CA Foundation 2026 Syllabus, Subjects, Exam Pattern, Marks Weightage & FAQs

The Chartered Accountant profession continues to be among the top career choices available to candidates in India. Each year, many students enrol in the Chartered Accountant course offered by the ICAI. The very first stage of this process is taking the CA foundation exam.

CA Foundation 2026 Syllabus: Entire List of ICAI Subjects, Exam Structure, Marks & Study Tips for Sept Attempt

The CA Foundation syllabus 2026 aims to provide adequate conceptual knowledge about subjects such as accounting, business laws, maths, statistics, economics, and communication to students. Proper knowledge of the syllabus plays a key role in ensuring that the student passes the test on the first attempt.

Here’s a complete CA Foundation syllabus 2026 guide, including the latest syllabus, test pattern, weightage of marks, deleted syllabus, tips, and subject analysis.

CA Foundation Course: All you need to know

The CA Foundation Course is the preliminary exam administered by the ICAI for those who wish to pursue their career as Chartered Accountants in India. Originally titled CPT, the course was eventually replaced with CA Foundation so that students could learn concepts and analysis effectively.

CPT is now CA-Foundation

Subjects of the CA Foundation course include accounting, business laws, mathematics, economics, and communication abilities.

CA Foundation 2026 Exam Pattern

The best way to crack the CA-Foundation exams is by knowing the CA-Foundation syllabus well. Please note that the CA-Foundation syllabus comprises four papers. They are the same basics of accounting and financial aspects that you studied in 11th and 12th.

CA Foundation Exam Pattern
Particulars	CA Foundation Exam of 2022
Convener	Institute Of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI)
Recognition	All India
Frequency	Two times a year (May/June and November)
Medium	English/Hindi (Only English for Section B of Paper 2)
Mode of Registration	Online
Mode Of Exam	Offline(pen & paper)
Duration	3 hours for each paper
Number of Papers	4
Subjective paper	Paper 1 & 2
Objective Paper	Paper 3 & 4
Negative marks	Only for Paper 3 and 4 Objective papers (0.25 marks)
Eligibility	Class 12 Passed or Completing Class 12 in the Current Year
Exemptions	Graduates and Post Graduates, or those who have already qualified in an equivalent exam
Difficulty level	Moderate
Official Website	icai.org

The difficulty level in the CA Foundation exam is minimal. Nevertheless, you can master it only by cutting out all distractions and focusing on studies alone.

ICAI CA Foundation Subjects with the Marks Weightage

The total marks for the CA-Foundation Course are 100 marks. You have to score 200 marks out of 400 (100 marks each subject) as the aggregate should be 50%. You must score 40% in each subject to clear the CA- Foundation exams.

Read further for the section-wise marks weightage for each subject.

CA Foundation Subject with Marks Weightage
Papers	CA Foundation Subjects	Marks Distribution
Paper 1	Principles and Practices of Accounting	100 Marks
Paper 2	1. Business Laws 2. Business Correspondence and Reporting	(60 Marks) (40 Marks)
Paper 3	1. Business Mathematics 2. Logical Reasoning 3. Statistics	(40 Marks) (20 Marks) (40 Marks)
Paper 4	Section A: Business Economics Section B: Business and Commercial Knowledge	(60 Marks) (40 Marks)

CA Foundation Course Subjects 2026 With Marks Distribution

PAPER 1: Principles and Practice of Accounting

The first paper in the CA Foundation 2026 syllabus, Principles and Practice of Accounting, is of 100 marks total and lasts 3 hours. It is the basics of accounting that have been covered in classes 11 and 12. This paper is regarded as one of the most essential papers since it lays the groundwork for practical accounting. By doing this paper, ICAI intends to build students' knowledge of principles, ratios, calculations, and problem-solving techniques used in Chartered Accountancy practice.

Principle and Practice of Accounting
Chapters		Marks Weightage
1.	Theoretical Framework	5%-10%
2.	Accounting Process	25%-30%
3.	Bank Reconciliation Statement
4.	Inventories
5.	Concept and Accounting of Depreciation
6.	Accounting for Special Transactions	15%-20%
7.	Final Accounts of Sole Proprietors	30%-40%
8.	Partnership Accounts
9.	Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Organizations
10.	Introduction to Company Accounts	10%-15%

Students must primarily pay attention to the study of Depreciation, Final Accounts, Company Accounts, Trial Balance, BRS, and Partnership Accounts in Principles and Practice of Accounting. Practice is mandatory for journalizing and preparing the accounts so that students can excel in the CA Foundation Accounting exam.

PAPER 2: Business Laws and Business Correspondence and Reporting

Paper 2 of the CA Foundation syllabus includes Business Laws and Business Correspondence & Reporting and carries 100 marks with a duration of three hours. This paper must be answered only in English, regardless of the medium selected by the student. Section A covers Business Laws for 60 marks, while Section B covers Business Correspondence & Reporting for 40 marks. The subject helps students understand legal concepts along with professional communication skills required in the business and accounting professions.

Section A: Business Laws and their Provisions (60 Marks)

Paper 2 -Business laws and their provisions in Section A of Paper 2. One cannot perform an accounting operation without a sound knowledge of Business Laws. It is Business laws that hold up a business. Accountancy depends on the policies that business law provides.

The various ACTs covered by the subject are:

Chartered Accountants must know their legal and professional responsibilities and the legal implications of every business transaction.

The ICAI, through section A Business Law and its provisions, aims to train the students to understand the necessary business law provisions and develop an ability to apply them to solve issues related to business.

Section A - Business Law - 60 marks
Chapters		Marks Weightage
1.	The Indian Contract Act, 1872	25%-30%
2.	The Sale of Goods Act, 1930	20%-25%
3.	The Indian Partnership Act, 1932	20%-25%
4.	The Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008	5%-10%
5.	The Companies Act, 2013	15%-20%

Section A-Business Laws and their Provisions (60 Marks)

Section B: Business Correspondence and Reporting (40marks)

Business Correspondence & Reporting (Section B) of Paper 2 enables students to enhance their professional communication and writing skills necessary in the corporate world. This paper assesses grammatical knowledge, vocabulary skills, formal letters, emails, report writing, and comprehension skills. This paper is designed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India to enhance students' business communication skills.

Section B: Business Correspondence and Reporting - 40 Marks
Chapter		Marks Weightage
Part I: Communication		10%-15%
Part II: Sentence Types and Word Power
2.	Sentence Types (Direct-Indirect, Active -Passive Speech)	20%-30%
3.	Vocabulary Root Words, Synonyms, Antonyms, Prefixes, Suffixes, Phrasal verbs, Collocations, and Idioms.	20%-30%
Part III: Comprehension Passages and Note Making
4.	Comprehension Passages	20%-30%
5.	Note Making	20%-30%
Part IV: Developing Writing Skills
6.	Introduction to Basic Writing	35%-40%
7.	Precis Writing
8.	Article Writing
9.	Report Writing
10.	Writing Formal Letters
11.	Writing Formal Mails
12.	Resume Writing
13.	Meetings

Section B: Business Correspondence and Reporting (40marks)

PAPER 3: Quantitative Aptitude

Paper 3, Quantitative Aptitude, is one of the toughest yet scoring papers out of all the CA Foundation Papers. It consists of 100 MCQs and carries a total mark weightage of 100 marks, divided into three subjects – Business Mathematics (40 marks), Logical Reasoning (20 marks), and Statistics (40 marks).

Section A: Business Mathematics

In Part A of Paper 3, Business Mathematics, there are 40 questions, where time management is very important because of the time-consuming calculations involved. The previous year’s paper must be practiced frequently by students, and the following topics should get more emphasis: Time Value of Money, Calculus, Ratio & Proportions, and Linear Inequalities.

Part A: Business Mathematics (40 Marks)
Chapters		Marks Weightage
1.	Ratio and Proportion, Indices and Logarithms	20%-30%
2.	Equations and Matrices
3.	Linear Inequalities with Objective Functions and Optimization with respect to the. objective function.
4.	Time Value of Money	30%-40%
5.	Permutations and Combinations	30%-50%
6.	Sequence and Series
7.	Sets, Relations, and Functions
8.	Basic applications of Differential and Integral calculus

Part – A. Business Mathematics (40 Marks)

Section B: Logical Reasoning

Logical Reasoning in Part B of Paper 3 includes 20 questions that require constant practice and good analytical skills. The key topics covered include number series, coding-decoding, and odd man out, but preparation is essential for the entire syllabus due to its unpredictable nature.

Part B: Logical Reasoning (20 Marks)
Chapters		Marks Weightage
1.	Number series, Coding, decoding, and the odd man out	60%-70%
2.	Direction Tests
3.	Seating Arrangements
4.	Blood Relations	30%-40%
5.	Syllogism	30%-40%

Part – B: Logical Reasoning (20 Marks)

Section C: Statistics

Section C of Paper 3, which is Statistics, is the highest-scoring part of the CA Foundation exams and is worth 40 marks. Candidates must emphasize topics such as Probability, Central Tendency, and Dispersion as they are crucial and conceptual. Conceptual knowledge and consistent practice can enable candidates to answer questions faster.

