ADIT stands for the Advanced Diploma in International Taxation. The awarding body, the UK's Chartered Institute of Taxation, now brands the qualification simply as ADIT, the international tax credential. Once you complete the qualification, you can apply to become an International Tax Affiliate of the CIOT and use the ADIT letters after your name.

To achieve ADIT, you must pass three modules, or two modules plus an extended essay. Everyone takes the core module, Principles of International Taxation, which covers the international tax system without focusing on any one jurisdiction.

For your other two modules, you choose from a range of thematic options (such as Transfer Pricing, EU VAT or Banking) and jurisdictional options (such as United Kingdom, United States or Ireland). Exams are held each June, with the most popular modules also examined in December.

Yes. If you pass a single ADIT module, such as Transfer Pricing, you can apply to the CIOT for a standalone certificate recognising that achievement. A modular certificate is available once you have passed both Principles of International Taxation and one option module, demonstrating your knowledge of the fundamentals of international tax plus a specialist area. In each case, the exam pass must be within the last five years, and the certificate carries a small fee from the CIOT. Your passes still count towards the full ADIT qualification if you decide to continue.

ExtraTax Training offers courses for seven individual modules, including Transfer Pricing and EU VAT.

Yes. There is no set order for the ADIT modules, and no requirement to start with Principles of International Taxation. Many students do begin with Principles, as it builds the foundations that the option modules draw on, but if another module fits your current role, you can start there instead.

Before you plan your order, it is worth knowing that some modules are only examined in June. There are also timetabling constraints on which modules can be sat together. We explain these under 'When are the ADIT exams held?'

ADIT exams are held twice a year, in June and December. All modules are examined in June. The most popular modules, including Principles of International Taxation, Transfer Pricing, United Kingdom tax and EU VAT, are also examined in December. Exams take place over three days in each sitting, and each module's exam lasts three hours and fifteen minutes.

The three exam days follow a set pattern. Principles of International Taxation is examined on the first day. All of the jurisdictional modules are examined at the same time on the second day. All of the thematic modules, such as Transfer Pricing, EU VAT, Banking and Energy Resources, are examined at the same time on the third day. This means you cannot sit two jurisdictional modules, or two thematic modules, in the same sitting. The CIOT sets this timetable and it cannot be varied.

This structure shapes the order in which you take your papers. It can also affect how quickly you can complete the qualification. For instance, you cannot sit the United States and United Kingdom modules together, and the United States module is only examined in June. Someone planning both might therefore take United States in a June sitting and United Kingdom in December. If completing ADIT quickly matters to you, it is worth checking the exam pattern for your preferred modules before you commit to them.

The exams are online and remotely invigilated. You can sit them from wherever you are based, with no need to travel to an exam centre.

The exact exam dates, along with the registration and entry deadlines for each sitting, are published in the CIOT exam timetable.

Most tax qualifications prove that you know your own country's tax system. ADIT proves that you can work across borders. Studying it gives you a working knowledge of tax treaties, transfer pricing and the international aspects of the tax systems you choose to study. You can use that knowledge immediately, whether that means reading a treaty with confidence, identifying a permanent establishment risk or reviewing a transfer pricing policy.

Employers recruiting for international tax roles are looking for exactly that capability, and ADIT is valued across professional services firms, multinationals and tax authorities. Many students choose ADIT with international mobility in mind, as a qualification that is not tied to one country's tax system and moves with you if your career crosses borders. The exams are sat remotely, so you can study for and achieve the qualification wherever you are based. Whether you sit a single module or complete the full qualification, you finish with expertise you can use and a credential that proves it.

For more on the benefits of ADIT, see the 'Why ADIT?' section on the CIOT's website.

ADIT is designed for anyone whose work touches more than one tax system. This includes corporate and international tax specialists in professional services firms, multinationals and tax authorities, but also practitioners who might not describe their role as international tax. If you work in indirect tax, the EU VAT module offers a specialist qualification in cross-border VAT. If you advise private clients with overseas assets, income or residence questions, the jurisdictional modules cover personal as well as corporate tax. Lawyers, accountants, in-house teams and revenue officials all study ADIT, often in the same class.

