Mock paper #3
A full paper drawn to the blueprint. Answers and worked explanations are at the back of this file.
Single-user licence. You may print this file and write on it. You may not redistribute, resell or post it. © Sitonce 2026.
Sit this the way you will sit the real one. A mock done in pieces over three evenings measures your notes, not your recall.
| Area | Questions | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Retirement Savings and Income Planning | 31 | 18% |
| Investment Planning | 29 | 17% |
| General Principles of Financial Planning | 25 | 15% |
| Tax Planning | 24 | 14% |
| Risk Management and Insurance Planning | 19 | 11% |
| Estate Planning | 17 | 10% |
| Professional Conduct and Regulation | 13 | 8% |
| Psychology of Financial Planning | 12 | 7% |
| Total | 170 | 100% |
CFP Board does not publish a passing score. The commonly-quoted figure (around 60-70%) is the pass RATE - the share of candidates who passed a sitting - not the mark you need. Our readiness target is measured against our own question bank.
Circle one letter for each question.
170 questions. 360 minutes.
A client contributes $9,000 to an IRA for 2026 when the limit is $7,500. What must happen?
Why does shame matter in financial conversations?
A client aged 40 must accumulate $1,300,000 by 65 and has $180,000 saved. At 7%, what must be saved each year?
The paper carries one for every question, at the back. These are the three above.
Answer: B - The excess and its earnings must be withdrawn by the return due date, or a 6% excise tax applies each year
Because An excess contribution attracts a 6% excise tax for each year it remains in the account. Withdrawing the excess and the net income attributable to it by the due date of the return, including extensions, avoids the tax. IRS Pub 590-A
The alternative correction is to absorb the excess by contributing less in a later year, which stops the tax from that year onward but not for the years already run.
Where the other options lead
Answer: D - It causes clients to conceal the information the planner most needs
Because Debt, a failed business, gambling losses or having lied to a spouse are exactly the facts a plan depends on and exactly the ones a client will not volunteer. Shame keeps them hidden until they surface as a crisis. Competency Handbook ch. 4
Asking about difficult topics in a matter-of-fact way, and signalling that most people have something of the kind, lowers the barrier. Any hint of judgement raises it permanently. Money Education, Fundamentals of Financial Planning, ch. 5
Where the other options lead
Answer: B - $5,146
Because The existing balance grows on its own; only the gap needs to be filled by new saving.
Running the same calculation with the client starting ten years later is the single most persuasive illustration available to a planner, because the required saving roughly triples. Competency Handbook ch. 44
Where the other options lead
CFP Exam: the whole syllabus taught, the questions that test it, 5 timed mocks, and all 6 PDFs to print.