How to hire tax preparers

Job description template

Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.

[Job title] at [Company name]
[City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range]

About the role
[Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.]

What you will do
• Check data input or verify totals on forms prepared by others to detect errors in arithmetic, data entry, or procedures.
• Compute taxes owed or overpaid, using adding machines or personal computers, and complete entries on forms, following tax form instructions and tax tables.
• Explain federal and state tax laws to individuals and companies.
• Furnish taxpayers with sufficient information and advice to ensure correct tax form completion.
• Interview clients to obtain additional information on taxable income and deductible expenses and allowances.
• Prepare or assist in preparing simple to complex tax returns for individuals or small businesses.
• Review financial records, such as income statements and documentation of expenditures to determine forms needed to prepare tax returns.
• Use all appropriate adjustments, deductions, and credits to keep clients' taxes to a minimum.

What you bring
• [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any]
• [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: High school diploma or equivalent]
• Strong reading comprehension, active listening, critical thinking, active learning, speaking and mathematics skills
• Working knowledge of economics and accounting, English Language, customer and personal service and mathematics
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $26.40 an hour ($54,920 a year).
[Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.]

How to apply
[Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]

Copy the template Check your finished job post

Interview questions for tax preparers

Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.

1. Tell me about a time you had to check data input or verify totals on forms prepared by others to detect errors in arithmetic, data entry, or procedures. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
2. Tell me about a time you had to compute taxes owed or overpaid, using adding machines or personal computers, and complete entries on forms, following tax form instructions and tax tables. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
3. Tell me about a time you had to explain federal and state tax laws to individuals and companies. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
4. Tell me about a time you had to furnish taxpayers with sufficient information and advice to ensure correct tax form completion. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
5. Tell me about written instructions, a policy or a manual you had to follow closely. How did you make sure you followed it correctly?
6. Tell me about a time you had to understand a request or problem that was explained poorly. How did you make sure you got it right?
7. Describe a decision at work where the obvious answer was wrong. How did you work out the better choice?
8. Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?

Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.

What tax preparers do

• Check data input or verify totals on forms prepared by others to detect errors in arithmetic, data entry, or procedures.
• Compute taxes owed or overpaid, using adding machines or personal computers, and complete entries on forms, following tax form instructions and tax tables.
• Explain federal and state tax laws to individuals and companies.
• Furnish taxpayers with sufficient information and advice to ensure correct tax form completion.
• Interview clients to obtain additional information on taxable income and deductible expenses and allowances.
• Prepare or assist in preparing simple to complex tax returns for individuals or small businesses.
• Review financial records, such as income statements and documentation of expenditures to determine forms needed to prepare tax returns.
• Use all appropriate adjustments, deductions, and credits to keep clients' taxes to a minimum.

Skills that matter most

Reading ComprehensionActive ListeningCritical ThinkingActive LearningSpeakingMathematicsEconomics and AccountingEnglish LanguageCustomer and Personal ServiceMathematics

Education, experience and outlook for tax preparers

• Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent (BLS)
• Training on the job: Moderate-term on-the-job training (BLS)
• Job outlook: +4.7% over ten years, about as fast as average · about 9,400 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay tax preparers

Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:

See tax preparers pay in every state

Related hiring guides

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• Insurance Underwriters
• Financial Risk Specialists
• Financial Examiners
• Credit Counselors

Job duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.