There are no entry requirements or prerequisites, so you can start from any point in your career. Some students take on ADIT early to build a specialism, while others with many years of experience use it to formalise the international knowledge they have built on the job.

If you lead a tax team, ADIT is a way to build international tax capability in-house. The syllabus covers the issues your team already handles, from treaty questions to transfer pricing, so the knowledge is applied to your work as it is learned. Supporting professional study also helps you retain ambitious tax professionals. Many of our students are sponsored by their employers for exactly these reasons.

If you work in learning and development and ADIT is new to you, it is an established qualification awarded by the Chartered Institute of Taxation, the UK's professional body for tax advisers. It is studied in more than 100 countries. Candidates include staff at professional services firms, multinationals and tax authorities. The cost and time commitment are covered in the questions below.

ADIT students can study while working full time, with no study leave required. Employer bookings can be arranged by invoice. We can also arrange group enrolments for teams. You can read more in the sponsoring your team section of our ADIT courses page.

ADIT has a well-earned reputation for rigour. The exams test your ability to apply the law to practical scenarios, not just to remember it. The CIOT publishes pass rates for each sitting, and they vary widely by module. In recent years they have ranged from under 40% to over 70%. For the compulsory Principles of International Taxation module, fewer than half of candidates have passed at several recent sittings.

For modules such as Principles of International Taxation and Transfer Pricing, you will need to read the source documents, including the OECD Model Tax Convention and the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines. These are the texts you take into the exam with you, and you will be expected to apply them. If you hold CTA, expect a similar level of challenge. If you come from a professional accounting qualification, ADIT is a step up in both style and depth.

ADIT candidates are not a homogeneous group. Our students have ranged from their early twenties to their late sixties, with varying professional backgrounds and different professional qualifications. Most study alongside full-time work. For many, English is not their first language, and some have never sat an exam set by a UK examining body. The published pass rates reflect this wide mix of starting points.

Regular question practice, ideally with feedback on your written answers, will prepare you for the style of the exam. This is a focus for our online courses. Our pass rates are consistently above the CIOT average for students who complete our courses, and you can see the results on our ADIT courses pages.

Many students choose ADIT with a move in mind, and it is well suited to careers that cross borders. The qualification is not tied to any one country's tax system, so the knowledge it builds moves with you.
For those hoping to work in the UK specifically, ADIT is awarded by the Chartered Institute of Taxation, the UK's professional body for tax advisers, so many UK employers understand exactly what the qualification involves. Studying the United Kingdom module lets you demonstrate knowledge of the UK tax system itself, covering both corporate and personal tax.

What no qualification can do on its own is secure a role or a right to work. Employers weigh qualifications alongside experience, and immigration requirements are entirely separate from professional ones. Where ADIT helps is in making your tax knowledge visible to employers in a new country, in a form they can recognise and verify.

The total costs of studying ADIT depend on the study options you choose.

All ADIT students pay fees to the CIOT. The 2026 rates are £303 to register as an ADIT student, which covers a five-year registration period, and £278 each time you enter an exam. Fees are reviewed each year, and the current rates are always listed on the CIOT website. You will also need to buy the permitted texts for your module, the books you can take into the exam with you.

Your remaining costs depend on how you choose to study. Some students self-study using the reading list on the syllabus for each module, while others invest in tuition from a recognised ADIT course provider, such as ExtraTax Training. You will find our course fees on each course page.

