Indirect Taxation	58	35	60%
Taxation of Major Corporates	258	162	63%

Advanced Technical - June 2019

Paper	Total Sitting Exam	Candidates Passed	Pass Rate
Taxation of Owner-Managed Businesses	660	250	38%
Domestic Indirect Taxation	66	28	42%
Inheritance Tax, Trusts and Estates	89	37	42%
Human Capital Taxes	50	20	40%
Taxation of Individuals	529	344	65%
Cross-Border Indirect Taxation	52	20	38%
Taxation of Major Corporates	202	112	55%

Awareness – January 2020

152 candidates passed this paper out of a total of 228 sitting the examination. A pass rate of 67%.

Awareness – June 2019 

139 candidates passed this paper out of a total of 182 sitting the examination. A pass rate of 76%.

Application and Professional Skills – January 2020

Paper	Total Sitting Exam	Candidates Passed	Pass Rate
Taxation of Individuals	52	32	62%
Taxation of Larger Companies and Groups	53	27	51%
Taxation of Owner-Managed Businesses	216	118	55%
Human Capital Taxes	27	14	52%
VAT & Other Indirect Taxes	17	11	65%
Inheritance Tax, Trust & Estates	47	25	53%

Application and Professional Skills – July 2019 ​

Paper	Total Sitting Exam	Candidates Passed	Pass Rate
Taxation of Individuals	48	21	44%
Taxation of Larger Companies and Groups	47	23	49%
Taxation of Owner-Managed Businesses	206	122	59%
Human Capital Taxes	31	18	58%
VAT & Other Indirect Taxes	25	14	56%
Inheritance Tax, Trust & Estates	46	26	57%

In summary, highlighted in green are those that saw an increase in pass rate, whereas those highlighted in red saw a decrease. Some notable papers to mention were Domestic Indirect Taxation and Taxation of Individuals which saw differences of 16% and 14% retrospectively. However, overall, the number of individuals who successfully became fully qualified increased by 92.

Pro-Tax would like to wish a huge congratulations to those who received the exam results they were hoping for - it’s a great achievement and a huge weight off your shoulders! Aside from enjoying your evenings and weekends, the benefits of being a Chartered Tax Adviser will soon be seen. If you need career advice around next steps after CTA or salary advice, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

For those of you who didn’t get the results they were hoping for, don’t panic or stress. This is a perfect time to reflect, dust yourself off and get ready to smash the exams next time round! If you are not receiving the support you need for your qualification, we are also here to help. 

For more information on this article or for help with the next steps in your tax career after your CTA results, contact Dominic Watt on 020 7269 6310 or dominic.watt@pro-tax.co.uk.