Tax Preparer (seasonal and year-round) salary, United States

BLS reports Tax Preparer (seasonal and year-round) within a broader occupation. It does not publish separate wages for this exact title, credentials, seniority or industry. Compare the listed SOC duties with your actual role before using this range.

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. SOC 13-2082 Tax Preparers, United States.

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, nonproduction bonuses and employer-paid benefits. 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

Pay up and down the role ladder

BLS uses a different occupation for these related jobs. A higher percentile is not a promotion level. Compare the duties and the SOC before comparing the wages.

• Tax Associate (staff level, including busy season): SOC 13-2011 Accountants and Auditors
• Tax Manager (CPA firm): SOC 11-3031 Financial Managers
• Tax Director: SOC 11-3031 Financial Managers

Recruiter's read

Qualitative view from our desk. Not BLS data.

For Tax Preparer (seasonal and year-round), discuss the work behind these requirements: Active PTIN; 1040 and small business returns; Drake, Lacerte, UltraTax, ProSeries or CCH Axcess; AFSP record a plus. Ask what the person completed themselves and what a manager or specialist reviewed. A system name on a resume does not establish depth in that workflow. The BLS figure describes the listed occupation, not a separately measured rate for this exact opening.

Related

• Enrolled Agent
• Tax Associate (staff level, including busy season)
• Sales and Use Tax Specialist
• Audit Associate (staff level, including busy season)
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Download the BLS data for this role (CSV)

Reading this page's BLS evidence

What do the released numbers measure?

For Tax Preparer (seasonal and year-round) in the United States, the May 2025 OEWS row records a annual median of $54,920 under Tax Preparer (seasonal and year-round) (SOC 13-2082, Tax Preparers). The Tax Preparer (seasonal and year-round) in the United States mapping is a broader occupation, not a separately measured wage for this hiring title; the occupation name attached to this median is Tax Preparers. The released Tax Preparer (seasonal and year-round) in the United States employment field is 76,480 jobs, which describes the SOC rather than a count of candidates available to take your opening.

How much room is inside the published band?

The middle-half annual band for Tax Preparer (seasonal and year-round) in the United States runs from $38,910 at P25 to $76,300 at P75, a width of $37,390. For Tax Preparer (seasonal and year-round) in the United States, the lower half of that band covers $16,010, while the upper half covers $21,380; the upper side therefore accounts for more of the middle-half spread. An offer for Tax Preparer (seasonal and year-round) in the United States can move within that published band without justifying an exact percentile claim, and these points do not identify junior, senior or manager pay grades.

How does this estimate compare with the national figure?

The Tax Preparer (seasonal and year-round) in the United States median is the national reference for this SOC, not a city-specific offer target. For Tax Preparer (seasonal and year-round) in the United States, the national mean is $60,930, $6,010 above its median; the average and midpoint consequently describe different features of the released wage distribution. The national Tax Preparer (seasonal and year-round) in the United States figure pools places and employers, so a local offer should also be checked against an actual area row rather than being described as a local premium.

Which other metro estimates can you compare?

The Tax Preparer (seasonal and year-round) in the United States comparison uses the two metropolitan estimates with the largest published employment for this occupation: New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, where the annual median for Tax Preparers is $71,300; Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, where the annual median for Tax Preparers is $65,120. These Tax Preparer (seasonal and year-round) in the United States neighbors are selected only from metros with a published median for the same SOC, so suppression can change which comparisons are available. For Tax Preparer (seasonal and year-round) in the United States, the geography comes from Census Gazetteer internal points where available, not a claim about commuting time, recruiting reach or an employer's payroll policy.

What can the industry rows tell you?

Among the loaded national industry rows relevant to Tax Preparer (seasonal and year-round) in the United States, the highest numeric annual medians are Nondepository Credit Intermediation (NAICS 522200), $84,230; Other Nondepository Credit Intermediation (NAICS 522290), $84,230. The Tax Preparer (seasonal and year-round) in the United States industry comparison excludes top-coded and suppressed medians from exact ranking and is limited to the industries loaded for this brand, not every possible industry. For Tax Preparer (seasonal and year-round) in the United States, these are national industry cuts of the same SOC, not proof that this exact title earns those amounts.

What changed in the published median?

For Tax Preparer (seasonal and year-round) in the United States, the prior 2024-05 median was $50,560, compared with $54,920 in 2025-05; the released medians differ by $4,360 upward. This Tax Preparer (seasonal and year-round) in the United States comparison is subtraction of published medians, not an annualized growth forecast or a claim that the same workers received that change. The Tax Preparer (seasonal and year-round) in the United States year-over-year cells use the same SOC and area code, but changes in the surveyed employment mix can still affect what the two medians describe.

What belongs outside the wage budget?

The Tax Preparer (seasonal and year-round) in the United States annual median of $54,920 is an OEWS wage measure, not a complete employer-cost budget. For Tax Preparer (seasonal and year-round) in the United States, guaranteed pay and incentive pay including commissions and production bonuses belong inside the OEWS definition, so adding all commission again would double-count a component the survey includes. Overtime, nonproduction bonuses and employer benefit costs are excluded from the Tax Preparer (seasonal and year-round) in the United States wage definition; budget those separately when relevant, but this the United States row supplies no dollar amounts for them, equity or relocation.

Questions about this estimate

Census internal points used for comparison geography