It is possible to pass all three exams in one sitting and achieve ADIT in 4 to 6 months, but this is not an approach we would usually recommend. Each ADIT module requires a significant time commitment, and how much time depends partly on how you choose to study. On a tuition course, you can expect to spend around 5 to 7 hours per week on each paper over 3 to 4 months, depending on the module and your starting point. Independent self-study usually takes longer, potentially 10 or more hours per week, because you are planning your own route through the syllabus, sourcing your materials and setting your own study timetable. Part of what you pay for with a course is that this work has been done for you. Whichever route you take, if you are balancing ADIT with full-time work and personal commitments, you may struggle to find the time to prepare for more than one module per sitting.

A realistic timescale for achieving ADIT is around two years. Starting early in the year, you could sit your first exam in June, your second in December and your final exam the following June. ADIT is a challenging qualification, so you may not pass every paper first time. 

Equally, there is no need to rush. Most ADIT students already hold their core professional qualification, so the pressure to qualify that comes with early-career exams is off. Many are studying because they want the knowledge as much as the pass. Some take one module per year, or leave a longer gap between papers, fitting their studies around work and family commitments. Your student registration lasts for five years, so you have plenty of time to work through the modules, building your expertise as you go.

Once you have decided to study for the ADIT qualification, or for a standalone certificate, your first step is to register with the CIOT as an ADIT student. You do this once, not for each exam. Your registration lasts for five years, and if you need longer, you can re-register to continue your studies. There are no prerequisites, and all you need is an email address.

Once you are registered as a student, you can enter for an exam. You do this each time you sit an exam, and your student registration must be complete at least two weeks before you enter.

The CIOT publishes the deadlines for each exam sitting. If you are not yet registered as a student, the registration deadline falls in early March for a June sitting and early September for a December sitting, and it is absolute. The exam entry deadline follows around two weeks later, with late entries accepted for a further two weeks on payment of a late entry fee. The exact dates for each sitting are published on the CIOT exam timetable.

When you know which paper you want to sit, your final step is to decide how you wish to study for it, whether through self-study or with a recognised ADIT course provider such as ExtraTax Training.

The CIOT publishes past papers for every ADIT module, free of charge. For each exam you will find the question paper, suggested solutions and an example of a successful candidate's script. Only recent sittings are available, usually the last two exams for each module.

Course providers hold question banks stretching back much further. At ExtraTax Training, past paper practice is built into every course. Each week, you complete a written assignment alongside your classes, and it is often a past paper question on the topic you have just covered. Your tutor marks it and gives you individual written feedback. As the exam approaches, you also sit two mock exams, marked in the same way. This feedback shows you how to improve your exam technique as well as the application of your knowledge.

ADIT exams are closed book, with one exception. You can refer to the permitted texts during your exam. For many modules, these include the OECD Model Tax Convention, the UN Model Tax Convention and the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines. For the jurisdictional modules, the permitted texts typically include the country's tax legislation, such as the Yellow Tax Handbooks for the United Kingdom module. The CIOT lists the permitted texts for each module in the ADIT syllabus.

One important detail is that your permitted texts must be hard copies. Free PDF versions of documents like the model tax conventions and the transfer pricing guidelines are available online, but you cannot refer to them during the exam.

In some cases, the CIOT will allow you to print your own copy of a permitted text. Every student must apply individually for this permission, using the form on the CIOT website. This is not something a course provider can arrange for you. It is also worth comparing costs before choosing this route. Once you account for your own printing supplies or a print company's charges, printing a long document may not be cheaper than buying the book.

You do not necessarily need every book on the permitted list for your module. Which ones are worth buying depends on the weight the syllabus gives each area. We guide our students on this at the start of every course.

Once you have completed the ADIT qualification, you can apply to the CIOT to become an International Tax Affiliate. Affiliate status allows you to use the ADIT designatory letters after your name. It means you commit to upholding the professional standards of the CIOT, including continuing professional development and ethics requirements. It is optional, and is separate from membership of the CIOT itself, which is gained through the CTA qualification. Affiliate status also connects you to the global ADIT community, with networking events, webinars and an Affiliates' LinkedIn group organised through the CIOT and its volunteers around the world.

You can find details of how to apply on the CIOT website.

