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Job outlook for tax examiners in the United States
Tax examiner job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected tax examiner job growth rate is -7% from 2018-2028.
About -3,700 new jobs for tax examiners are projected over the next decade.
Tax examiner salaries have increased 7% for tax examiners in the last 5 years.
There are over 13,495 tax examiners currently employed in the United States.
There are 40,004 active tax examiner job openings in the US.
The average tax examiner salary is $44,886.
Are tax examiner jobs in demand?
Tax examiner job and salary trends over time
Tax examiner jobs over time
Tax examiner job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 13,495 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 13,723 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 13,880 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 14,084 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 14,629 | 0.00% |
Average tax examiner salary over time
Tax examiner salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $44,886 | $21.58 | +1.4% |
| 2025 | $44,281 | $21.29 | +0.8% |
| 2024 | $43,918 | $21.11 | +2.5% |
| 2023 | $42,861 | $20.61 | +2.1% |
| 2022 | $41,998 | $20.19 | +1.2% |
Tax examiner jobs by state
Most common states for tax examiners
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 87 | 13% |
| 2 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 198 | 6% |
| 3 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 61 | 6% |
| 4 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 164 | 5% |
| 5 | Delaware | 961,939 | 51 | 5% |
| 6 | California | 39,536,653 | 1,576 | 4% |
| 7 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 489 | 4% |
| 8 | Georgia | 10,429,379 | 397 | 4% |
| 9 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 311 | 4% |
| 10 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 302 | 4% |
| 11 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 267 | 4% |
| 12 | Missouri | 6,113,532 | 256 | 4% |
| 13 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 247 | 4% |
| 14 | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 246 | 4% |
| 15 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 231 | 4% |
| 16 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 211 | 4% |
| 17 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 156 | 4% |
| 18 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 122 | 4% |
| 19 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 21 | 4% |
| 20 | New York | 19,849,399 | 561 | 3% |
Most common cities for tax examiners
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea | 13 | 33% | $51,323 |
| 2 | Atlanta | 1 | 0% | $35,081 |
| 3 | Columbus | 1 | 0% | $45,309 |
| 4 | Denver | 1 | 0% | $45,521 |
Tax Examiner job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of tax examiner experts
Indiana University Northwest
Case Western Reserve University
University of Wisconsin - La Crosse
Kansas Wesleyan University
University of Oklahoma
Fairfield University
Edmonds Community College
University of New Mexico
Jaclyn Barkow
Clinical Assistant Professor of AccountingIndiana University Northwest
Accounting Department
What soft skills should all Tax Examiners possess?
Jaclyn Barkow: The most valuable soft skill is communication. Being able to communicate effectively with colleagues, superiors, and clients. Communication comes in the form of written and oral. Effective communication also entails knowing when to listen, when to respond, and asking questions. Young accountants will also not know everything upon entering the workplace; asking questions is important for the learning process.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Tax Examiners?
Jaclyn Barkow: Understanding tax return preparation is important. This is where the internship or volunteer work stands out on resumes. Tax law changes every year, so remembering what is in a textbook becomes obsolete year after year. Research skills are important for keeping up with the ever-changing tax law.
The profession is also changing so that tax accountants must have a working understanding of information security and maintaining client information confidentially. Data security is extremely important in the profession, and identity theft is very common in tax return preparation. Having some technical information systems and information security understanding is valuable to maintaining sensitive information.
Thomas King
Department Chair, Director, Master of Accountancy Program, Professor, AccountancyCase Western Reserve University
Accountancy Department
What general advice would you give to a Tax Examiner?
Thomas King: 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.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Tax Examiner job market given the pandemic?
Vivek Pande: Long-term chronic unemployment among certain demographics especially older workers unfortunately. I think graduating college students with business degrees will still get jobs but they may have to look harder. Certain sectors are obviously continuing to do well such as e-commerce and tech.
What Tax Examiner skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Vivek Pande: There are two skills all business students and graduates can always work on. The first is computer skills - basic knowledge of, for example, SQL or advanced Excel wizardry is always useful for career advancement. Secondly, students interested in global business can always learn/improve foreign language skills. Spanish is not even a "foreign" language anymore and some basic knowledge of, for example, Arabic or Mandarin can obviously be very useful.
Dr. Hassan Niazi
Assistant Professor of AccountingKansas Wesleyan University
Department of Business and Accounting
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Tax Examiners?
Dr. Hassan Niazi: Unfortunately, the obstacles this pandemic has created in learning experiences of graduates are a matter of concern for both graduates and their prospective employers. Graduates will have to resort more to experiential learning at their workplace to meet the deficiencies in their learning caused by the pandemic. With that said, the batch of 2020 is definitely a different class of graduates and has the potential of becoming the most self-initiative, creative, and collaborative leaders of the century.
What type of skills will young Tax Examiners need?
Dr. Hassan Niazi: The post-pandemic workforce is likely to have a more remote, collaborative, and perhaps work-from-home type of environment. Hence, this would require deeper understanding of the IT tools at their disposal with emphasis on their limitations and security aspects. To complement these hard skills, graduates will also need effective communication, problem-solving, and crisis management skills to overcome some of the inherent IT limitations.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Tax Examiner job market given the pandemic?
Kathi Mettler: The trend that we are seeing at Fairfield is that more people are pursuing graduate degrees (either going back to school or continuing after undergrad). The trend that I am seeing from the public accounting firms is that they are right-sizing and pushing out start dates into 2021 or early 2022. The accounting profession requires continuing professional education (CPE), so the pandemic has forced those CPE and other conferences and seminars to be online and virtual. I do believe folks will gravitate back to in-person learning and meetings once it is safe to do so, but some of these will remain online. Travel to visit clients has also stopped, so I believe that the amount of travel will be reduced going forward.
Natalie Burgos
Associate FacultyEdmonds Community College
Accounting Department
What skills stand out on Tax Examiner resumes?
Natalie Burgos: -Great writing and communication skills - I recommend taking Business Writing classes at Edmonds College. It helped me a lot with my business writing skills!
-Two-plus years of experience with QuickBooks or any other accounting software. Another popular accounting software is Microsoft Dynamics 365, also known as "D365".
-More than one year using Microsoft Excel. Advanced Excel is a plus! Commonly used Excel formulas and functions include VLookUps, IF formula, IFERROR, and Pivot Tables.
-Experience using Ten-Key - most companies don't use the Ten-Key machine anymore. Instead they use the calculator that's already on the computer. Some companies like to use the Ten-Key machine to print the paper and tape it on the source document to show their work. I remember throughout my college years, none of my instructors taught us how to use Ten-Key, so if you have never used the Ten-Key machine or keypad, I recommend to start practicing by using the Ten-Key on the right side of the keyboard. I self-taught myself because my mom, who is an accountant, recommended me to.
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Tax Examiners in the next 3-5 years?
Richard Brody Ph.D.: Technology has been forced to address the increased demand for remote services. We heard and saw many examples of Zoom-bombing when this all started. Providers were not prepared for the massive increase in the use of their services, and while the pandemic has created strong business opportunities for these companies, weaknesses were exposed and needed to be corrected immediately.
In addition, remote servicing of clients has increased the use of cloud-based technology, and this is likely to continue. This would include cloud-based document management and the use of client portals. Virtual environments raise additional concerns with respect to the security of the technology being used.