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Role hub · Tax Preparers

Tax Preparer: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

Maid DizdarevicCareer coach · 8x LinkedIn Top Voice
Updated Nov 2, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
Pay ladder · select a percentile
Median percentile pay

Half of tax preparers earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$54,920
Hourly
$26.40
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Tax Preparers prepare tax returns for individuals or small businesses. The median pay is $54,920 a year ($26.40 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a high school diploma or equivalent (38% of workers surveyed by O*NET).

Median pay
$54,920
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
76,480
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 3 of 5
medium preparation
Most common education
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
38% of workers
Key facts

Tax Preparers at a glance

  • Tax preparers in the United States earned a median annual wage of $54,920 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • In its 2025–35 employment projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education for tax preparers in the United States.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS projects employment of tax preparers in the United States to grow 4.7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,400 openings a year on average, including replacement openings.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS estimated that 76,480 people were employed as tax preparers in the United States in May 2025, not counting the self-employed.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

Explore the role

Every page for Tax Preparers

SalaryTax Preparer salary

Pay by percentile, state and metro, with a negotiation script.

Open →How to becomeTax Preparer how to become

Education, training and the skills to build first.

Open →ResumeTax Preparer resume

Keywords, bullet formulas and the skills to prove.

Open →Interview questionsTax Preparer interview questions

Questions with what they test, plus practice mode.

Open →Career changeTax Preparer career change

Where these skills transfer, with skill match and pay change.

Open →Free toolCheck your resume

Parsed text, evidence per bullet, fixes first.

Open →
The work

What tax preparers do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Compute taxes owed or overpaid, using adding machines or personal computers, and complete entries on forms, following tax form instructions and tax tables.
  2. Use all appropriate adjustments, deductions, and credits to keep clients' taxes to a minimum.
  3. Furnish taxpayers with sufficient information and advice to ensure correct tax form completion.
  4. Interview clients to obtain additional information on taxable income and deductible expenses and allowances.
  5. Prepare or assist in preparing simple to complex tax returns for individuals or small businesses.
  6. Review financial records, such as income statements and documentation of expenditures to determine forms needed to prepare tax returns.
  7. Check data input or verify totals on forms prepared by others to detect errors in arithmetic, data entry, or procedures.
  8. Explain federal and state tax laws to individuals and companies.
Where this career works

Industries that employ it

Data Share of all tax preparer jobs in each industry, 2025 (BLS Employment Matrix).

  1. Professional, scientific, and technical services79.8% of all jobs in this occupation · +4.7% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $60,640
  2. Securities, commodity contracts, and other financial investments and related activities0.3% of all jobs in this occupation · +9.8% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $79,230
  3. Administrative and support services0.3% of all jobs in this occupation · -0.2% projected change here 2025–35
  4. Social assistance0.1% of all jobs in this occupation · +5.9% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $53,670

Sources: BLS 2025–35 National Employment Matrix (share of the occupation's jobs, projected change) and BLS OEWS May 2025 industry estimates (mean wage). Different industry estimates are not a pay forecast for any person.

Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

Reading ComprehensioncoreActive ListeningcoreCritical ThinkingcoreTime ManagementSpeakingActive LearningService OrientationJudgment and Decision MakingWriting

Knowledge areas: Economics and Accounting, English Language, Customer and Personal Service, Mathematics, Law and Government, Computers and Electronics.

Tools and technology

Software tax preparers use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • Intuit TurboTaxTax preparation softwareIn demand
  • Tax compliance property tax management softwareCompliance softwareIn demand
  • ATX Total Tax OfficeTax preparation software
  • CCH ProSystem fx TAXTax preparation software
  • Creative Solutions CPA DepreciationTax preparation software
  • Creative Solutions UltraTax CSTax preparation software
  • Datagroup ElectroFile 1040Tax preparation software
  • Datagroup ElectroFile ELFTax preparation software
  • Datagroup ElectroFile STTax preparation software
  • Datair Employee Benefits SystemsFinancial analysis software
  • Electronic ToolKit for Tax PreparersTax preparation software
  • ExacTax PackageEXTax preparation software

Also called: CPA (Certified Public Accountant), Enrolled Agent, Income Tax Preparer, Tax Accountant, Tax Advisor, Tax Associate.

Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).

How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.