It depends. As with most tax questions, the answer turns on your facts. What do you want to learn, and where do you plan to practise?

CTA is the UK's chartered tax adviser qualification. It examines UK tax in depth and leads to membership of the CIOT. ADIT is international. It examines the principles of cross-border taxation, along with the specialist and jurisdictional options you choose.

How you sit the exams differs too. CTA exams are sat in person at test centres, almost all of them in the UK. ADIT exams are online, so you can sit them from wherever you are based. If you live outside the UK, this can be a deciding factor.

We have written an article comparing the two qualifications in more detail. You can read it here. And of course, some people choose to do both.

There are a small number of bursaries each year to help students towards the costs of achieving ADIT. You can find details on the scholarship here.

The Worshipful Company of Tax Advisers awards 3 candidates with a bursary of £1,500 each year. The scholarship is available to students from outside the UK, whose disadvantaged background means that they are unable to meet the costs of ADIT. Applications for a given year close on 31 October the year before.

We offer courses for seven ADIT modules. Principles of International Taxation, Transfer Pricing and UK Tax courses run twice a year, ahead of the June and December exam sittings. Ireland, US Tax and Banking courses run once a year, as these modules are only examined in June. Our EU VAT course runs once a year, for the December sitting.

These are all live taught courses. For UK Tax, we also offer a self-study option, built around our ExtraTax Training study manual.

Each course page shows the details for the next sitting, and you can find all seven on our ADIT courses page.

If you would like to study a module we do not currently offer, please get in touch. We develop new courses when we have the right study materials and the right tutors. Knowing which modules students want helps us decide what to develop next.

Our courses are designed for tax professionals at all levels of experience. Some of our students are new to international tax. Others are experienced practitioners formalising knowledge they have built on the job. Classes assume no prior knowledge of the module subject, and your tutor builds from the foundations to exam standard over the course.

Our student community spans more than 40 countries, and every class brings together a mix of backgrounds, professions and levels of experience. Classes are small, so your tutor gets to know your starting point and you can ask questions freely.

If you are unsure whether a course is right for your situation, get in touch and we will give you an honest view

Pass rates for students who complete our courses are consistently above the CIOT average. In the 2025 sittings, the pass rate was 100% in five of the seven modules we teach: Banking, EU VAT, Ireland, Transfer Pricing and US Tax. In Principles of International Taxation, the module every ADIT student must sit, our pass rate was 92% against a CIOT average of 53%. In UK Tax, our pass rate was 71%, again against a CIOT average of 53%.

These are first-time pass rates. You can see the results for recent sittings, module by module, on our ADIT courses page.

Passing an ADIT exam requires serious commitment, and we would like you to know what is involved before you sign up.

Your course begins around 15 or 16 weeks before the exam date. We set some pre-course reading before the tuition classes begin. How long this takes will depend on your existing knowledge.

Once the weekly tuition classes begin, you can expect to spend around 5 to 7 hours per week on your studies, depending on the module. You join a class of 2 or 2.5 hours each week. You then have assigned reading and a weekly assignment, which is often a past paper question. Early in the course, we advise taking your time over it. As the weeks go on, you should aim to complete it in the time you would have in the exam.

The tuition classes finish around 5 or 6 weeks before the exam date. You then move into the revision phase, where the study time required is more intensive. You join weekend revision classes and sit two mock exams. If possible, you will benefit from taking leave from work in the week before the exam, so you can focus on your studies.

Given the time commitment, we usually recommend sitting one ADIT paper per exam sitting.

Yes. The live classes are held on Zoom, and recordings are made available on your learning platform shortly after each class.

We encourage you to join the classes live, so you can ask questions and take part in discussions. But we know that is not always possible. Some students attend everything live, some catch up on recordings around their schedule, and many do a mix of both. The recordings also let you revisit a topic during revision.

Yes. Study materials are included in all of our course packages, tailored to each module.

For Principles of International Taxation and Transfer Pricing, your course fee includes an online subscription to the Bloomsbury International Tax Service, giving you access to their range of international tax texts.

For the UK and Irish Tax modules, you study from our own ExtraTax Training manuals. These are written specifically for each ADIT module by tax specialists, guiding you through the syllabus with illustrations and question banks to help you learn.

The EU VAT, US Tax and Banking courses use published texts appropriate to each module, provided as part of your course fee.

Course fees do not include the permitted texts, the books you can take into the exam with you. The exception is EU VAT, where a permitted text is also the core textbook for the module. All packages include class recordings, weekly assignments and access to an online forum where you can raise queries with your tutor and fellow students.

Our online courses are comprehensive, with live classes, study materials, mock exams and more. The only other purchase you should need to make is the permitted texts for your module. These are the books you can take into the exam with you, and they are listed for each module on the ADIT syllabus. The exception is EU VAT, where a permitted text is included as your core textbook.

Do you need every permitted text on your module's list? It depends. For example, we typically do not recommend buying the Orange Tax Handbooks for the UK Tax module, as indirect tax is a minor part of the syllabus.

When you are adding up the costs of ADIT, remember that your permitted texts must be hard copies. In some cases, the CIOT will give you individual permission to print your own copy, which can work well depending on the printing you have available. We explain how this works under 'What are the ADIT permitted texts?' above.

If you have any questions about permitted books, the ExtraTax team is happy to help you. You can email us at info@extrataxtraining.com.

For UK Tax, yes. Our ADIT UK Tax Study Manual is available as a self-study option, with online access and a printed copy. It is written specifically for the ADIT UK Tax module, guiding you through the syllabus with illustrations, quizzes and question banks. You can find full details on our UK Tax manual page.

We do not currently offer self-study options for our other modules, including Principles of International Taxation and Transfer Pricing. If you plan to self-study for another module, the reading list on the CIOT syllabus for that module is the place to start.

Whichever route you choose, bear the time commitment in mind. Self-study usually takes longer than a tuition course, as we explain under 'How long does it take to achieve ADIT?'

For Principles of International Taxation, Transfer Pricing and UK Tax, you can choose from three packages. Every package includes the full course: live classes, recordings, downloadable slides, study materials, weekly assignments, revision classes, mock exams and support from your tutor throughout. The differences are in how long you keep access to your course and what happens if the exam does not go to plan.

Core gives you access to the course platform until the end of the exam month. For example, access to a course for a June sitting ends on 30 June.

Select includes everything in Core, plus six further months of access to your course. For a June sitting, your access runs until the end of December that year. You can also earn a Certificate of Completion during the semester. If you earn it, sit the exam and do not pass, you can return to the course for the next sitting free of charge.

Extra includes everything in Select, plus a further six months of access to the recordings, a printed copy of your core text, and two one-to-one sessions with your tutor during the course. On Extra, the free return is automatic if you sit the exam and do not pass. There are no points to earn.

Our other courses have a single option, equivalent to Select. Full details and prices are on the course page for each module.

As much as we would like to, we cannot guarantee you a pass. What we can promise is a pathway that works when students follow it, by engaging with the classes, submitting the weekly assignments and sitting the mock exams.

Instead of a Guaranteed Pass Scheme, we offer a Certificate of Completion. You earn it by completing activities through the semester that move you closer to exam success, such as regularly submitting your weekly assignments. Earning it builds good study habits. It also gives you peace of mind. If you earn a Certificate but things do not go well on exam day, you can return to the same course the next time it runs, free of charge.

For Principles of International Taxation, Transfer Pricing and UK Tax, the Certificate of Completion is a feature of the Select option, and your free return is to the Core option of the same course. On the Extra option for these modules, the free return is automatic, with no points to earn.

For our other courses, which have a single option equivalent to Select, the Certificate of Completion is included as standard. Whichever course you choose, we encourage you to attend classes, submit assignments and sit the mocks, as these are what lead to exam success.

