Earning an Extra Income with Tax Jobs

While many people dread tax time, it’s actually possible to walk away with a little bit of extra income from various tax jobs. While people generally think that tax jobs are only done by tax professionals with years of experience and certified public accountants, there are actually a number jobs that you can do without the need for an accounting degree.

Some tax companies hire individuals to assist with the actual filing of completed returns. You won’t need to help fill out the returns themselves, so there’s no tax knowledge required. With tax jobs such as these you simply have to make sure that both state and federal returns are addressed correctly and get them into the mail. Though the current emphasis on e-filing has reduced the demand for these services somewhat, there are still a number of tax preparers who file returns using physical copies.

Another tax job that doesn’t require excessive training is working phone support for a tax preparer. Phone support jobs require you to answer calls and schedule appointments, and may require you to look up the answers to certain questions from material that the preparer has put together for you. Not all tax preparers require phone support personnel, but many larger tax offices hire at least some support staff during tax season.

A more lucrative option is to prepare tax returns yourself. It requires some work to learn to be a tax preparer, but there are several places where you can learn the required skills. Some accounting agencies and other tax preparers offer classes that teach you everything that you need to know. Correspondence courses and community colleges often offer classes on learning to prepare income tax returns as well. Even the IRS offers classes which you can usually take for free, though in exchange you generally have to volunteer for a certain number of hours as a phone support representative at an IRS office.

Regardless of the specific type of tax job you have, organization is a key skill in succeeding at it. In most cases you will be able to perform tax jobs from home, but you need to make sure that you have a dedicated portion of your home set aside to work in. If you’re working as a tax preparer then you will need to make sure that you have an area where you can meet with clients unless you plan on meeting with them for consultations in their own homes. Having a well-organized home office will assist you in finding the forms you need easily and will also speed up the process of filing returns once you have completed them.

Before taking one of these tax jobs, however, you should make sure that you have a good understanding of what the job will require. Tax jobs only provide seasonal work, but the work can be very time-intensive during tax season. There is also a major requirement for confidentiality given that you are dealing with personal and financial information; you must take care that no one else has access to tax records or other client information, and returns must be filed as soon as possible to ensure that clients receive their tax refunds quickly.