Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 2] 41, MACRS Conventions — Half-Year, Mid-Quarter, Mid-Month

Enrolled Agent Exam [Part 2] 41, MACRS Conventions — Half-Year, Mid-Quarter, Mid-Month

From Finance Exam Prep by Ran Chen, EA, CFP®

June 7, 2026 · 4 min

About this episode

This episode covers MACRS conventions for the Enrolled Agent Exam, focusing on half-year, mid-quarter, and mid-month depreciation methods.

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The half-year convention is the default for personal property, granting six months of depreciation in the first year regardless of the purchase date. - The mid-quarter convention is a mandatory test triggered if over 40% of the basis of personal property is placed in service in the final three months of the year. - When the mid-quarter convention applies, it affects all personal property placed in service during that year, not just the assets from the fourth quarter. - The mid-month convention is exclusively used for real property (residential rental and nonresidential real) and is never optional. - A common exam trap is incorrectly including real property or Section 179 property in the 40% mid-quarter test calculation. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube…

People in this episode

Host: Ran Chen

Topics covered

  • Enrolled Agent Exam
  • MACRS Conventions
  • Depreciation Methods
  • Taxation
  • Real Property
  • Personal Property

Keywords

  • Enrolled Agent Exam
  • MACRS
  • depreciation
  • half-year convention
  • mid-quarter convention
  • mid-month convention
  • real property
  • personal property

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: CFP®, Insurance and Securities, Series 6, Series 63, Series 65, Open Exam Prep, YouTube Channel

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