How To Become A Tax Clerk: What It Is and Career Path

What is a tax clerk and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Jodi Olson

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a tax clerk. For example, did you know that they make an average of $15.53 an hour? That's $32,304 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -5% and produce -77,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

What's a day at work look like for a tax clerk?

Jodi Olson

Assistant Accounting Professor, Winona State University

Graduates could see a range of possibilities from working entirely remotely to fully on-site with precautions in place, based on recent graduate and internship experiences we have seen during the pandemic. Except for a very few internships cut short or cancelled immediately at the onset of the pandemic as the profession adapted to unknowns and putting safety measures in place, we have not seen a significant change in the demand for interns or graduates. Some new graduates expect their first day on the jobs to be remote and feel ready to meet that challenge being familiar with the technology required to be productive and communicate virtually. It has become an assumption that precautions are in place, regardless of the remote or in-person setting. It seems that both graduates and employers are working hard together to achieve success, both with caution and the usual high professional standards.

ScoreTax ClerkUS Average

Salary

2.5

Avg. Salary $32,304

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.0

Growth rate -5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.63%

Asian 6.62%

Black or African American 6.89%

Hispanic or Latino 14.63%

Unknown 3.97%

White 67.27%

Gender

female 78.32%

male 21.68%

Age - 53

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 53

Stress level

6.0

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.4

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.3

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a tax clerk

Explore tax clerk education requirements

Most common tax clerk degrees

Bachelor's

41.2 %

Associate

26.9 %

High School Diploma

19.2 %

Start to develop specific tax clerk skills

Skills	Percentages
Corrective Action	30.34%
IRS	12.99%
Data Entry	5.95%
Treasury	5.27%
Individual Tax Returns	5.25%

Complete relevant tax clerk training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New tax clerks learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a tax clerk based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real tax clerk resumes.

Research tax clerk duties and responsibilities

Manage resident's private information for insurance verification, billing, and eligibility to apply for Medicaid.
Research job aid tools such as: CRG, IDRS.
Search DMV records to reroute return mail
Suspend and clear tags/licenses on DMV system.

Prepare your tax clerk resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your tax clerk resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a tax clerk resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable tax clerk resume templates

Build a professional tax clerk resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your tax clerk resume.