Tax Preparers
Prepare tax returns for individuals or small businesses.
- Median pay
- $54,920
- Doing it now
- 95,800
- By 2035
- Up 4.7%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
a year
across the country
9,400 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Compute taxes owed or overpaid, using adding machines or personal computers, and complete entries on forms, following tax form instructions and tax tables.
- Prepare or assist in preparing simple to complex tax returns for individuals or small businesses.
- Use all appropriate adjustments, deductions, and credits to keep clients' taxes to a minimum.
- Interview clients to obtain additional information on taxable income and deductible expenses and allowances.
- Review financial records, such as income statements and documentation of expenditures to determine forms needed to prepare tax returns.
- Furnish taxpayers with sufficient information and advice to ensure correct tax form completion.
- Consult tax law handbooks or bulletins to determine procedures for preparation of atypical returns.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Accounting and Related ServicesSee 1,192 colleges that teach it
- TaxationSee 3 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Organised and precise
Leading and persuading
Analytical and curious
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $54,920 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.