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

What is a tax examiner and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Thomas King

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a tax examiner. For example, did you know that they make an average of $21.58 an hour? That's $44,886 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -7% and produce -3,700 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a tax examiner?

Thomas King

Department Chair, Director, Master of Accountancy Program, Professor, Accountancy, Case Western Reserve University

Be dependable. Reputations form quickly after people join organizations. A newly hired professional who demonstrates the ability to get things done rapidly and accurately will soon become a "go-to" person when new opportunities arise. Such exposure early in a career is invaluable.

ScoreTax ExaminerUS Average

Salary

3.5

Avg. Salary $44,886

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.6

Growth rate -7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.26%

Asian 9.24%

Black or African American 12.13%

Hispanic or Latino 18.04%

Unknown 3.31%

White 57.02%

Gender

female 65.15%

male 34.85%

Age - 50

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 - 50

Stress level

8.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.6

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.4

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a tax examiner

Explore tax examiner education requirements

Most common tax examiner degrees

Bachelor's

52.9 %

Associate

18.1 %

High School Diploma

10.2 %

Start to develop specific tax examiner skills

Skills	Percentages
Business Tax Returns	23.03%
Tax Accounts	14.21%
Technical Assistance	8.08%
Income Tax Returns	6.30%
Sound Judgment	6.19%

Complete relevant tax examiner training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New tax examiners 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 examiner based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real tax examiner resumes.

Research tax examiner duties and responsibilities

Train new hires by performing OJT.
Supervise for AML policies, complaint resolution.
Complete client month end close checklist and treasury adjustment analysis and resolution.
Assist in development of regulations and DOR publications regarding the estate tax.

Prepare your tax examiner resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your tax examiner 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 examiner 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 examiner resume templates

Build a professional tax examiner 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 examiner resume.