Prepare individual and small-business tax returns concentrated into a few intense months a year.
Why that grade No source URLs; figures are broadly consistent with general knowledge of the US tax-prep industry but not independently verified here. Course-seller index 2/10.
Figures are researched estimates, not guarantees. Check local rules before you trade.
Tax code complexity means most people and small businesses will always pay someone else to handle their filing correctly, and this demand is stable, recurring, and largely AI-resistant given the liability and regulatory complexity involved.
US: simple individual returns $150-400, small-business returns $500-2,500+; EA/CPA-credentialed preparers $75-200/hr; independent EAs with their own book can net $40,000-100,000+ in a concentrated season.
Someone willing to work an intense seasonal spike and diversify into off-season bookkeeping or advisory work to smooth income.
Anyone who needs steady month-to-month income without a way to bridge the off-season - this is genuinely feast-and-famine unless you build a second, complementary service.
Nearly all your income compresses into a few months (Jan-April in the US), and liability for preparer errors is real - carry E&O insurance and expect to actively manage off-season cash flow.
6 steps to your first paying customer
In the US, a PTIN (Preparer Tax Identification Number) is required, free/cheap, and the baseline legal requirement to prepare returns for compensation.
Done when Your PTIN registration is complete and active with the IRS before you prepare a single paid return.
Watch out: This is a legal requirement, not optional, even for your very first paid return.
EA status lets you represent clients before the IRS and commands meaningfully higher rates than uncredentialed prep.
Done when You've passed at least one part of the Enrolled Agent exam, or completed a study plan for it, on top of your baseline PTIN.
Watch out: The EA exam has real content depth - budget genuine study time, not a weekend cram.
The rest of the playbook: what to charge, what you need in place before you take money, where the first customers come from, and what each step costs.
Free forever · no card · 30 secondsTax software has commoditized basic return preparation, but EA/CPA credentials and a track record of correct, audited-clean filings are harder to replicate.
EA or CPA credential that lets you represent clients before the IRS, which uncredentialed competitors can't offer
Specialization in a complex filer type (expats, real estate investors) where generalist software and preparers fall short
Build a small tax practice with seasonal staff, or move into year-round tax planning/advisory work for a smaller number of higher-value clients.
Same idea, different rules. One playbook, with the facts that actually differ overlaid per market.
No personal income tax, so this specific business model doesn't translate.
UK equivalent runs through ATT/CTA-qualified tax advisers and self-assessment prep - a structurally different system.
India has its own separate CA-led tax-filing ecosystem with different credentialing.
PTIN required to prepare returns for pay; EA or CPA required to represent clients before the IRS.
Help small-mid businesses meet workplace safety and regulatory compliance - steady, unglamorous, under-served.
Act as an outsourced Data Protection Officer or GDPR compliance consultant for small-mid companies.
Conduct patentability searches for inventors and law firms - a genuinely overlooked STEM side income.