Tax Preparers in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$46,504
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$11,896
20.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,965
Massachusetts costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Massachusetts — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$58,400
Kept after tax
$46,504
Worth in national money
$42,965
State rank
14
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Massachusetts pays tax preparers a middle wage of $58,400, ranking 14 of 48 states and sitting about 6.34% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 485 occupations Massachusetts reports figures for, this is number 310.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $58,400, tax leaves $46,504 — and because Massachusetts is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $42,965 would nationally. Here the average runs under the middle, at $58,230.
- Massachusetts's median for tax preparers is $58,400, about 6.34% above the national figure and 14 of 48 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- In Massachusetts's occupational distribution, tax preparers sits at 310 of 485 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After tax, $46,504 remains from the Massachusetts median of $58,400 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $42,965 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $58,230 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Tax Preparers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,560 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $58,400 |
| Top tenth earn over | $82,700 |
| This salary | $58,400 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Massachusetts | $46,504 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $49,104 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$7,567 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $55,164 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$9,151 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 108 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $58,400 as a midpoint for Massachusetts, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $37,560 and the ninetieth is $82,700 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Massachusetts's $46,504, worked from $58,400. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 310 of 485.
- Two cautions on $42,965, the adjusted value of that $58,400 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Massachusetts. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 310 of 485 locally.
- The Massachusetts median of $58,400 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $37,560 to $82,700. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Massachusetts take-home of $46,504, on $58,400 for work ranking 310 of 485 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 310 of 485 in the state.
- This $42,965 adjusted figure, worked from $58,400, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 310 of 485 in the state. The occupation ranks 310 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $37,560 at the bottom tenth to $82,700 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Massachusetts run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $42,965 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Massachusetts then takes its own share, leaving $46,504.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 48 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($37,560) and the ninetieth ($82,700) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Massachusetts's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $42,965 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $46,504 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Massachusetts income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.