Also called: Seasonal Tax Professional
Prepares individual tax returns, often at seasonal offices or small firms.
From January to April you meet clients all day, enter their W-2s and receipts into software, explain their refund and e-file the return.
Many work seasonally; full-time preparers with their own clients earn more.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 0 years after high school. High school diploma plus tax training courses; an IRS PTIN number.
Ways in: Certification, On-the-job training. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Accounting.
Shrinking (about -5% over 10 years). Declining as tax software and AI make DIY filing easier.
High risk for 10 years. Free and AI-powered filing tools handle simple returns; seasonal preparer jobs at chains are expected to shrink sharply.
Age 18+. One way to start: Take a free tax course from H&R Block or Jackson Hewitt in the fall, get an IRS PTIN online, then work the tax season First: IRS PTIN (online, 18+) plus the employer’s tax course; a few states also register preparers
Classes: Personal finance, Accounting, Computer applications, Spanish.
Official data: O*NET occupation 13-2082.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.