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The opposite tends to be true for employees residing in lower-cost locations. You know if you are being paid fairly as an Enrolled Agent if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in Wisconsin you should be paid close to $59,000 per year.
I used gleim (there’s a pwc discount if you purchase in the phone). Find a TurboTax work schedule that fits around your current law firm bookkeeping practice. At the same time, Projections Central anticipates much higher growth rates in some regions of the country.
Starting Salaries for Staff Accountants at CPA Firms
However, becoming a CPA gives you the opportunity to earn more money and enables you to pursue many lucrative career paths that help you live a fulfilled life. If you pursue a college education in business administration or finance as a stepping stone to the CPA certification, you’ll also have options in a wider array of fields for your career. Even though both CPAs and EAs work in the accounting sector, there are several differences between the designations. For instance, CPAs primarily focus on providing consultation services and tax return preparation.
These factors combine to create stable prospects for qualified tax preparers. As of 2021, the BLS estimates the total number of tax preparers working in the United States at 83,190 professionals. Of those individuals, more than 79,000 work for accounting, tax prep, bookkeeping, and payroll services. Local labor market conditions can also play a role in setting tax preparer incomes. When demand for qualified tax preparers is higher in a concentrated area, salaries tend to rise. This reflects increased competition among employers to secure the best people from the available talent pool.
Market Outlook on Accounting Jobs
As an EA your day can consist of relationship building to grow various areas of the business through direct selling, client follow up and client retention. Interpersonal skills are important and successful tax preparation companies often upsell additional products and services such as audit defense, offering peace of mind for your tax clients. As you learn and grow in your career, you may find yourself mentoring future junior level tax professionals as well. Finding work with tax preparation firms is one of the most common career paths for Enrolled Agents.
Enrolled agents ensure that citizens receive competent representation. If the idea of protecting the rights of others appeals to you, this could be a great career option. Anyone is allowed to sit for the enrolled agent exam, which is not the case for the CPA exam.
Benefits Of Being An Enrolled Agent
Whether you plan to analyze tax return documents, help people solve tax problems, take tax matters or provide other services, there’s definitely a role out there for you. Minimum 2+ seasons paid https://investrecords.com/the-importance-of-accurate-bookkeeping-for-law-firms-a-comprehensive-guide/ tax experience and minimum 30+ tax returns prepared per season and active credential as CPA, EA or Practicing Attorney. It is for this reason many CFPs and advisors earn their EA credential.
Firms are especially interested in candidates with technology skills that can be applied to growing areas like cloud systems and data analysis. Managers are looking for new ideas and are prepared to provide the necessary on-the-job training to prepare new hires for success. This is a great time to go into accounting, and becoming an Enrolled Agent will help you land an even bigger starting salary than you could without it. The average Enrolled Agent salary in the U.S. is $52,645 according to Payscale Opens in new window. This is over $4,000 more than a non-certified tax preparer’s average salary. We’ll break down how much Enrolled Agents make throughout each stage of their career and cover how you can increase your earnings.
