Internal revenue agent vs tax investigator

The differences between internal revenue agents and tax investigators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an internal revenue agent and a tax investigator. Additionally, an internal revenue agent has an average salary of $71,853, which is higher than the $35,077 average annual salary of a tax investigator.

The top three skills for an internal revenue agent include partnerships, CPA and IRS. The most important skills for a tax investigator are tax laws, state tax, and customer service.

Internal revenue agent vs tax investigator overview

	Internal Revenue Agent	Tax Investigator
Yearly salary	$71,853	$35,077
Hourly rate	$34.54	$16.86
Growth rate	-7%	-7%
Number of jobs	35,750	30,630
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	2	2

Internal revenue agent vs tax investigator salary

Internal revenue agents and tax investigators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Internal Revenue Agent	Tax Investigator
Average salary	$71,853	$35,077
Salary range	Between $32,000 And $161,000	Between $22,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	Laguna Niguel, CA	-
Highest paying state	New Jersey	-
Best paying company	Internal Revenue Service	-
Best paying industry	Government	-

Differences between internal revenue agent and tax investigator education

There are a few differences between an internal revenue agent and a tax investigator in terms of educational background:

	Internal Revenue Agent	Tax Investigator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Southern California

Internal revenue agent vs tax investigator demographics

Here are the differences between internal revenue agents' and tax investigators' demographics:

	Internal Revenue Agent	Tax Investigator
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 59.3% Female, 40.7%	Male, 64.3% Female, 35.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 13.0% Unknown, 3.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 10.3% White, 56.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 14.1% Unknown, 3.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 8.1% White, 62.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between internal revenue agent and tax investigator duties and responsibilities

Internal revenue agent example responsibilities.

Manage teams of cooperating agents from areas such as international taxation, employment tax, and economists when conducting tax audits.
Utilize computer technology to access legal bulletins, IRS notices, and tax-relate court decisions.
Conduct workshops on occasion in specific areas of the tax law and regarding IRS procedures.
Negotiate with CPA's and attorneys to settle and close audits and assess deficiencies and refunds.
Review and approve relief application forms.
Generate partnerships with existing and new businesses.

Tax investigator example responsibilities.

Investigate welfare, Medicaid, and food stamp fraud.
Work in conjunctions with the FBI, IRS and various corporations to help control tax loss and fraud.
Update taxpayers addresses, assign temporary ITIN numbers to taxpayers without a social security number, establish fiduciary accounts for taxpayers
Update taxpayers addresses, assign temporary ITIN numbers to taxpayers without a social security number, establish fiduciary accounts for taxpayers

Internal revenue agent vs tax investigator skills

Common internal revenue agent skills

Partnerships, 23%
CPA, 18%
IRS, 15%
Financial Transactions, 13%
Income Tax Returns, 9%
Tax Issues, 5%

Common tax investigator skills

Tax Laws, 55%
State Tax, 30%
Customer Service, 15%

Internal Revenue Agent vs. similar jobs

Internal Revenue Agent related careers

Internal Revenue Agent related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Business and Financial Industry
Internal Revenue Agent
Internal Revenue Agent vs Tax Investigator

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse business and financial jobs