ACCA practice questions: free exam-style questions by paper, with worked answers

The best free ACCA practice questions come from ACCA itself. The free Practice Platform has specimen exams, practice exams and past exams for every Applied Skills paper, and each one comes with a marking guide. This guide shows you where to find them and gives you five worked questions for TX, FR, PM, FM and AA. It also explains how to mark your own answers against examiner reports. Each of these five exams lasts three hours for 100 marks, so aim for 1.8 minutes per mark.

Where to find official ACCA past exams and specimen questions

All of ACCA's official question practice is on the Practice Platform. It runs in the same layout as the computer-based exam, so you get used to the software while you revise. ACCA describes it as "a free on-demand resource", and you can mark your answers inside it using the marking guides and sample answers.

There are three kinds of exam on the platform, and each is useful at a different stage.

Source: ACCA, Past exams and question practice. Last checked: 13 November 2026.

Past exams "appear exactly as they did when the exams were set". That matters most for TX, where old papers use old tax law. If you're sitting TX between June 2026 and March 2027, or in June 2027, you're examined on the Finance Act 2025, which covers the 2025/26 tax year (see ACCA's Finance Act article). For timed TX mocks, use the practice exams, which ACCA keeps up to date.

ACCA recommends sitting two full practice exams under exam conditions before the real thing. Leave plenty of time for shorter, single-question practice before that.

ACCA Applied Skills papers: format and September 2026 pass rates

TX, FR, PM and FM share the same structure. Section A has 15 objective test (OT) questions worth 2 marks each. Section B has three OT cases, each with five 2-mark questions. Section C is worth 40 marks of written answers. AA is different: three 10-mark OT cases, then one 30-mark question and two 20-mark questions.

Source: ACCA September 2026 exam results, TX essentials and AA essentials. Last checked: 13 November 2026.

PM had the lowest pass rate of the five in September 2026, so give it extra written practice. Most PM marks come from explaining numbers as well as calculating them. At 1.8 minutes per mark, a 20-mark question gets about 36 minutes, a 15-mark question gets about 27 minutes and a 2-mark OT question gets about 3.6 minutes.

Sample ACCA practice questions with worked answers

Each question below is written in the style of a short Section C part. Give yourself the time the marks allow, write your answer, and only then open the working.

TX: income tax computation

Question (3 marks)

Ravi is employed and earns a salary of £55,000 in the tax year 2025/26. He has no other income. Use a personal allowance of £12,570, a basic rate of 20% on the first £37,700 of taxable income and a higher rate of 40% above that. Calculate Ravi's income tax liability for 2025/26.

Answer

1. Taxable income = £55,000 minus the personal allowance of £12,570 = £42,430.
2. Basic rate: £37,700 × 20% = £7,540.
3. Higher rate: £42,430 minus £37,700 = £4,730, and £4,730 × 40% = £1,892.
4. Income tax liability = £7,540 + £1,892 = £9,432.

Marks are usually lost by applying the bands to total income before taking off the personal allowance.

FR: goodwill on acquisition

Question (3 marks)

On 1 January 20X6, Pine Co bought 80% of the equity shares of Sorrel Co for $4.2 million in cash. Pine Co measures the non-controlling interest at fair value, which was $0.9 million at that date. Sorrel Co's net assets had a carrying amount of $4.0 million, and the fair value of its land was $0.5 million above its carrying amount. Calculate the goodwill arising on the acquisition.

Answer

1. Consideration transferred = $4.2 million.
2. Add the non-controlling interest at fair value: $4.2 million + $0.9 million = $5.1 million.
3. Fair value of net assets = $4.0 million + $0.5 million land uplift = $4.5 million.
4. Goodwill = $5.1 million minus $4.5 million = $0.6 million.

The fair value uplift is the step people skip. Leaving it out overstates goodwill at $1.1 million.

PM: material variances

Question (4 marks)

Lark Co makes one product. The standard material cost is 4 kg per unit at $5 per kg. In March, Lark Co made 1,000 units. It bought and used 4,300 kg of material at a total cost of $20,640. Calculate the material price variance and the material usage variance, stating whether each is favourable or adverse.

Answer

1. Actual quantity at standard price = 4,300 kg × $5 = $21,500.
2. Price variance = $21,500 minus the actual cost of $20,640 = $860 favourable, because Lark Co paid less than standard.
3. Standard quantity for actual output = 1,000 units × 4 kg = 4,000 kg.
4. Usage variance = (4,000 kg minus 4,300 kg) × $5 = $1,500 adverse, because Lark Co used 300 kg more than standard.

