Comparing EA vs CPA in Salary, Scope, and Career Paths in Financial Accounting

Fourth, this is a recession-proof vocation since you can establish your own business and take on as many clients as you can manage without needing to be hired by https://www.bookstime.com/articles/construction-billing-methods a company. Lastly, taxes must always be paid, and people will always require assistance. For many reasons, you should think about becoming an enrolled agent.

Tax Preparer Vs. CPA

Every state board of accountancy mandates 150 credit hours of education to sit for the CPA exam. In 2019, the average accountant brought home $71,550 per year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This is the median figure, so if you ranked all the accountant salaries from highest to lowest, the median would be the umber in the middle. The lowest paid 10 percent earned less than $44,480, while the top earners made more than $124,450 in 2019, indicating a broad range in salaries. Whether you want an expert to do your taxes from start to finish, or expert help while you file on your own, TurboTax has expert-backed offerings to meet your needs. With TurboTax Live Assisted, our tax experts help you complete your taxes, fix any mistakes, and explain what’s next.

Job Posting for Tax preparer/ Enrolled Agent at Legacy Tax and Accounting Service

Here, we dive deep into the specifics of these roles, from their educational qualifications to their place in today’s business environment. The BLS expects employment opportunities for accountants will be much greater than those for tax examiners and revenue agents. From 2018 to 2028, expect a job growth of enrolled agent salary 16 percent for accountants, which is about the average for all occupations. However, this rate is significantly greater the national average for examiners and agents, who can expect a projected decline in enrolled agent jobs of 2 percent. This is largely due to budget cuts resulting in a decrease in hiring.

• If you’re looking to speed up your salary gains in tax preparation, the best thing you can do is earn a professional designation, like the Enrolled Agent designation awarded by the IRS.
• Tax preparers work with taxpayers to complete federal and state tax returns.
• To finish the process of becoming a CPA after you’ve passed all four CPA Exam sections, you must acquire an additional 30 credit hours of education to fulfill the 150-hour requirement.
• This means that EAs cannot offer CPA services such as doing audits or preparing financial statements.
• EAs could help you work through an IRS audit or a collection problem, and they can also perform bookkeeping services that could be useful for businesses when preparing tax returns.
• The EA exam has three parts and there is no time limit between taking each exam which lasts for an hour each, making for a total of 4 hours.

EA vs CPA – Exam costs

You have to pass the CPA exam within a rolling period of 18 months, starting from the time you pass the first part. The EA exam has three parts and there is no time limit between taking each exam which lasts for an hour each, making for a total of 4 hours. The salary range for a CPA is $52k to $119k including base salary, bonus, profit sharing, and commission.

Not only that, a CPA has a much better chance of fast-tracking career possibilities to the CFO level. What is an EA vs CPA When comparing the roles of CPA vs EA, it’s seen that the scope and responsibilities of the CPA are much wider in scope. Hence, the CPA has a clear edge when the CPA vs EA salary is considered. The Enrolled Agent vs CPA salary both at the start of the career as well as the top end is vastly dissimilar. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks.

Not only is this reflected in their background, even their credentials limit their scope. CPAs are granted unlimited representation rights to assist clients in tax-related matters as well as with audits, risk assessment, business valuation and financial planning. However, CPAs are only allowed to practice in the state where their current license is held except for states that accept CPA mobility for limited practice. EAs could help you work through an IRS audit or a collection problem, and they can also perform bookkeeping services that could be useful for businesses when preparing tax returns. An Enrolled Agent is a tax expert who has earned the right to represent people before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). To become an EA, they need to pass a three-part comprehensive IRS exam covering individual and company tax returns or have experience working for the IRS.