Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents
Median $62,370
Occupation · SOC 13-2082
Tax Preparers: pay and where the jobs are
What tax preparers earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.
National pay, May 2025
$54,920 median annual wage
- Mean (average) annual wage
- $60,930
- Median hourly wage
- $26.40
- Mean hourly wage
- $29.30
- Employment
- 76,480
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 13-2082.
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How much do tax preparers make?
The median annual wage for tax preparers was $54,920 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $33,760 and the highest-paid 10% more than $99,270. As an hourly rate, the median is $26.40. About 76,480 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in New York ($71,850), California ($70,030) and Utah ($66,720). After taxes and local prices, though, a median paycheck goes furthest in Missouri.
Pay ladder
What each step of the pay range for tax preparers looks like per month. Take-home here includes federal tax, Social Security and Medicare for a single filer; add your state in the paycheck calculator.
| Step | Annual | Hourly | Monthly gross | Monthly after federal tax & FICA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $33,760 | $16.23 | $2,813 | $2,442 |
| 25th percentile | $38,910 | $18.71 | $3,243 | $2,787 |
| Median | $54,920 | $26.40 | $4,577 | $3,859 |
| 75th percentile | $76,300 | $36.68 | $6,358 | $5,209 |
| 90th percentile | $99,270 | $47.72 | $8,273 | $6,556 |
Tax Preparers: pay by state
49 states and territories have a published median, sorted from highest to lowest. The last two columns are our estimates: the median after 2026 federal and state taxes, and that take-home restated in national-average prices.
1
$55,728 take-home in national prices
2
$53,989 take-home in national prices
3
$53,744 take-home in national prices
Where a median tax preparer paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.
| State | Employment | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Median after tax* | In national prices† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 7,620 | $71,850 | $39,010 | $125,070 | $55,752 | $51,660 |
| California | 10,270 | $70,030 | $38,910 | $104,000 | $54,809 | $49,502 |
| Utah | 1,190 | $66,720 | $38,430 | $102,840 | $53,134 | $53,744 |
| Montana | 360 | $63,080 | $44,300 | $100,060 | $50,657 | $53,523 |
| Missouri | 1,330 | $62,780 | $31,400 | $124,300 | $50,610 | $55,728 |
| Colorado | 1,540 | $62,620 | $37,790 | $97,980 | $50,173 | $48,687 |
| Alaska | 70 | $62,360 | $40,340 | $117,890 | $52,015 | $50,816 |
| New Hampshire | 420 | $61,370 | $36,100 | $97,020 | $51,491 | $49,432 |
| Oregon | 1,590 | $61,370 | $43,640 | $96,550 | $47,043 | $45,513 |
| Pennsylvania | 2,010 | $61,270 | $31,200 | $103,570 | $49,487 | $50,718 |
| Nevada | 1,410 | $60,000 | $41,900 | $99,500 | $50,390 | $50,401 |
| Minnesota | 1,040 | $59,200 | $36,520 | $95,520 | $46,985 | $47,641 |
| Virginia | 1,960 | $58,520 | $36,330 | $98,700 | $46,650 | $46,141 |
| Massachusetts | 1,500 | $58,400 | $37,560 | $82,700 | $46,136 | $43,624 |
| Wyoming | 90 | $57,990 | $37,830 | $92,380 | $48,775 | $52,621 |
| Rhode Island | Not published | $57,680 | $52,000 | $62,580 | $46,345 | $45,312 |
| North Dakota | 220 | $57,060 | $37,080 | $89,310 | $48,028 | $53,989 |
| Illinois | 1,310 | $54,480 | $33,030 | $76,150 | $43,403 | $43,421 |
| Iowa | 780 | $53,660 | $33,520 | $84,700 | $43,909 | $50,031 |
| South Dakota | 280 | $52,530 | $39,080 | $77,480 | $44,388 | $50,107 |
| Delaware | 240 | $51,960 | $37,910 | $74,650 | $41,515 | $41,595 |
| Mississippi | 580 | $50,670 | $29,140 | $88,790 | $41,599 | $47,840 |
| Georgia | 1,670 | $49,330 | $30,780 | $97,020 | $40,104 | $41,647 |
| Florida | Not published | $49,020 | $30,380 | $94,330 | $41,568 | $40,195 |
| Ohio | 1,590 | $49,020 | $36,190 | $74,850 | $40,663 | $43,830 |
| North Carolina | 2,710 | $48,130 | $35,480 | $97,720 | $39,441 | $41,813 |
| Texas | 6,010 | $47,460 | $31,110 | $86,950 | $40,314 | $41,537 |
| Kansas | 450 | $47,300 | $30,980 | $99,090 | $38,346 | $42,574 |
| Maine | 250 | $47,150 | $38,800 | $63,260 | $38,313 | $39,477 |
| Maryland | 1,240 | $47,020 | $37,700 | $69,790 | $38,093 | $36,293 |
| Puerto Rico | 340 | $46,730 | $29,830 | $96,360 | — | — |
| Michigan | 1,660 | $46,400 | $29,600 | $77,950 | $37,741 | $39,225 |
| Indiana | 1,820 | $45,710 | $27,190 | $86,360 | $37,589 | $40,276 |
| Washington | 1,360 | $45,370 | $38,260 | $71,480 | $38,005 | $35,515 |
| Arizona | 2,240 | $44,770 | $36,970 | $104,740 | $37,427 | $37,176 |
| Wisconsin | 1,550 | $44,340 | $34,920 | $73,130 | $36,509 | $38,801 |
| New Jersey | 3,220 | $43,420 | $34,250 | $77,640 | $35,850 | $32,949 |
| Nebraska | 420 | $43,010 | $30,920 | $71,580 | $35,661 | $39,578 |
| Oklahoma | 1,300 | $42,700 | $26,720 | $82,210 | $35,113 | $39,973 |
| Connecticut | 700 | $41,130 | $35,740 | $81,750 | $33,556 | $32,387 |
| South Carolina | 1,360 | $39,220 | $28,040 | $80,880 | $33,211 | $35,426 |
| Louisiana | 650 | $38,740 | $24,920 | $61,880 | $32,532 | $36,881 |
| New Mexico | 340 | $38,060 | $27,250 | $60,000 | $32,092 | $34,802 |
| Kentucky | 1,080 | $36,620 | $21,750 | $80,690 | $30,440 | $33,763 |
| Tennessee | 1,260 | $36,600 | $27,770 | $77,270 | $31,588 | $34,383 |
| West Virginia | 330 | $35,880 | $21,880 | $63,760 | $30,096 | $33,628 |
| Arkansas | 550 | $35,040 | $28,990 | $66,420 | $29,526 | $33,962 |
| Hawaii | Not published | $34,720 | $29,120 | $69,270 | $28,938 | $26,319 |
| Alabama | 290 | $33,280 | $23,290 | $48,020 | $27,593 | $31,066 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 13-2082. *Our estimate for a single filer paid biweekly with no pre-tax deductions or local tax, 2026 federal and state rules. †Take-home ÷ BEA Regional Price Parity × 100 (2024 price levels).
Sources
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25nat.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25st.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.