8 Best Jobs For Tax Preparers In The Off Season
One of the first responsibilities of a tax preparer, in case you are just getting started as one, is to file taxes for both individuals and businesses during the tax season. You may then wonder how tax experts make it through the remaining months of the year. This article will show you other ways to make money as a tax expert and the jobs for tax preparers in the off season.
Do tax preparers work throughout the year? How do they make money in the off season?
The answers to these questions differ, depending on the preparer. However, I want you to know that tax preparers can work all year round, including the off season. The majority work in some capacity throughout the year, and many supplement their tax preparation business with other services to increase their income.
Top 8 Jobs For Tax Preparers In The Off Season
January through July are the busiest for tax preparers in the United States. These include January when the IRS starts accepting tax returns, through July when they start submitting extensions. In contrast, August through January tend to be the least busy months for accountants, bookkeepers, and other tax preparers.
It’s important to keep in mind that even if you can only be reached by phone, email, or online, this may be sufficient to attract off-season floaters who need assistance filing their back taxes. The following are the top 8 jobs for tax preparers in the off season:
1. Tax preparation
Offering tax preparation services to small businesses is the easiest way for to earn money all year long.
Wage earners file tax once a year. However, business owners are expected to maintain their tax duties throughout the year. There are expected tax payments that need to be made, bookkeeping that needs to be done and done correctly, payroll, sales tax, tax planning, etc.
Therefore, those preparers who are available and knowledgeable about these businesses’ year-round demands will make more money.
You must expand your tax expertise beyond that of a typical tax preparer to enable you effectively work with business owners. Perhaps you should consider becoming a certified QuickBooks Pro Advisor or enrolled agent.
2. Offer payroll services
If you have offered services to small businesses in the past, you are aware that many of them require more assistance than just preparing their taxes. Small businesses are looking for a reputable payroll company to outsource their payroll services.
These auxiliary services are beneficial for expanding your company, because small business owners are more inclined to hire you for payroll services.
3. Do bookkeeping services
Small business owners are looking for bookkeeping services to enable them to focus on increasing revenues. As a result, the demand for bookkeepers is high, especially in Canada, Uk, and the United States.
Contrary to popular belief, becoming a good bookkeeper doesn’t require you to have a degree in accounting or any prior experience in the field. Although the two professions are similar, bookkeeping differs from accounting, and requires much less training.
4. Become a tax service bureau
A tax service bureau helps tax experts find the best tax software to work with. You might think you can’t do this because you are not a tech expert. However, you don’t have to be a technology genius to develop tax software. Service bureaus are known for reselling reliable tax software.
5. Clients representation before the IRS
To some business owners, filing their taxes does not end the deal. You still need to represent them before the IRS, whether it is as a result of mistakes in the filing or wilful misstatements.
Representing clients before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is a good way to earn money during the off season. However, you must be a CPA, a tax attorney or an enrolled agent (EA) to have unlimited rights to represent clients. Most tax experts prefer the EA certificate.
Being an enrolled agent doesn’t need any extra college courses, unlike being an attorney or a CPA, and all training is focused on tax preparation. Taking part in the IRS Annual Filing Season Program also gives you some limited representation rights.
6. Teaching other tax professionals
Participants in programmes for the Annual Filing Season, EAs, and CPAs are constantly looking for tax education with the right credentials. As a tax expert, you can make money during the off season by offering tax education and getting IRS approval to become a CE provider.
Regardless of your level of experience, you’ll probably want to work with other seasoned tax preparers when you start developing and promoting your own courses. Although tax education will consume your time, it is profitable.
7. Become a financial planner
As business owners need experts to help them handle their bookkeeping or payroll services, individuals also need financial planning services. You can’t start offering financial planning services without the necessary skills. Therefore, you can start your financial planning journey by becoming a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) or a Certified Financial Planner (CFP).
This requires a significant time and financial investment, but the financial reward from clients will be enough to cover your initial investment.
8. Add Complementary Services
The tax season is over, and you might not get clients who want your services. If you want to evolve, there are other services that you can do to make money. In light of your areas of specialisation and desire to develop your skills, you can add services like insurance and real estate sales to your portfolio.
Conclusion: Jobs For Tax Preparers In The Off Season
As a tax preparer, making money from tax preparation during the off season can be a challenging task. If you made money during the tax season, then you are undoubtedly somewhat worn out from working so hard under pressure.
The big question is how you intend to make money in the off season, since you won’t be getting tax preparation jobs. In this article, I’ve thrown out a few suggestions for ways tax preparers can make money outside of tax season.
