Tax Preparers Salary
In Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, tax preparers earn $48,150 at the median, or about $23.15 an hour. The range runs from $36K at the entry level to $93K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 98.07), that's roughly $49,098 in purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,852/month, about 53.5% of take-home, which is tight.
So what does $48K get you in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos’s Regional Price Parity (98.07). Rent from HUD Fair Market Rents. Taxes estimated for single filer, standard deduction. * Healthcare is the employee-paid share only (premiums + out-of-pocket). Actual costs vary by coverage type: employer-sponsored, ACA marketplace, or uninsured.
About tax preparers
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What this looks like in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos
Pay for tax preparers in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos runs about 12% below the U.S. median of $55K. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,852/month, which is 54.6% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Cost of living (RPP 98.07) is near the national average, so spending patterns here track the typical American budget fairly closely. That combination, below-market pay with high housing costs, makes this a financially demanding market for tax preparerss.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for tax preparers in metros near Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Tyler | $47K | $51K |
| El Paso | $60K | $67K |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | $47K | $46K |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands | $47K | $48K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Entry-level tax preparers (10th percentile) start around $36K. Mid-career wages sit at $48K. Top earners bring in $93K or more, a $57K spread from bottom to top.
Tax Preparers pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Tax Preparers salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | $72K | +31% | 7,620 |
| California | $70K | +28% | 10,270 |
| Utah | $67K | +21% | 1,190 |
| Montana | $63K | +15% | 360 |
| Missouri | $63K | +14% | 1,330 |
| Colorado | $63K | +14% | 1,540 |
| Alaska | $62K | +14% | 70 |
| Oregon | $61K | +12% | 1,590 |
| New Hampshire | $61K | +12% | 420 |
| Pennsylvania | $61K | +12% | 2,010 |
| Nevada | $60K | +9% | 1,410 |
| Minnesota | $59K | +8% | 1,040 |
| Virginia | $59K | +7% | 1,960 |
| Massachusetts | $58K | +6% | 1,500 |
| Wyoming | $58K | +6% | 90 |
| Rhode Island | $58K | +5% | N/A |
| North Dakota | $57K | +4% | 220 |
| Illinois | $54K | -1% | 1,310 |
| Iowa | $54K | -2% | 780 |
| South Dakota | $53K | -4% | 280 |
| Delaware | $52K | -5% | 240 |
| Mississippi | $51K | -8% | 580 |
| Georgia | $49K | -10% | 1,670 |
| Ohio | $49K | -11% | 1,590 |
| Florida | $49K | -11% | N/A |
| North Carolina | $48K | -12% | 2,710 |
| Texas | $47K | -14% | 6,010 |
| Kansas | $47K | -14% | 450 |
| Maine | $47K | -14% | 250 |
| Maryland | $47K | -14% | 1,240 |
| Michigan | $46K | -16% | 1,660 |
| Indiana | $46K | -17% | 1,820 |
| Washington | $45K | -17% | 1,360 |
| Arizona | $45K | -18% | 2,240 |
| Wisconsin | $44K | -19% | 1,550 |
| New Jersey | $43K | -21% | 3,220 |
| Nebraska | $43K | -22% | 420 |
| Oklahoma | $43K | -22% | 1,300 |
| Connecticut | $41K | -25% | 700 |
| South Carolina | $39K | -29% | 1,360 |
| Louisiana | $39K | -29% | 650 |
| New Mexico | $38K | -31% | 340 |
| Kentucky | $37K | -33% | 1,080 |
| Tennessee | $37K | -33% | 1,260 |
| West Virginia | $36K | -35% | 330 |
| Arkansas | $35K | -36% | 550 |
| Hawaii | $35K | -37% | N/A |
| Alabama | $33K | -39% | 290 |
Showing 1–10 of 48 states with published data
BLS does not publish data for every state when sample sizes are too small
Track tax preparers salary changes
BLS updates this data quarterly. We'll email you when Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos numbers change.
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Frequently asked questions
Can a tax preparer afford a 2BR apartment alone in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $48K, rent takes 54.6% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,852/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,000/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.
What’s the entry-level salary for tax preparers in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new tax preparers typically earn — is $36K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,167/month. At HUD’s $1,852/month FMR, rent would take 85% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is tax preparer a high-paying job in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos?
Local pay runs 12% below the national median — $48K here vs. $55K nationally.
How does Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos compare to the national average for tax preparers?
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos pays $48K median vs. the U.S. average of $55K — that’s -12%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 98.07), the purchasing-power equivalent is $49K — below the national median.
How much do tax preparers make in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?
The median is $48,150 a year, that works out to about $23 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $36,110, and experienced tax preparers can clear $92,880. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $48K enough to live in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,394/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,852/month, which eats 54.6% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.
How far does a tax preparers salary go in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos?
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos has a Regional Price Parity of 98.07 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median tax preparers salary is worth about $49,098 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do tax preparers get paid the most?
The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.