Of the five top-employing industries, tax preparer salary levels are the lowest in the largest industry category. This figure reflect supply-and-demand trends — a high presence of a certain skill in a particular labor market tends to suppress wages. Payscale also tracks data related to supplemental forms of income, including performance bonuses, profit-sharing agreements, and commissions.

• More and more of my T&E practice is shifting to requests to facilitate family meetings on business succession, something I enjoy but have no formal training in.
• This is a great time to go into accounting, and becoming an Enrolled Agent will help you land an even bigger starting salary than you could without it.
• If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or recruiting process, please talk with your recruiter or send a request to
• Offering excellent job security and the opportunity to have jurisdiction throughout the United States, the position of enrolled agent can provide a good salary along with a rewarding career.
• When you’re ready to file, all you have to do is upload your 1099s, and we’ll handle the rest.
• The truth is, comparing CPA vs EA is like comparing apples vs oranges.
• CPA exams consist of a mix of multiple-choice questions, task-based simulations, and written communication tasks.

You will be paid hourly, based on the rate for the state in which you will be working from during seasonal employment. You are also eligible for a performance-based bonus paid out at the end of the season. Performance is determined by customer feedback, issue resolution, and completion of the assigned season. The Importance of Accurate Bookkeeping for Law Firms: A Comprehensive Guide However, the BLS only covers the tax preparer occupation in limited detail. For additional insights, you may also consider BLS projections for similar occupations over the same timeline. Alaska pays Enrolled Agents the most in the United States, with an average salary of $74,649 per year, or $35.89 per hour.

Become an Enrolled Agent

In terms of cities, the nation's largest metro areas rank among the employment leaders for tax preparers. Note the strong labor market demand in the Washington, D.C., area, which has a very high concentration of federal government agencies. Tax preparers do not need to meet any firm educational or certification requirements. Many tax preparers come from academic backgrounds in accounting or finance.

Like the CPA designation, earning the enrolled agent status can improve salaries for these tax professionals. In 2019, enrolled agents brought home an average of $64,108 per year, reports the salary comparison site Payscale. Entry-level tax preparers make around $45,000 and can expect their salary to increase to $50,615 after gaining several years of experience. If you’re looking to speed up your salary gains without making a big career change, the best thing you can do is earn a professional designation, like the EA awarded by the IRS.

The Types of Education for a Tax Analyst

Depending on your level of experience, you can expect to earn an EA designation in as little as three to eight months. One important consideration you’ll need to take into account when comparing https://goodmenproject.com/business-ethics-2/navigating-law-firm-bookkeeping-exploring-industry-specific-insights/ the EA and CPA exams is what is required to take them. The following table summarizes the average tax preparer salary by industry, with an emphasis on the five top-paying sectors.

Enrolled agent salaries at IDEMIA and Acuity Insurance are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average accountant salary at companies like Smoker Craft Boats and Independent Health are highly competitive. In 2019, the average accountant brought home $71,550 per year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This is the median figure, so if you ranked all the accountant salaries from highest to lowest, the median would be the umber in the middle.