Senior Tax Preparer salary, United States

BLS reports Tax Preparers, not a separate wage for Senior Tax Preparer. This broader occupation does not distinguish seniority, work arrangement or language requirements.

Employment, U.S.

76,480

Mean annual wage

$60,930

Reference period

May 2025

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, released 2026-05-15. SOC 13-2082 Tax Preparers, United States. BLS source tables and downloads; release notes. Select this SOC and area in the source files; the tables index is not an exact-row link.

Target metros

A location quotient above 1 means the occupation is more concentrated in that metro than in the nation. Northern New Jersey figures come from the broader New York metro.

Every published area

Choose a state, metropolitan area or nonmetropolitan area. We create an area page only when BLS released a median. The other areas remain available in the tools with labeled state or national fallbacks.

Metro rankings and pay relative to local wages

By industry

These are national industry estimates for SOC 13-2082 Tax Preparers, not a separate estimate for this title. Industry names below are exactly as BLS publishes them. Private-sector rows are labeled when an all-ownership estimate is not available.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025, national industry-specific rows. BLS tables.

What changed since May 2024

The published medians differ by $4,360. Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2024 and May 2025. This is not an annualized growth claim. Area definitions and the workers represented can change.

What belongs in the pay comparison

OEWS includes straight-time gross wages, guaranteed pay, commissions and production bonuses. It excludes overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and employer-paid benefits. It is neither pure base salary nor total compensation. Filing-season overtime is outside this wage measure. A year-end or retention bonus is not automatically included: the BLS distinction is whether it is production pay. Ask what the bonus is tied to and put the overtime arrangement in writing. Partnership profit and an owner's draw are not an employee wage for this comparison.

Read the BLS wage definition and exclusions

Recruiter's read

Qualitative view from our desk. Not BLS data.

The BLS line for Senior Tax Preparer is a starting point. Ask which decisions this person will own and who will check the work. The published occupation does not separate the scope of your seat from other jobs with the same SOC.

Related

• Tax Preparer (seasonal and year-round)
• Enrolled Agent
• Seasonal Tax Preparer
• Remote Tax Preparer
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Reading this page's BLS evidence

What do the released numbers measure?

For Senior Tax Preparer in the United States, use the May 2025 Tax Preparers occupation benchmark (SOC 13-2082): a annual median of $54,920. This is a broader occupation, not a separately measured wage for the hiring title. BLS reports 76,480 jobs for the occupation here. Employment is not a count of available candidates.

How much room is inside the published band?

The middle half of Tax Preparers wages in the United States runs from $38,910 at P25 to $76,300 at P75, a width of $37,390. The distance from P25 to the median is $16,010; from the median to P75 it is $21,380. The upper part is wider. Compare an offer against those published points, but do not assign an exact percentile between them or label them junior, senior and manager pay.

How does this estimate compare with the national figure?

This national Tax Preparers median pools places and employers; it is not a city-specific offer target. The mean is $60,930, $6,010 above the median. The average and midpoint describe different parts of the distribution. Check an actual area row before using the national figure in a local hiring budget.

Which other metro estimates can you compare?

For comparison with the United States, the two metropolitan estimates with the largest published employment for this occupation are New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ ($71,300 annual median for Tax Preparers); Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA ($65,120 annual median for Tax Preparers). Only metros with a published median for this SOC qualify, so suppression can change the comparison set. Geography uses Census Gazetteer internal points where available, not commuting time or a claim about recruiting reach.

What can the industry rows tell you?

Among the loaded national industry rows for Tax Preparers, the highest numeric annual medians are Nondepository Credit Intermediation (NAICS 522200), $84,230; Other Nondepository Credit Intermediation (NAICS 522290), $84,230. This ranking excludes suppressed and top-coded medians and covers only the industries loaded for this brand. These are national occupation estimates, not separate observations for this hiring title.

What changed in the published median?

For Tax Preparers in the United States, the median was $50,560 in 2024-05 and $54,920 in 2025-05. The difference is $4,360 upward. This subtracts two published estimates; it is not a growth forecast or a same-worker raise. The SOC and area codes match, but the surveyed employment mix can change.

What belongs outside the wage budget?

The Tax Preparers benchmark is neither pure base salary nor total compensation. Guaranteed pay, commissions and production bonuses are included in OEWS, so adding all commission again would double-count pay already covered. Overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and employer benefits are excluded. Budget those separately where relevant; this the United States row provides no amounts for them, equity or relocation.

Questions about this estimate

Census internal points used for comparison geography