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Tax accountant salary

Quoted expert
Alyson Ma Ph.D.

Average tax accountant salary

$62,142

$29.88 hourly rate

Entry-level tax accountant salary
$45,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

Average Tax Accountant Salary

The average salary for a tax accountant in the United States stands at $62,142 per year, translating to approximately $30 per hour. These figures can vary widely based on several factors, including the tax accountant's level of experience and the specific state of employment.

Factors Influencing Salary

Tax accountants with entry-level experience can expect to earn less, while those in senior positions often see salaries exceeding $80,000. Additionally, geographic location plays a significant role; states like California and New York typically offer higher salaries due to the cost of living and demand for skilled professionals.

Where Can You Earn More?

For those looking to maximize their earning potential, targeting industries such as finance and corporate tax consulting can lead to lucrative opportunities. Furthermore, certifications like CPA can enhance job prospects and salary brackets.

Conclusion

Understanding the salary range for tax accountants allows individuals to make informed career decisions. Whether you’re starting out or seeking advancement, knowing the landscape can guide your professional journey.

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Where can a Tax Accountant earn more?

Compare salary by location
Vs
105k
85k
65k
45k
25k
Columbus, OH$78,454
Jacksonville, FL$55,297
Compare salary by company
Vs
134k
114k
94k
74k
54k
Pacific Investment Management Company LLC$109,670
Build-A-Bear Workshop$84,173

Tax accountant salaries by experience level

Experience levelAvg. salaryHourly rate
Entry-level tax accountant$41,100$19.74
Mid-level tax accountant$59,100$28.44
Senior-level tax accountant$100,000$48.10

Tax accountant salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Indeed, Glassdoor, Comparably and Payscale, the average salary for a tax accountant typically falls between $60,346 and $78,031.
zippia
$62,142yearly
glassdoor[1]
$78,031yearly
indeed[2]
$74,223yearly
comparably[3]
$74,745yearly
Salary.com[4]
$64,232yearly
payscale[5]
$60,346yearly

Average tax accountant salary by state

The highest-paying states for tax accountants are New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. The lowest average tax accountant salary states are New Mexico, Utah, and Hawaii.

  • State view
  • County view
Average salary:

Highest paying states for tax accountants

RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
1District of Columbia$96,412$46.35
2Connecticut$71,080$34.17
3Massachusetts$72,326$34.77
4Rhode Island$65,213$31.35
5New Jersey$73,756$35.46
6Illinois$62,293$29.95
7Virginia$68,138$32.76
8New York$78,256$37.62
9Delaware$62,721$30.15
10Texas$59,939$28.82
11Georgia$60,771$29.22
12Pennsylvania$59,394$28.55
13Michigan$59,312$28.52
14Kentucky$59,535$28.62
15California$62,828$30.21
16North Carolina$60,960$29.31
17Ohio$56,936$27.37
18Colorado$59,049$28.39
19Washington$64,176$30.85
20Minnesota$57,723$27.75
21Iowa$54,536$26.22
22Maryland$63,808$30.68
23Alabama$55,636$26.75
24New Hampshire$56,813$27.31
25Indiana$55,531$26.70
26Oklahoma$54,761$26.33
27Alaska$58,437$28.09
28West Virginia$55,164$26.52
29Kansas$55,153$26.52
30Vermont$57,619$27.70
31Nebraska$55,890$26.87
32Louisiana$54,843$26.37
33Florida$54,924$26.41
34Arizona$53,716$25.82
35Arkansas$53,522$25.73
36Missouri$55,116$26.50
37Maine$54,945$26.42
38Tennessee$53,093$25.53
39Mississippi$52,904$25.43
40Wisconsin$51,676$24.84
41Oregon$54,397$26.15
42Montana$50,422$24.24
43Hawaii$48,278$23.21
44Nevada$52,422$25.20
45South Dakota$50,222$24.15
46New Mexico$49,814$23.95
47South Carolina$50,262$24.16
48Wyoming$45,427$21.84
49Utah$49,255$23.68
50Idaho$45,196$21.73
51North Dakota$46,014$22.12

Highest paying cities for tax accountants

The highest-paying cities for tax accountants are New York, NY, Jersey City, NJ, and Boston, MA.

RankCityAvg. salaryHourly rate
1New York, NY$78,454$37.72
2Jersey City, NJ$73,872$35.52
3Boston, MA$72,267$34.74
4McLean, VA$68,872$33.11
5San Francisco, CA$65,762$31.62
6Seattle, WA$64,518$31.02
7Baltimore, MD$64,052$30.79
8Chicago, IL$62,477$30.04
9Raleigh, NC$61,567$29.60
10Atlanta, GA$60,760$29.21
11Houston, TX$60,252$28.97
12Philadelphia, PA$59,785$28.74
13Denver, CO$58,992$28.36
14Grand Rapids, MI$58,467$28.11
15Cleveland, OH$57,708$27.74
16Minneapolis, MN$57,677$27.73
17Birmingham, AL$55,667$26.76
18Saint Louis, MO$55,555$26.71
19Indianapolis, IN$55,462$26.66
20Jacksonville, FL$55,297$26.59

Tax Accountants are the most in-demand in these five cities:

  1. New York, NY
  2. Jersey City, NJ
  3. Boston, MA
  4. San Francisco, CA
  5. Seattle, WA

Tax accountant salary details

A tax accountant's salary ranges from $45,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $83,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average tax accountant salary graph
Average tax accountant salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a tax accountant's salary?

PercentileAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rate
90th Percentile$83,000$6,917$40
75th Percentile$72,000$6,000$35
Average$62,142$5,179$30
25th Percentile$53,000$4,417$25
10th Percentile$45,000$3,750$22

Highest paying tax accountant jobs

The highest paying types of tax accountants are senior tax accountant, certified public accountant, and senior accountant analyst.

Job titleAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rateJob openings
Certified Public Accountant$76,693$6,391$36.8778,792
Tax Analyst$61,745$5,145$29.6956,223
Accountant/Consultant$64,298$5,358$30.9138,916
Finance Analyst/Accountant$62,975$5,248$30.28118,043
General Ledger Accountant$60,034$5,003$28.8681,408
Fixed Asset Accountant$59,691$4,974$28.7042,860

How would you rate the starting salaries for tax accountants, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?

Alyson Ma Ph.D.

Chair and Professor, University of San Diego

Economics is a combination of critical thinking, problem-solving, and quantitatively analyzing relationships using data. Students studying Economics are trained to interpret the big picture and present complex information about how an economy functions. Given the analytical and quantitative skills, it is not surprising that Economics majors earn higher than average starting salaries. The preliminary 2020 data shows an average salary of $63k for Economics and Business Economics Majors at USD.

Coupled with work experience, students trained in Economics also outpace their peers to advance in their careers. According to Monster.com, a major in Economics ranks third on the fast track to $100K. Additionally, the Wall Street Journal shows that Economics has the highest Mid-Career 90th Percentile Salary for those with a bachelor's degree at $210,000.

A cautionary note is that Economics is not for everyone. Students who gravitate toward Economics tend to be fascinated by the world around them. They are the analytical type and appreciate the logical beauty of math. If you asked many 'why' questions when you were little, then Economics might be for you.

Top companies hiring tax accountants now:

  1. Ernst & Young jobs (114)
  2. Oracle jobs (16)
  3. Thomson Reuters jobs (22)
  4. Schlumberger jobs (25)
  5. Grant Thornton jobs (21)

Which companies pay tax accountants the most?

Tax accountant salaries at Pacific Investment Management Company LLC and Invesco are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average tax accountant salary at companies like Cisco and eBay are highly competitive.

RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rate
1Pacific Investment Management Company LLC$109,670$52.73
2Invesco$104,579$50.28
3Cisco$102,514$49.29
4eBay$97,999$47.11
5Edwards Lifesciences$97,957$47.09
6Franklin Templeton$97,068$46.67
7Western Digital$96,994$46.63
8Atlassian$91,017$43.76
9Fanatics$90,676$43.59
10Nokia$90,375$43.45
11Amphenol$90,140$43.34
12Nabors Holding Company$89,338$42.95
13Nomura Securities$89,122$42.85
14Ernst & Young$88,767$42.68
15Epicor$86,737$41.70
16Ameresco$85,725$41.21
17Oracle$85,653$41.18
18Citi$85,537$41.12
19Pluralsight$85,164$40.94
20Build-A-Bear Workshop$84,173$40.47

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$63,000$62,000$61,000$60,000$59,000$58,000
MaleFemale

Tax Accountant salary by industry

The average tax accountant salary varies across industries:

  • The average tax accountant salary in the finance industry is $69,369, the highest of any industry.
  • The average tax accountant salary in the finance industry is $67,410.
  • Tax accountants in the hospitality industry earn an average salary of $61,226, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for tax accountants

RankIndustryAverage salaryHourly rate
1Finance$69,369$33.35
2Professional$67,410$32.41
3Manufacturing$64,006$30.77
4Technology$63,375$30.47
5Hospitality$61,226$29.44

High paying tax accountant jobs

Tax accountant salary trends

The average tax accountant salary has risen by $9,048 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average tax accountant earned $53,094 annually, but today, they earn $62,142 a year. That works out to a 8% change in pay for tax accountants over the last decade.

Compare tax accountant salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average tax accountant salary over time

Compare tax accountant salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Tax accountant salary by year

YearAvg. salaryHourly rate% Change
2025$62,100$29.88+2.7%
2024$60,400$29.06+1.5%
2023$59,600$28.63+1.6%
2022$58,600$28.17+1.7%
2021$57,600$27.68+1.4%

Recently added tax accountant salaries

CompanyJobLocationDate addedSalary
AMN HealthcareTax Accountant ISan Diego, CA06/30/2025$56,871
Get It-FinanceStaff Tax Accountant-RemoteDaly City, CA06/29/2025$40,000
Get It-FinanceTax Accountant/BookkeeperAustin, TX06/29/2025$50,088
Get It-FinanceTax Accountant, Public Accounting-RemoteOrlando, FL06/29/2025$40,000
Faust.JsTax AccountantAustin, TX06/29/2025$64,000
Adecco Us, Inc.Tax AccountantAtlanta, GA06/28/2025$62,693
Taylormade Golf CoAccountant TaxCarlsbad, CA06/27/2025$98,571
CuraleafTax AccountantStamford, CT06/27/2025$78,000
LatitudeTax AccountantGermantown, MD06/27/2025$80,000
DexianTax AccountantMilwaukee, WI06/27/2025$58,436

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