The Personal Taxation Qualification is the most popular of all the R03 Exam unit. It covers personal taxation, national insurance contributions and tax credits and is aimed at those who are involved with personal tax issues or who have clients who need to understand their own tax affairs. In this article, Berna takes us through her journey of achieving this qualification and shares some tips on how she found it and what helped her to pass the exam. How Berna studied for the R03 Exam Personal Taxation Qualification: I began studying for my R03 qualification in June 2014. I had just been made redundant from a role as an administrator with AXA PPP Healthcare and was looking to move into Financial Services. I had no experience in financial services when I started, but I joined a small financial planning firm part time to gain experience whilst studying for my qualifications. I studied for about 3 hours a night each night for about 9 months before sitting my exam in March 2015 – so a total of about 800 hours of study! My approach was to read through the study notes that came with my course pack, taking notes as I went along, and then using those notes to write practice answers for each topic. (I kept to a strict schedule for this – 1 hour I have been a financial adviser for over 4 years. I am passionate about helping my clients achieve their financial dreams and goals. I have been working through the CII Diploma exams following an exam study pattern of 5 hours a week, alternating between R0 and R1 exams. I thought this would help me build up my knowledge base as well as pass the exams.
My job role requires me to work with clients, so I do not always have time to be at a desk in front of a computer screen. Like most people, I am tired after work and find it hard to concentrate in the evening. The flexibility of being able to study on my phone during the day, when I had free time or whilst on a train made the experience much easier for me. I purchased the Ultimate Exam Kit for R03 which included lectures, audio lectures, revision notes and sample papers - which I found invaluable prior to sitting the exam. The questions were helpful and gave me an idea of how long I should be spending on each question and how much detail was required in each answer.
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