An official State of Ohio site. Here’s how you know
Contact

Welcome,
New User

User: New User

Date: 05/16/2026

Tax Preparers

Prepare tax returns for individuals or small businesses.

View All

    Work Activities

    Work Activities

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

    Skills

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    5
    Workplace Documents
    5
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    Knowledge

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    Career Video

    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 50760/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 24.41/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 2,520
    • Yearly Projected Openings 280

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Cautiousness
    • Integrity
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Achievement Orientation

    Tools

    • Desktop calculator
    • Desktop computers
    • Notebook computers

    Technology

    • Accounting software
    • Calendar and scheduling software
    • Compliance software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Document management software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Financial analysis software
    • Human resources software
    • Internet browser software
    • Office suite software
    • Project management software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Tax preparation software
    • Web page creation and editing software
    • Word processing software

    Tags

    • Apprenticeships are available for this occupation. These programs can help you get hands-on experience and build your skills.
    Need help on researching occupations and careers? Download the Guide to Researching Occupations (PDF).

    Need help on how to research education and training programs? Download the Guide to Higher Education (PDF).

    Budget Calculator

    Answer a few questions to determine your target salary. Use this target salary to help choose the right occupation for you.

    Lifestyle Calculator

    Answer a few questions to determine your target salary. Use this target salary to help choose the right occupation for you.

    Workforce Supply Tool

    Workforce Supply Tool

    The Workforce Supply Tool provides statistics for the occupations in highest demand throughout Ohio.

    You can view statewide statistics as well as more region specific information.

    Visit Site
    Powered By: