Total Fees for CA course for 5 years

Questions addressed in this blog:

1. What are CA and its level?
2. What is the fee structure for CA Foundation, Intermediate and Final levels?
3. Different alternatives a CA student can have i.e., self and with classes and cost involved in both

Hi everyone, if you are just passed 10^th, or in 11^th or 12^th, and dream to become a CA, if yes, then this blog is meant for you. Here we will discuss What is the CA course in India and the estimated cost involved in this course. So, lets start:

Introduction to CA course

CA means Chartered accountant is well known and reputed course in India. The CA exams are organized twice a year by our Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) (also famous as माई बाप among CA students). So, if you want to start your career in CA, you need to register yourself with ICAI. Lets take a quick overview of the CA journey through this chart-

Levels of CA course

Lets discuss each level in detail: 

1. CA Foundation: You can understand it as an entrance paper for the CA course. You can enroll in this course after passing your 10^th examination but you can appear in the paper only after appearing in your 12^th exams. 

Registration under this level is available twice a year. It has 4 papers including subjects like accounts, mathematics, statistics, law, economics, etc. You need to score 40% marks in each paper and 50% in aggregate of all papers. 

         2. CA Intermediate: CA intermediate is the second level of the CA course consisting of two groups divided into six papers based on subjects like accounts, law, taxation, audit, etc. After passing your foundation exam, you need to register yourself with ICAI for the intermediate level. 

If you want to join CA after your graduation, you can also opt for the direct entry route. In this exam, a minimum score of 40% in each subject and 50% in total of all subjects is required to pass the exam.

        3. CA article ship: Although this is not a paper, it is the most crucial stage of the CA course, where you will learn practical work related to accounts, auditing, taxation, etc. under a CA. For registering under article ship, you need to fulfill the following criteria- 

• pass either both groups or any group of intermediate and 
• Complete your Integrated course on information technology and soft skills (ICITSS) training.

You need to serve an article ship period of 36 months under a CA. You will be paid some stipend by your CA for this whole period. The minimum stipend prescribed by ICAI remains between 1000- 3000 depending upon the area or the year of article ship but this may increase based on the size of the firm. 

This stage will help you more after clearing your CA exams, so dont take it lightly and try to have the best article ship experience with a good firm. 

       4. CA Final: Now this is the last and most difficult stage of CA after clearing this, you will finally become a CA. This level has 2 groups including 6 papers consisting of subjects like accounts, finance, corporate law, Income tax, GST, etc.,

You need to score at least 40% in each paper and 50% in aggregate of all papers to clear the exam. But I will suggest if you want to pursue a job in a big company, or MNC, or the big fours (i.e., the four famous CA firms in India i.e., Deloitte, KPMG, PWC, and EY) after clearing your CA, then you should know that many good companies prefer the candidates with ranks or passed exams in 1-2 attempts. So do your best to get your dream job.

In addition to the above, you need to complete your practical training i.e., Advance ITT and MCS in this three years duration.

Yay! finally you became a CA now…Now …take your membership number from ICAI and start your journey as a CA professional.

I hope you are now clear with the levels of CA. So, lets focus on another question pumping into your mind, how much will it cost to complete this whole course. If you are thinking this, yes you are on right track. So, lets begin-

As we already discussed, A CA course has three levels, you need to register yourself with ICAI for each level, and also need to pay some exam fee to appear in the exam. Which is as follows-

CA Foundation fees

* Examination fee for Kathmandu is INR 2200.

* An average fee charged by a coaching institute in India for the preparation of the CA foundation course will cost around ₹40,000 – ₹45,000. 

(Noted that it is an approximation based on the fees charged by the different coaching institutes in India. It may differ as per the situation.)

So, if a student takes classes for his or her exams, the total cost will be around ₹56,300 (₹11,300+₹45,000*) (*taking the higher one) 

Yay! we have understood the first level. Lets check, what the burden will be on your pocket for CA intermediate level.

Cost of CA intermediate level

*Fees payable once irrespective of groups appeared or cleared.

** Examination fee for Kathmandu Center is ₹ 2,200 for the single group and ₹ 3,400 for both groups.

Note: If you are entering through the Direct Entry route, the cost of the prospectus is ₹ 200/- (US$ 20) to be paid by students in addition to the above fees.

In India, the coaching for CA intermediate papers is generally subject-specific, (i.e., for the subject you want to take classes). The approximate cost of classes (online/offline) for all subjects remains around ₹ 60,000 to ₹ 80,000. (May differ based on situation)

So, if you take classes for your exam, your approximate cost will be ₹34,200 + ₹80,000 = ₹1,14,200

Cost of CA final level

*Fees payable once irrespective of groups appeared or cleared.

** Registration will be done together for both groups.

***Examination fee for Kathmandu Center is ₹ 2,200 for the single group and ₹ 4,000 for both groups.

Most CA final students take coaching as per their needs but the approximate cost of classes (online/offline) for all subjects remains around ₹ 70,000 to ₹ 90,000. (May differ based on situation)

So, CA final level with coaching for all subject cost around ₹39,800 + ₹90,000 = ₹1,29,800

Takeaways:

So, we have discussed the cost involved in the CA course in different cases. Lets have a quick overview-

Total Fees for CA course for 5 years

Note: The above fee includes the cost of registration, prospectus fee, practical training fee, and exam fee for one attempt. 

I hope the above fee structure will help to decide the correct strategy for your course. All the best for your CA journey.

Sources: 

• https://www.icai.org/