Check: standard cost of $20,000 against actual cost of $20,640 gives a total of $640 adverse, which matches $1,500 adverse minus $860 favourable. A missing "favourable" or "adverse" label costs marks.

FM: net present value

Question (3 marks)

A company is considering a project costing $100,000 now. It will bring net cash inflows of $40,000 at the end of each of the next three years. The cost of capital is 10%, and the three-year annuity factor at 10% is 2.487. Calculate the net present value of the project and advise whether it should go ahead.

Answer

1. Present value of inflows = $40,000 × 2.487 = $99,480.
2. NPV = $99,480 minus the $100,000 investment = negative $520.
3. The NPV is negative, so on financial grounds the project should not go ahead.

The advice mark is easy to miss. If a question says "advise", give a clear decision and the reason for it.

AA: audit risks and responses

Question (4 marks)

Your firm audits Kestrel Co, a retailer with a year end of 31 December 2026. Inventory is held at 12 stores and one warehouse, and the full inventory count will take place on 3 January 2027. In August 2026, Kestrel Co moved to a new sales system. Describe two audit risks and explain the auditor's response to each.

Answer

1. Risk: the count happens three days after the year end, so inventory could be misstated if movements between 31 December and 3 January aren't adjusted for.
2. Response: attend the count, then test goods received and dispatched between the two dates to roll the count back to 31 December.
3. Risk: data may not have transferred completely or accurately to the new sales system, so revenue and receivables could be misstated.
4. Response: agree closing balances on the old system to opening balances on the new one, and review the controls in place during the changeover.

A risk earns the mark only when you say which balance could be misstated and why. "Inventory is a risk" on its own scores nothing.

How to mark your own answers against examiner reports

Self-marking is where most of the learning happens. Here is a routine that works for any paper.

1. Answer the question to time, using 1.8 minutes per mark. Stop when the time runs out, even if you haven't finished.
2. Mark it with the marking guide on the Practice Platform. Give yourself a mark only when your point matches the guide and is applied to the scenario.
3. Look for follow-through marks. Marking guides often credit the correct method even when an earlier figure was wrong, so don't write off a whole calculation over one slip.
4. Read the examiner's report for that sitting. The AA reports, for example, set out where candidates lost marks and what good answers did. For TX, ACCA's marker guide walks through a 15-mark question as a marker sees it. Its figures use the Finance Act 2020, so follow the marking logic and ignore the rates.
5. Log where each mark went, then try the question again a week later without notes.

To keep track, download the question practice log. It already lists the five questions above, with the time each one allows.

How to practise ACCA questions with Medly AI

Official papers give you the questions. The harder part is knowing whether your written answer would score, and why. Medly AI helps with that step. Answer an exam-style question and get it marked, so you can see which points earned credit, which didn't, and what would pick up the missing marks.

When one step stops making sense, such as why a fair value uplift reduces goodwill or which quantity goes into a usage variance, ask the AI tutor to talk you through it with a fresh example. A good pattern is to use ACCA's own exams for full timed mocks in the real software and Medly for the daily practice in between. You can read how we test AI marking against qualified examiners in our marking study, and start on Medly's free plan.

Frequently asked questions

What is the pass mark for ACCA exams?

The pass mark is 50%. ACCA's study guide says this applies to all ACCA Qualification exams, which means 50 out of 100 on an Applied Skills paper.

Are ACCA past exams free?

Yes. Specimen, practice and past exams are all on the ACCA Practice Platform at no cost, along with marking guides and sample answers.

Can I use old TX past exams?

Yes, with care. Past exams aren't updated for changes in the law, so check any rates and rules against the Finance Act 2025, or use the updated practice exams for timed mocks.

How many practice exams should I do before an ACCA exam?

ACCA suggests at least two full practice exams under exam conditions. Most of your practice can be single questions, marked and reviewed straight after.

Which ACCA Applied Skills paper is hardest?

Of the five session exams covered here, PM had the lowest pass rate on September 2026 results, at 42%, followed by AA at 45%. TX had the highest at 54%.

When are the next ACCA exams?

December 2026 exams run from 7 to 11 December, and March 2027 exams run from 1 to 5 March. Entry for December closed on 9 November 2026. March entry opened on 10 November 2026, and the standard deadline is 1 February 2027 (late entry to 8 February), according to ACCA's important dates.

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