How to hire a tax collector

How to hire a tax collector, step by step

Here's a step-by-step tax collector hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a tax collector job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new tax collector
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

Post a tax collector job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   The tax collector hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect tax collector also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list shows salaries for various types of tax collectors.

   Type of Tax Collector	Description	Hourly rate
   Tax Collector	Tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents ensure that federal, state, and local governments get their tax money from businesses and citizens. They review tax returns, conduct audits, identify taxes owed, and collect overdue tax payments.	$9-27
   Revenue Officer	Revenue officers are employees who work for government agencies such as the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or the Canada Revenue Agency that collect delinquent taxes and overdue tax returns from taxpayers... Show more	$42-216
   Internal Revenue Agent	An internal revenue agent is primarily in charge of auditing and examining businesses' and individuals' financial records to ensure compliance with tax laws and payments. Their responsibilities typically revolve around reaching out to clients through calls and correspondence, arranging appointments, traveling to different locations, gathering and reviewing documentation, and even processing tax payments... Show more	$15-77

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Property Tax Payments
   • Customer Service
   • Motor Vehicle
   • Real Estate Taxes
   • Tax Collection
   • Payroll
   • Driver License
   • Property Taxes
   • Vehicle Registration
   • Delinquent Accounts
   • Bank Deposits
   • Processing Payments
   • State Statutes
   • DMV

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Prevent impeding loss and increasing profitability through negotiation and enforcement of schedule collection campaigns, consistently achieving high success standards.
   • Access DMV software to assist in providing information on vehicles.
   • Operate all aspects of the DMV service platform (i.e.
   • Prevent impeding loss and increasing profitability through negotiation and enforcement of schedule collection campaigns, consistently achieving high success standards.
   • Research commercial and real property on the (GIS) system for legal descriptions.
   • Process FIFA's through the court to prepare the property for sale.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your tax collector job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A tax collector can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, tax collectors' average salary in florida is 57% less than in massachusetts.
   • Seniority. Entry-level tax collectors 67% less than senior-level tax collectors.
   • Certifications. A tax collector with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a tax collector's salary.

   Average tax collector salary

   $16.14hourly

   $33,569 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level tax collector salary

   $19,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 31, 2026

4. Writing a tax collector job description

   A good tax collector job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a tax collector job description:

   Tax collector job description example

   The City of Dover is seeking an individual to perform a variety of complex accounting and clerical duties including the computation, posting and balancing of large volumes of accounting data and preparing statements, bills and notices. To Perform regular duties independently and on own initiative. Requires the exercise of judgement and discretion based on considerable substantive knowledge of office operations, City ordinances and state law. Assists the City Clerk/Tax Collector in carrying out the duties and functions of the City Clerk/Tax Collection Division. Responsible for the supervision and operation of the City Clerk/Tax Collection Division, as delegated by the City Clerk/Tax Collector in their absence. Serves as backup to Deputy City Clerk in their absence.
   
   This is a full-time, 40 hour per week position working Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. $21.84 to $31.67 per hour. Position is open until filled.
   
   DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES (Except as specifically noted, the following functions are considered essential to this position. The listed examples may not include all duties found in this class):
   
   Performs accounting, posting and balancing of accounting data associated with the collection of taxes and registration fees. Responsible for accuracy of computations and balancing of data.
   
   Prepares lists of unpaid bills such as, real estate taxes, yield taxes, excavation taxes, land use change taxes and computer accrued interest. Sends out notices on bills and assists in the tax lien and tax deeding notification and recording process. Provide monthly redemption report to County Registry of Deeds.
   
   Prepares accounting reports for the office, including amount of unpaid taxes, collections and activity reports for office. Assists City Clerk/Tax Collector to address unresolved reconciling items for monthly Accounts Receivable and General Ledger transactions reconciliation for tax billings, utility billings, related payments, abatements, and adjustments.
   
   Accepts payments at the collection counter of the division. Collects current and unredeemed property taxes. Process daily City wide bank deposit, to include city department cash receipts. Assures accuracy of receipts.
   
   Issues motor vehicle permits and titles, creates and issues Motor Vehicle Renewal notices. Process E-registrations for Motor Vehicle registrations and dog licenses. Calculates and provides City Treasurer with daily State NH DMV transfer for motor vehicle fees.
   
   Order motor vehicle supplies and maintains inventory for decals and license plates and prepare for yearly audit from the State DMV.
   
   Maintains petty cash drawers in the office and assist the Account Clerks in balancing their daily work.
   
   Assists in the administration of the Office of City Clerk / Tax Collector by assigning and reviewing work when required and assumes office supervision, as delegated, by the City Clerk / Tax Collector when absent. May train subordinate employees in all areas of responsibility.
   
   Obtains tax file from Accounting office for property tax billing and send files to respective tax services. Post payments received from tax service companies.
   
   Process and post abatements received from Tax Assessment Office for tax billings. Process and post abatements received from Utility Billing office for water/sewer bills. Process and post adjustments for interest or overpayment refunds. Process and post adjustments to city departmental billings.
   Post daily lockbox file from banking institution for property tax and water/sewer payments.
   
   Answers inquiries from the public concerning taxes, interest due and motor vehicle registrations. Checks records for banks, realtors, lawyers and title companies.
   
   Familiar with and executes safe work procedures associated with assigned work.
   
   Performs other related duties as assigned and required.
   
   Requirements
   
   KNOWLEDGE, SKILL AND ABILITY REQUIREMENTS: Considerable knowledge of modern office practices and procedures; thorough knowledge of bookkeeping practices and procedures; good knowledge of principles and practices of governmental accounting; good knowledge of federal and state laws and City ordinances relating to local taxation; knowledge of state motor vehicle registration laws and procedures; operational knowledge of computer hardware and software; demonstrated skills in accuracy and meeting deadlines; ability to establish a working knowledge of statutes, rules, regulations, policies and procedures. Attend to many items simultaneously and/or in sequence. Ability to maintain effective working relationships with department heads, employees, and the public and deal with service problems courteously and tactfully.
   
   EDUCATION/LICENSURE/CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Business Administration; or a high school diploma plus two years business or accounting courses and three years office work; or at least five years of progressively responsible work in accounting or bookkeeping OR any equivalent combination of education and experience which demonstrates possession of required knowledge, skills and abilities. Valid motor vehicle operator license.
   
   Benefits
   
   Benefit offerings associated with full-time employment.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right tax collector for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with tax collectors they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit tax collectors who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your tax collector job on Zippia to find and recruit tax collector candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as efinancialcareers, financialjobsweb.com, careerbank, financial job bank.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit tax collectors, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new tax collector

   Once you've found the tax collector candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new tax collector. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a tax collector?