Learn tax prep the way it sticks: by doing.
Practice Returns is a growing library of realistic tax scenarios, each with the taxpayer's facts, matching source documents, and clear objectives. Prepare them in your own software, then check your work.
Everything you need to prep it for real
Each scenario is built like a real client engagement, minus the risk. No made-up shortcuts, just the documents and the objective.
Taxpayer facts
A realistic profile: filing status, family, income sources, and the life details that drive the return.
Source documents
The actual paperwork, W-2s, 1099s, K-1s, 1098s, and more, formatted like the real thing to work from.
Clear objectives
What a correct return should capture, so you know exactly what you're solving for and can check your work.
Three steps. Real reps.
Pick a scenario
Browse by category, difficulty, tax year, or the forms you want to practice.
Open the documents
Read the taxpayer's facts and source documents right on the return page, then open your tax software.
Prep it and check
Enter the return, then measure it against the objectives to see what you nailed and what you missed.
Reps for everyone learning the craft
New preparers
Build real confidence before real clients.
Students
Turn textbook concepts into finished returns.
EA & CPA candidates
Practice across years, forms, and jurisdictions.
Firms
Onboard and train staff on realistic work.
A look at the kind of returns inside
A few sample scenarios. Browse the full, filterable library for the rest.
First job, one W-2, a little interest
A single filer with one employer and a small savings account. Standard deduction territory, a clean first rep.
Freelance designer with a home office
1099-NEC income, business expenses, and a home-office deduction. Schedule C and self-employment tax in play.
Investor with dividends and stock sales
Qualified and ordinary dividends plus short- and long-term stock sales. Schedule B, Schedule D, and the capital-gains rates.
Built by a working tax pro
I'm Yehuda Tenenbaum, an Enrolled Agent. I run a tax firm and spend every season in real returns and real client problems.
Practice Returns came out of a simple gap: the best way to learn tax prep is to actually prepare returns, but you can't practice on real clients. So I build realistic scenarios, the kind of situations that show how the law works, so you can get the reps in safely and see the complexity in action.
- Enrolled Agent, admitted to practice before the IRS
- A practicing firm owner, not just a course author
- New scenarios added as the library grows
Ready to get the reps in?
The library is growing. Start with a scenario that matches where you are, and build from there.
Browse practice returns