Enrolled Agent Hourly Pay in 2023

With his help, countless students and professionals have passed certification exams and achieved their dreams. Whether you’re seeking career advancement or educational success, Bryce Welker is the ultimate guide to help you get there. Unlike the CPA exam, which requires you to have completed certain educational prerequisites, there are no educational requirements to sit for the Special Enrollment Exam (SEE). EAs are federally authorized to represent taxpayers before the IRS and have unlimited representation rights. This means EAs can represent any taxpayer, regardless of whether they prepared their income tax return.

There is a myth that Enrolled agents are hiding behind a desk crunching numbers all day, this could not be further from the truth. 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. In the Pacific Northwest, where tech and trees reign, Seattle enrolled agents earn anywhere from $45,000 to over $125,000. However, San Francisco residents in enrolled agent positions earn a median income of $65,000, which is well above the national number.

Enrolled Agent salary by years of experience

And, if you decide to work for a non-finance-related company as an enrolled agent, you can actually expect to earn a bit more. On the other hand, accounting jobs for enrolled agents at top corporations like Apple, Starbucks, FedEx, and GE typically pay between $60,000 to $80,000 per year. According to Indeed.com, over half of the enrolled agent jobs in Atlanta pay more than 6 figures. Therefore, the EA salary range in that city is significantly higher, starting at over $80,000.

• As an EA, you may be tasked with preparing both individual and business tax returns.
• If you’re considering a career in accounting or finance, you may be curious about how much money enrolled agents make.
• And, with the increased convenience and reliability of telecommuting technology, a small firm can serve clients nationwide.
• Jobs paying $58,500 or less are in the 25th percentile range, while jobs paying more than $83,000 are in 75th percentile.
• But in the long term, corporate salary caps and geographical constraints often limit CPAs’ salaries.

CPAs typically work in a more traditional office environment with a predictable salary that increases over time as they gather experience. Therefore, you should compare the average EA salaries across the United States to better understand how much you can make as an EA. As an Enrolled Agent you have opportunities to increase your salary by charging a fee for representation services, tax advice, or opinions on tax matters.

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The average enrolled agent salary in Alaska, Wisconsin, and Washington are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average enrolled agent salary states are Virginia, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Review the job openings, similar jobs, level of education, and experience requirements for the Enrollment Advisor job to confirm that it is the job you are seeking. I, for example employ a full time marketer and attorney to handle marketing and to just make sure nothing slips through the cracks. Agents also have to invest 15k to 25k on average to train and prepare rookie players.

Take a look at our Enrolled Agent Salary Guide to get an idea about industry salary range. To become an enrolled agent, the IRS requires a few straightforward steps. According to Payscale.com, entry-level EAs generally begin with a salary of about $52,000 per year. It’s essential to take into account the cost of living expenses in your deliberations as well. As per information provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median salary for CPAs stands at $73,560. You will also fill out financial forms (assets and liabilities, income and expenses), and cross-reference this information with pertinent financial documents per IRS guidelines.

The Enrolled Agent Salary: Our Guide to EA Salaries

In addition to traditional accountants, a lot of mid-sized to large corporations benefit from hiring a full-time enrolled agent. Similar to having a corporate attorney, having an enrolled agent on staff helps many companies stay on top of their complex tax issues. For instance, corporations rely on enrolled agents to advise them on policy, prepare taxes, and represent them in audits and other proceedings before the IRS. In New York City, the average salary for an enrolled agent is above the national average, with NY EAs making $81,254 on average.

For example, many small to mid-sized businesses prefer to outsource their accounting. So, having one person serve as both their tax preparer and their tax attorney appeals to these clients quite a lot. Additionally, clients often prefer to work with a single individual or a small team for the sake of efficiency. Therefore, as with the lion’s share of the small accounting agencies out there, specialization is key. Consequently, building a reputation as the tax expert in town (and the tax law expert) can really help your career. Each year, thousands of nonresident aliens become gainfully employed in the United States.

Accounting Exam Prep

What’s more, enrolled agents often fill the role of both tax accountant and tax attorney. In many cases, clients call upon the expertise of enrolled agents in complex tax situations where audits are likely. So, as the tax preparer, an enrolled agent is the most qualified to explain and defend the choices made during preparation. As of October 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recorded the national median salary for CPAs in the U.S. as $73,560. Jobs paying $58,500 or less are in the 25th percentile range, while jobs paying more than $83,000 are in 75th percentile.

But jobs posted in the area pay between $65,000 to over $130,000 annually. As an EA seeking employment in this area of work you will generally need (2) years of experience preparing individual federal and state returns. Working on a less traditional clientele means you will need to handle constant customer flow all year round.

According to PayScale, EAs make between $34,000 and $80,000 a year, while CPAs make between $50,000 and $116,000 a year. First, it is important to understand the difference between an enrolled agent and a CPA. I am the https://www.bookstime.com/ author of How to Pass The CPA Exam (published by Wiley) and the publisher of this and several accounting professional exam prep sites. Of course, having your own agency also removes any limitations on your salary.

You will respond to and perform client audits where you will review tax returns and reconcile financials. This means you will be working to gather financial documents, work to process and save them for future review. Working in an accounting department you would regularly communicate with employees, vendors, and customers to ensure accuracy of financial transactions and records. Based on recent job openings, salary ranges in private practice between $35,000 – $100,000 a year.

With an increasing need for EAs across the nation, choosing to follow this career path can be both satisfying and lucrative. While that number is large, most of those firms are small agencies that handle relatively few clients compared to the big competition. The largest firms in the country pull in billions of dollars in revenue annually and employ tens of thousands of people. On the other hand, the smallest successful brokers and agents typically see less than a million dollars come through their doors each year. As a result, the CFP or advisor has a better understanding of their clients’ needs, as well as solutions that ensure the financial well-being of their clients’ portfolios and estates.