How to become a Tax Preparer: education, training and skills.
What workers in the job actually report about their education, experience and training, the skills to build first, and the stepping-stone roles that lead in.
- 38% High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
- 24% Post-Secondary Certificate
- 24% Bachelor's Degree
- 14% Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree
BLS typical entry-level education: a high school diploma or equivalent
BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education for tax preparers in the United States (Employment Projections, 2025–35). Among tax preparers surveyed by O*NET, 38% report needing a high school diploma or equivalent, the most common answer. O*NET places the job in Job Zone 3 of 5 (medium preparation). The most common answer for related work experience was “no related experience needed” (29%), and for on-the-job training “over 1 year, up to and including 2 years” (38%).
What BLS lists for tax preparers
According to BLS 2025–35 projections data, tax preparers in the United States typically need no work experience in a related occupation to enter the occupation.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35
Once hired, tax preparers in the United States typically need moderate-term on-the-job training (more than 1 month, up to 12 months) to become fully competent, according to BLS 2025–35 projections data.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35
Six steps to becoming a Tax Preparer
Data Steps 1 to 5 summarise BLS and O*NET data for the role; step 6 is advice.
- EducationPlan for a high school diploma or equivalent
BLS typical entry-level education, 2025–35 projections. In O*NET's worker survey, 38% report a high school diploma or equivalent. 62% report no college degree needed.
- TrainingExpect on-the-job training
Most common: over 1 year, up to and including 2 years.
- ExperienceRelated experience
Most common: no related experience needed (29% of workers).
- SkillsBuild the core skills
Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking are rated most important.
- ToolsLearn the tools
Intuit TurboTax, Tax compliance property tax management software, Microsoft Excel.
- CredentialsCheck licensing where you live
Many occupations need a state license or certification. Requirements vary by state, so confirm with your state's licensing board.
What workers report
Data Share of workers giving each answer, O*NET.
O*NET Job Zone 3 (Medium Preparation Needed): Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Related roles that need less preparation
Data O*NET related occupations in a lower Job Zone with a skill match of 65% or more.
Data Pay once you are in the job: the BLS median is $54,920; the lowest-paid quarter earn $38,910 or less. See the full Tax Preparer salary data.
How this page is built
Education, experience, training and Job Zone come from O*NET 31.0 survey data for the occupation. The typical entry-level education, work experience and on-the-job training lines come from BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35. O*NET answers with low-precision estimates are not shown, and an answer is called the most common only when no hidden answer could be larger. Stepping-stone roles use our skill-match score: 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.
- Licensing rules in your state.
- Requirements at a specific employer.
- How long the path will take you personally.
- 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.
- 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.
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