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

What is a tax professional and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Mike Ozlanski Ph.D.

Most likely, you are filling out your tax return and wading through some tax records. But it's a hectic and tiresome task. The task is very frustrating and eats up a lot of your time, energy, and effort. It will be much easier and less hectic if it is done with a Tax Professional's help. Tax professionals are paid to help you with the taxes and give you relaxation and peace of mind.

Every tax professional ensures the timely and accurate filing of all tax documents after conducting tax procedures. If any inaccuracy on a tax statement is observed, they can file for dispute on a case-to-case basis. These professionals resolve account discrepancies, review financial statements and verify various adjustments. Preventing excessive loss, financial risks and solving every tax complexity is also a part of their job.

Several retail and finance companies hire them and offer pay of $22.69 per hour, on average. If you are an accounting or business student, you can get the job as its qualification is at least a bachelor's degree in the mentioned majors.

What general advice would you give to a tax professional?

Mike Ozlanski Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Accounting, Susquehanna University

Technical accounting skills are necessary but not sufficient to thrive in the profession. Young professionals should seek professional development opportunities to enhance their knowledge base for data analytics, artificial intelligence, and digital assets. Knowledge of ESG reporting will also become more important, especially with the new SEC rules about climate-related disclosures.

ScoreTax ProfessionalUS Average

Salary

4.7

Avg. Salary $60,241

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

6.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.55%

Asian 9.60%

Black or African American 9.64%

Hispanic or Latino 18.75%

Unknown 3.98%

White 57.48%

Gender

female 69.76%

male 30.24%

Age - 48

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 - 48

Stress level

6.0

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.0

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.0

Work life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a tax professional

Explore tax professional education requirements

Most common tax professional degrees

Bachelor's

49.7 %

Associate

24.3 %

Master's

10.1 %

Start to develop specific tax professional skills

Skills	Percentages
Strong Customer Service	24.51%
Customer Service	15.81%
Individual Tax Returns	10.93%
IRS	6.45%
Taxable Income	5.91%

Complete relevant tax professional training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New tax professionals 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 professional based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real tax professional resumes.

Gain additional tax professional certifications

Tax professional certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific tax professional certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for tax professionals include Tax Certification and Accredited Tax Preparer (ATP).

More About Certifications

Research tax professional duties and responsibilities

Advise clients on most efficient ways to manage, organize, and utilize proprietary data in FactSet's integrate platform.
Manage the training and use of new FactSet products and enhancements with various client bases including portfolio management and performance teams.
Answer phone, provide clients with immediate taxation information and up-today tax policy.
Provide professional taxation consulting services for taxpayers.

Prepare your tax professional resume

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

Build a professional tax professional 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 professional resume.