Learn more about the actions and rewards for a Certificate of Completion here. 

Booking for our December courses usually opens by April, and booking for our June courses by October. Booking early secures your place and gives you access to early bird pricing.

All of our courses are built around small group classes, taught by expert tutors. For UK Tax and Irish Tax, your course also includes our study manual, available as soon as you book, with introductory chapters you can begin before the classes start. For other modules, we set some pre-course reading before the tuition classes begin.

You can still book after classes have started. Each course page shows a final booking date, which usually falls after the first two or three weeks of classes. If you join late, you catch up using the class recordings. We do not take bookings any later than this, as we know from experience that it becomes hard to catch up and keep up. The final booking date also works alongside the CIOT's deadline for registering as a student, which you must meet before you can enter for the exam.

The UK Tax self-study manual can be booked at any time. Your access runs for 18 months from booking, and you study at your own pace.

If you book online, your access to the course platform is set up straight away. If your booking is by invoice, we will confirm your access arrangements when we issue the invoice.

Access to study materials then depends on your module. UK Tax and Irish Tax students receive online access to their study manual with their course access. For Principles of International Taxation and Transfer Pricing, your Bloomsbury International Tax Service subscription is allocated on booking or at the start of the next licence period, depending on availability. For US Tax, your e-book is usually provided within seven days of booking. EU VAT students receive a printed copy of the module's core text, which is also a permitted text for the exam.

Where your course includes printed books, we order these promptly after you book. Some titles, including our own manuals, are printed on demand, so delivery can take a few weeks at times. If you are working to a deadline, ask us and we will give you a realistic estimate.

The class recordings, course slides and weekly assignments are released as your course runs, week by week.

Yes. Many of our students are sponsored by their employers, and employer bookings can be arranged by invoice rather than online card payment. To request this, use the invoice option on your course page, or ask your employer to email us at info@extrataxtraining.com.

ExtraTax Training can be set up as a supplier and paid through your employer's usual accounts payable process. VAT can be zero-rated for non-UK business customers.

If your employer is considering ADIT for several team members, we can arrange group enrolments. You can read more in the sponsoring your team section of our ADIT courses page.

We can sometimes arrange a tailored instalment plan, with the course fee spread over monthly payments. Course fees must be paid in full before the taught classes begin, so an instalment plan depends on booking early. For example, if you book a December course in the spring, there are enough months to spread the cost before the classes begin. If you are booking closer to the course start date, the fee is payable in full at booking.

If you would like to explore an instalment plan, please get in touch with us at info@extrataxtraining.com.

Yes. If you decide not to sit the exam, you have two options.

The first is to keep studying from your existing course. Your access to the materials and recordings continues for the period included in your package. If you feel ready for the next sitting, you can enter for the exam and prepare using those materials.

The second is to defer your booking to the next sitting, so you can join the live classes again, submit your assignments and sit the mock exams with tutor feedback. Deferrals carry a fee, which increases the later in the course you request one. A deferral requested before the live classes begin costs £50.

Once classes are under way, the fee is a percentage of your course fee, rising as the course progresses. The full details are in our ADIT booking terms.

A deferral is different from the free return that comes with a Certificate of Completion. The free return applies when you sit the exam and do not pass it. If you choose not to sit the exam, the deferral policy applies instead.

The best way to get to know us before you book is to talk to us. You can call us on +44 (0)28 9590 5990, and a member of the team answers the phone. Kristen, our Client Relations Manager, handles most enquiries and can answer your practical questions about booking and studying with us. If your questions call for some tax expertise, such as whether ADIT is right for you, where to start, or what a particular module covers, one of our tax team will arrange a follow-up call with you.

If you are considering the UK Tax course or the self-study manual, a sample of the manual is available on request. Email us at info@extrataxtraining.com and we will give you access.

Our classes are live and interactive, which is why we do not have demo videos. Class recordings are only available to students on that course, as they feature the students who took part. What you can do is speak to the people who will support you throughout your studies.