It’s said that there are two things in life that are certain: death and taxes. Indeed, the post-holiday January through April period is widely known for its characteristic W-2 and 1095 tax forms.
For many, Tax Day isn’t just a deadline — it’s employment. Tax Preparation Services specialize in helping people file their tax returns and every year, businesses ramp up hiring for the pre-tax season. As a seasonal industry, recruitment begins between October and December to prepare for the surge of customers in the first quarter. From January to March, employment peaks with hundreds of tax preparers hired in Idaho for the season.
After taxes are due in April, employment drops. In July through September, during the off-season, employment can be at times less than half of peak tax season. This reduced employment can be supported by activities like early filing, extended returns and tax planning.
Since some tax preparers only work part of the year and may work irregular hours during tax season, annual earnings can be misleading. Idaho’s 2024 wages for the occupation start at $24.84 for an entry level position with an average of $27.40 an hour. Tax preparers in Idaho are mostly employed by accounting firms and accountant offices with over 77% of the occupation employed in those industries in 2025. The dedicated Tax Preparation Services industry, as shown in Figure 1, employs 9.7% of tax preparers statewide.
Figure 1. Idaho’s tax preparation seasonal employment 2019 – 2025
Source: Idaho Department of Labor, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW)
In 2022, about half of Idaho’s 870,000 federal tax returns were completed by a professional, according to public Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data. As the number of tax returns in Idaho has increased over the decade, Tax Preparation Services have grown with a large increase in tax preparer returns seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent years, the number of professionally prepared returns has leveled off along with total returns.
Though there has been a change in demand for services, tax preparation remains an important service for many individuals, particularly with complex financial situations and people in higher income households.
Figure 2. Idaho’s professionally signed tax returns and total tax returns 2012 – 2025
Source: IRS, Table 2
Beyond the changes in tax preparation utilization since 2019, there has been a persistent increase in Idaho Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), with a recorded $20.9 million added to Idaho’s income between 2012 and 2022. The increasing wealth in Idaho has led to changes in the distribution of professionally prepared returns.
In 2012, tax filers with less than $75,000 in AGI accounted for most professionally prepared returns, at 60%. By 2022 this share had decreased to just 47% while higher income returns increased in share. Tax return with an AGI of $200,000 or more doubled in share of tax preparer assisted returns. Tax preparers have adapted over the last decade to handle more tax returns and higher income returns as the wealth of Idaho’s residents has grown.
Figure 3. Idaho’s professionally signed tax returns by income 2012 and 2022
Source: IRS, Table 2
The most recent IRS data was published for the 2022 tax season. More recent employment data from the 2024 tax season that took place April of 2025 suggests further expansion of the industry. When tax return data was last published by the IRS, tax preparation offices were experiencing a small decrease in employment — a continuing trend since 2016. In 2023, this trend reversed with a return to growing employment. Idaho has opened nine new tax preparation offices since 2022 and employed 53 people, with 6% growth in employment. Future data releases by the IRS will offer interesting insight into the services this valuable industry provides to the taxpayers of Idaho.
Figure 4. Idaho’s tax preparation first quarter establishments and employment, 2005 – 2025
Source: IRS, Table 2
Brandon.Duong@labor.idaho.gov, regional economist
Idaho Department of Labor
208-236-6715
Citations:
Idaho Department of Labor, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2024, accessed March 2026, https://lmi.idaho.gov/data-tools/oews/
Idaho Department of Labor, Quarterly Census of Earnings and Wages, 2005 – 2025, accessed January 2026, https://lmi.idaho.gov/data-tools/industry-wages/
Internal Revenue Service, SOI Tax Stats – Historic table 2, 2012-2022, accessed January 2026, https://www.irs.gov/statistics/soi-tax-stats-historic-table-2
Lightcast, Inverse Staffing Patterns, 2025-2026, accessed March 2026, https://kb.lightcast.io/en/articles/7932868-inverse-staffing-patterns
This Idaho Department of Labor project is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor for SFY26 as part of a Workforce Information grant (41%) and state/nonfederal funds (59%) totaling $860,595.
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