Part C: Statistics (40 Marks)
Chapters	Marks Weightage
1. Statistical description of Data 2. Measures of Central Tendency and Dispersion	45%-50%
3. Probability 4. Theoretical Distributions	25%-30%
5. Correlation and Regression	10%-15%
6. Index Numbers and Time Series	10%-15%

Part – C: Statistics (40 Marks)

PAPER 4: Business Economics and Business & Commercial Knowledge (100 marks)

Paper 4 Business Economics and Business and Commercial Knowledge comprises two sections. They are as follows :

Part A - Business Economics (60 marks)

Part B - Business and Commercial Knowledge (40 marks)

Part A Business Economics

Business Economics is a subject that enables a student to get acquainted with the practical applicability of economic principles within business decision-making processes and in market scenarios. Some key topics covered under this include Theory of Demand & Supply, Theory of Production & Cost, and Government policies for business development.

Part A: Business Economics - 60 marks
Chapter No.	Chapter Names
1	Introduction to Business Economics
2	Theory of Demand and Supply
3	Theory of Production and Cost
4	Price Determination in Different Markets
5	Business Cycles

Business Economics - 60 marks

Part B: Business and Commercial Knowledge

The Business World undergoes rapid development and change in trends. There is an accepted terminology in business that a Chartered accountant must know. That is why Business and Commercial Knowledge is included in the ICAI CA Foundation Syllabus 2026.

Business and Commercial knowledge are necessary for chartered accountants to understand the rapid changes in the business world. A CA aspirant enters the business world with Commercial knowledge, an introduction to the real world of business.

Part B: Business & Commercial Knowledge
Chapter No.	Chapter Names
1	Business and Commercial Knowledge – An Introduction
2	Business Environment
3	Business Organizations
4	Government Policies for Business Growth
5	Organizations Facilitating Business
6	Common Business Terminologies

CA-Foundation Syllabus - Commercial Knowledge

Tips to Clear the CA Foundation in 1st attempt

To clear the CA Foundation exam in one attempt, proper planning and preparation are essential for students. Instead of cramming, the student needs to have a thorough concept of the course and maintain consistency in studying.

Cover the full syllabus of ICAI.
Create a realistic timetable of studies per day
Attempt past year questions and mock tests
Revisit formulae, provisions, and concepts many times
Manage time while solving questions
Do not guess answers in objective-type questions, as there is negative marking.
Devote more time to important topics
Study from the ICAI material first
Take notes for quick revision before exams

Regular revision and practice are crucial for performing well in the CA Foundation Exam. Proper planning, discipline, and preparation can help in clearing the CA Foundation exam in one attempt.

Conclusion

Many students opt for the profession of Chartered Accountant after being motivated by the success of Chartered Accountants. But to become a CA, one needs to be very dedicated, disciplined, persistent in their work, and highly determined during their path.

By following proper preparation and working consistently, students will be able to pass the CA Foundation Exam and make themselves more successful in their professional path. Here is a complete overview of the CA Foundation Syllabus 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the CA Foundation Course?

The CA Foundation course is the initial level of examination organized by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India for aspirants aspiring to be Chartered Accountants in India. The course serves as the beginning stage of being a Chartered Accountant and enables the students to gain basic knowledge about accounting, business laws, economics, and mathematics for higher levels of CAs.

2. What are the Eligibility Criteria for the CA Foundation Examination 2026?

The eligibility criteria for the CA Foundation examination include those who have passed Class 12 or are currently writing their Class 12 board examinations. Students from all streams can appear for the CA Foundation examination, irrespective of whether they come from commerce or other streams.

3. How many papers are there in CA Foundation Examination?

There are a total of four papers in the CA Foundation examination covering areas like accounting, law, mathematics, economics, and communication skills of the aspirants.

4. What is the passing criterion of CA Foundation?

The passing criterion of CA Foundation includes obtaining at least 40% marks individually in each paper along with a minimum 50% marks in the aggregate. Thus, the passing criterion involves scoring a minimum of 200 marks from a total of 400 marks.

5. Are there any negative marks in the CA Foundation exam?

Yes, there are negative marks in the CA Foundation exam in case of objective-type papers. In papers 3 and 4 of the CA Foundation exam, 0.25 marks will be deducted for each wrong answer.

6. Which paper is a subjective or objective type?

Paper 1 and Paper 2 are subjective papers wherein candidates have to attempt the papers descriptively. Papers 3 and 4 of the CA Foundation exam are objective-type papers.