Sales Tax and Property Tax Competency Exams and Retake Exams

Sales Tax Competency Exam

Register for Sales Tax School I Competency Exam

The Competency Exam consists of 75 questions to be administered online.  When registering for the Competency Exam, applicants must verify and affirm they have met the experience requirement (minimum of three years relevant sales/use tax) and submit an exam fee of $150.00.  Any member submitting inaccurate or false information will be reported to the IPT Committee on Professional Ethics for disciplinary action.  Since the purpose of the Competency Exam is to determine the examinee’s ability and capacity to attend the advanced Sales Tax School II, no study materials will be provided.  However, examinees should be informed on current and past case laws, rules, and regulations.  Examinees will have one attempt to pass the Competency Exam; a minimum 70% pass rate is required.  Successfully completing the exam also requires attendance and completion of an IPT ethics online course before attending the advanced school; there is no fee to attend the ethics course if they have successfully completed the Competency Exam.  It is recommended the ethics course be completed within two weeks of successfully the Competency Exam.  Examinees must be current in their 2023 membership dues in order to take the exam.

Property Tax Competency Exam

Register for Property Tax School I Competency Exam

The Competency Exam consists of 75 questions to be administered online.  When registering for the Competency Exam, applicants must verify and affirm they have met the experience requirement (minimum of three years relevant property tax) and submit an exam fee of $150.00.  Any member submitting inaccurate or false information will be reported to the IPT Committee on Professional Ethics for disciplinary action.  Since the purpose of the Competency Exam is to determine the examinee’s ability and capacity to attend the advanced Real Property Tax School and Personal Property Tax School, no study materials will be provided.  Examinees should have a basic understanding of property valuation, including the three approaches to value; ability to differentiate between real and personal property for ad valorem purposes; and possess a minimal knowledge of property assessment and tax administration. Successfully completing the exam also requires attendance and completion of an IPT ethics online course before attending the advanced school; there is no fee to attend the ethics course if they have successfully completed the Competency Exam.  It is recommended the ethics course be completed within two weeks of successfully the Competency Exam.  Examinees must be current in their 2023 membership dues in order to take the exam.

Any questions concerning this temporary exam process can be directed to Christina Webb (cwebb@ipt.org) or Toby Miller (tmiller@ipt.org).  

School Prerequisites: Sales Tax School I is a prerequisite to Sales Tax School II. Sales Tax School I must either be successfully attended and passed or passed the Sales Tax Competency Exam before the individual can take on School II. The Property Tax School is a prerequisite to both the Real Property Tax School and the Personal Property Tax School; it must be successfully completed or challenged in order to attend the Real Property Tax and Personal Property Tax Schools.

Competency Experience Prerequisites: The following experience in the relevant field will be required of those wishing to take the Competency Exam:
Sales Tax School I - 3 years full-time experience
Property Tax School - 3 years full-time experience

The following IPT Schools do not have a competency exam:
State Income Tax School
Credits & Incentives School 
Real Property Tax School 
Personal Property Tax School 
Sales Tax School II 

Ethics: All Schools include a 1-hour (50 minute) block of IPT-Code based Ethics.  Those wishing to challenge a School will be required to successfully complete a 1-hour online Ethics course.
 

Retake Exams

Any student who does not successfully complete the school examination after completing the course will be given the opportunity to retake the examination, regardless of the score achieved on the original examination, provided they meet specific requirements. A retake exam must be taken within one year of the failed school. The Retake Policy and Application Form to Retake Final School Exam provide detailed information regarding applying to retake a final exam.

State Income

Candidates interested in pursuing the CMI Designation in State Income Tax must attend and successfully complete the State Income Tax School. 

Credits & Incentives

Candidates interested in pursuing the CCIP Designation must attend and successfully complete the Credits & Incentives School. 

Property 

Candidates interested in pursuing the CMI Designation in Property Tax must successfully complete both the Personal Property Tax and Real Property Tax School.  Candidates must either successfully challenge or attend the Property Tax School before attending the Personal Property Tax School or Real Property Tax School. 

Sales

Candidates interested in the CMI Designation in Sales Tax who did not successfully complete Sales Tax School II prior to January 1, 2006, must either successfully challenge or attend Sales Tax School I before attending Sales Tax School II. This challenge must be completed at least 30 days prior to Sales Tax School II.