What does a Tax Preparer do?

Prepare tax returns for individuals or small businesses. Day to day that includes work like use all appropriate adjustments, deductions, and credits to keep clients' taxes to a minimum and Compute taxes owed or overpaid, using adding machines or personal computers, and complete entries on forms, following tax form instructions and tax tables.

What skills should a Tax Preparer put on a resume?

O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Speaking, and Active Learning among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Tax Preparer list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes ACI TaskTracker, ATX Total Accounting Office, ATX Total Tax Office, CCH ProSystem fx TAX, and Creative Solutions CPA Depreciation. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Tax Preparer work?

O*NET records 20 titles for this occupation, including Enrolled Agent, Tax Advisor, Tax Consultant, and Certified Income Tax Preparer. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Tax Preparer need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 32% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Tax Preparer role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Tax Preparer resume example

A resume for a Tax Preparer needs to show the work itself: prepare tax returns for individuals or small businesses. Day to day that means work like this: use all appropriate adjustments, deductions, and credits to keep clients' taxes to a minimum; compute taxes owed or overpaid, using adding machines or personal computers, and complete entries on forms, following tax form instructions and tax tables. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Enrolled Agent
Tax Advisor
Tax Consultant
Certified Income Tax Preparer
CTP
Corporate Tax Preparer
Income Tax Preparer
Tax Associate
Tax Professional
Tax Specialist
Credentialed Tax Expert
Credentialed Tax Professional
Enrolled Agent Tax Consultant
Income Tax Advisor
Income Tax Consultant
Income Tax Expert
Licensed Tax Consultant
Preseason Tax Professional

O*NET records 20 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

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

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Use all appropriate adjustments, deductions, and credits to keep clients' taxes to a minimum, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Compute taxes owed or overpaid, using adding machines or personal computers, and complete entries on forms, following tax form instructions and tax tables, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Interview clients to obtain additional information on taxable income and deductible expenses and allowances, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Review financial records, such as income statements and documentation of expenditures to determine forms needed to prepare tax returns, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

ACI TaskTracker
ATX Total Accounting Office
ATX Total Tax Office
CCH ProSystem fx TAX
Creative Solutions CPA Depreciation
Creative Solutions UltraTax CS
Datagroup ElectroFile 1040
Datagroup ElectroFile ELF
Datagroup ElectroFile ST
Datair Employee Benefits Systems
Electronic ToolKit for Tax Preparers
Email software
ExacTax PackageEX
Greatland Corporation Winfiler

42 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

10-key calculators
Desktop computers
Notebook computers

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

Intuit TurboTax
Tax compliance property tax management
Tax
QuickBooks

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Reading Comprehension
02Active Listening
03Critical Thinking
04Speaking
05Active Learning
06Mathematics
07Monitoring
08Complex Problem Solving
09Judgment and Decision Making
10Service Orientation

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Customer and Personal Service
Economics and Accounting
English Language
Computers and Electronics
Law and Government
Mathematics
Administrative

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

32%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
32%Bachelor's Degree
18%Some College Courses

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Medium Preparation Needed”. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Common questions

What does a Tax Preparer do?: Prepare tax returns for individuals or small businesses. Day to day that includes work like use all appropriate adjustments, deductions, and credits to keep clients' taxes to a minimum and Compute taxes owed or overpaid, using adding machines or personal computers, and complete entries on forms, following tax form instructions and tax tables.
What skills should a Tax Preparer put on a resume?: O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Speaking, and Active Learning among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Tax Preparer list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes ACI TaskTracker, ATX Total Accounting Office, ATX Total Tax Office, CCH ProSystem fx TAX, and Creative Solutions CPA Depreciation. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Tax Preparer work?: O*NET records 20 titles for this occupation, including Enrolled Agent, Tax Advisor, Tax Consultant, and Certified Income Tax Preparer. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Tax Preparer need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 32% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Tax Preparer role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.