Phoenix Tax EA Review: Pros and Cons

Phoenix Tax EA Review has been offering enrolled agent exam prep courses and continuing education for 20 years. Disclosure: The I Pass Team may earn a small amount of compensation if you purchase from our links; our team uses these revenues to maintain the site and produce awesome free content just for you!

They are based in California and not to be confused with the tax filing firm with the same name in Illinois.

Phoenix is not on my recommended list. For the most popular and respected EA review courses, please click here:

My Recommended EA Review Courses

Phoenix Tax EA Review Product Offering

They have a wide variety of review materials:

The study question books: a set of ring-bound books with 1,100 questions on the left and explanatory answers on the right. This is now available in printed and electronic format that can be viewed on desktop or mobile devices.
Study cards: these are flashcards that summarize important information for the exam. They are available as hard copies and in PDF format.
EA study guide: the text book with chapter review questions.
SEE self-tests: online test prep, in study mode and exam mode.

You can take a quick look at the study question books in electronic format:

Phoenix Tax EA Review Pros and Cons

Pros

1. Books Well Formatted and Organized

Both the text books an question books are easy to read and understand. I haven’t got recent customer feedbacks, but assuming nothing much has changed, they do have a good reputation.

People seem to like the study cards the most.

2. Automatic Free Updates

You don’t need to get a certain accuracy in your homework to get the free updates. One of the most generous among EA review course providers.

3. 30-Day and Money-Back Guarantee

There are some restrictions in terms of getting your money back, but it is nice to see Phoenix Tax has confidence on their products.

4. More Affordable

Regardless of which package you get, you don’t need to invest more than $300. This is pretty reasonable.

Cons

1. No Video or Audio-Visual Presentations

While the website boasts that they provide more products than any other vendors, it’s not entirely true. For example, they don’t have videos featuring instructors who explain selected multiple choice questions, nor do they have anything that is either visual or audio.

If you are someone who learn by reading texts, this is no problem. Otherwise, you may get frustrated that you can’t listen to the audio review during the commute drive, or watch a quick video explaining an important concept.

2. Least Number of Practice Questions

There are 1,100 practice questions, vs up to 3,500 from its competitor. If you believe working on practice questions is the way to prepare and pass the exam, you may have to think twice about this offer.

3. No Free Trial

Many other providers have a free trial option. I’d like to see this in the future.

4. Minimal Support

There is no mentioning of any type of support on the site. There is a general support email that you can reach them, but there seem to be nothing more, e.g. a dedicated personal counselor to see how you progress, ask a question or cheer you up along the way.

Conclusion

Given its price, Phoenix Tax EA Review offers a decent product. The quality of the core products is good and they’ve had positive customer feedback in the past.

However, they haven’t been entirely up to speed on the global online trend, such as providing an online study planner, prerecorded videos, and online customer service. If you are looking for a higher level of assurance and online tools, I recommend that you check out other major providers.

About the Author Stephanie

I am the author of How to Pass The CPA Exam (published by Wiley) and the publisher of this and several accounting professional exam prep sites.