How to Prepare for CA Intermediate Online: ICAI Classes, Mock Tests and a Study Plan

What the exam expects from your preparation

Plan your online study around how the papers are set and marked. These rules come from ICAI's FAQs (Q 3.13 to 3.19), its guidance notes for the September 2026 Intermediate exams and its January 2027 exam announcement:

• Six papers in two groups. Group I: Advanced Accounting; Corporate and Other Laws; Taxation (Income-tax Law and GST). Group II: Cost and Management Accounting; Auditing and Ethics; Financial Management and Strategic Management. Each paper carries 100 marks.
• 30 marks of MCQs in every paper. Each MCQ carries 1 or 2 marks and has four options. They are compulsory, with no choice, and there is no negative marking, so never leave one blank. The other 70 marks are descriptive questions.
• 3 hours per paper, from 2 PM to 5 PM, with 15 minutes of reading time from 1:45 PM.
• Two answer books in Papers 3 and 6. Income-tax and GST, and Financial Management and Strategic Management, are answered in separate books within the same 3 hours. Practise switching between the two sections in your mock tests.
• Calculator. Only a battery-operated calculator with up to 6 functions, 12 digits and two memories is allowed; scientific calculators are not. Practise on the model you will take into the exam.
• Language. You can answer in English or Hindi, chosen in the exam form.

To pass a group you need at least 40% in each paper and 50% in the group's aggregate at one sitting. If you write both groups together, you can also pass both with 40% in each of the six papers and 50% across all six. A paper in which you score 60% or more is exempted for the next three exams if you fail that group (FAQ Q 3.18 and Q 3.19). Eligibility, fees, registration and exam dates are covered in our CA Intermediate course guide.

ICAI's online classes for Intermediate

Live Virtual Classes (LVC)

The current LVC batch is for students appearing in the May 2027, September 2027 or January 2028 Intermediate exams. It began on 20 July 2026, and some papers start later in the year (BoS announcement of 10 June 2026, last updated 18 July 2026):

The classes are not free. ICAI charges a fee for each group:

To enrol, open boslive.icai.org/lvc-class, choose your group or groups and click Buy, then log in with your registration number and date of birth, confirm the OTP and pay. ICAI lists notes, assignments, MCQs and doubt-resolution sessions among the features of the classes. If you join after the start date, the recorded lectures let you catch up.

Live Virtual Revisionary Classes (LVRC)

Before each exam, BoS runs shorter revision classes. For the January 2027 exam they start on 12 October 2026, in the same morning (7 to 9:30 AM) and evening (6 to 8:30 PM) slots (BoS announcement of 24 September 2026):

To join on Zoom, log in to the BoS Knowledge Portal with your course, registration number and date of birth, and select "Join LVRC Zoom Live Classes January 2027". The announcement also lists the ICAI BOS mobile app and ICAI's YouTube channel (ICAI CA tube) for access, with unlimited access to the recordings. It does not mention a fee.

Exam-strategy sessions

Shortly before each exam, BoS faculty hold "Success at CA Exam BoS" sessions, one per paper or section. For the September 2026 exam they ran from 20 to 23 August 2026, at 11 AM and 2 PM, on Zoom, the BoS app and YouTube. The announcement lists strategies for case-scenario MCQs and descriptive questions, important questions from the mock test and revision test papers, revision planning and common mistakes (BoS announcement of 25 June 2026). Watch the portal's announcements for the January 2027 schedule.

Study material for the January 2027 exam

Every online course, ICAI's or a private one, should follow the edition of the study material that ICAI says applies to your exam. For January 2027 it is (BoS notice on applicable study material):

The study material, revision test papers (RTPs) and statutory updates each have their own section on the BoS Knowledge Portal. Our guide to self-study for CA at home explains how to use each of these resources in a weekly routine.

Practise with mock tests and past papers

Timed practice matters more online than in a classroom, because nobody else sets the clock for you. ICAI gives you two sources:

• Mock Test Papers (MTPs). BoS runs two series before each exam. For September 2026, Series I ran from 25 July and Series II from 8 August 2026, one paper every two or three days. Question papers are posted on the BoS Knowledge Portal and the BoS MTP portal (bosmtp.icai.org) by 9:30 AM on the day of the paper, and answer keys follow within 48 hours. You can also sit them in person at an ICAI branch or regional office (BoS announcement of 25 June 2026). ICAI had not announced the January 2027 series when we checked on 7 October 2026.
• Previous question papers and suggested answers. ICAI publishes the new-scheme question papers on its question papers page, and the suggested answers are on the BoS Knowledge Portal.

Write each mock paper in one 3-hour sitting at 2 PM, the exam time, and in Papers 3 and 6 answer the two sections on separate sheets. Mark your answers against ICAI's key, then list the chapters where you lost marks and revise those before the next series.

Build a study plan around the exam rules

Start from your exam date and work backwards. In our experience, a plan that works online has three stages: first reading with the LVC lectures, a revision round with the LVRC and RTP, and the two mock test series in the last weeks.

• Decide on one group or both. You must register for both groups, but you can write one group at a time (FAQ Q 3.12). If you write both together, the combined aggregate rule above can help when one group is just short of 50%.
• Line up the LVC timetable with your plan. Papers 3B, 4 and 6B start later in the current batch, so cover other papers first or use another resource for those.
• Give the MCQs a fixed slot each week. Thirty marks per paper are objective, and the MCQs are case-scenario or case-study based (FAQ Q 3.16), so practise them with the descriptive questions from the same chapter.
• Aim above 60% in your strongest papers. If you miss a group, a paper with 60% or more is exempted for the next three exams.

For a day-by-day plan for the last three months, see our 3-month CA Inter study plan.

Keep your material organised

Keep one folder, physical or digital, for each paper. Put the applicable study material edition, the RTP, the statutory update for Taxation, your class notes and your marked mock papers together, so revision does not start with a search for files.

Get your doubts answered

Ask questions during the LVC and LVRC doubt-resolution sessions rather than letting them pile up. A study group of two or three students taking the same exam helps too: you can mark each other's mock answers against ICAI's key and explain topics to each other.

Look after your health and motivation

Sleep, short breaks and regular meals keep long online sessions productive. Track what you complete each week instead of counting hours, and talk to family, friends or a mentor when the workload feels heavy.

If you also take a paid online course

Paid courses are optional. Before you pay, compare a few lectures with ICAI's LVC for the same paper, check that the course covers the six new-scheme papers and the study material edition for your exam, and ask whether it includes timed MCQ and written-answer tests and how doubts are answered. Our guide to studying CA online or at home compares online and classroom coaching.