Tax Preparers in New Jersey
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,217
after federal, FICA and New Jersey tax
Tax takes
$7,203
16.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,262
New Jersey costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in New Jersey — 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
$43,420
Kept after tax
$36,217
Worth in national money
$33,262
State rank
36
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for tax preparers is on the low side in New Jersey. The middle earner gets $43,420. That is 36 of 48 states, and about 20.94% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 490 occupations New Jersey publishes, tax preparers lands at 418. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $43,420 the take-home is $36,217. But New Jersey costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $33,262 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $52,870, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For tax preparers, New Jersey sits in the lower band at $43,420, ranking 36 of 48 and trailing the national median by about 20.94%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within New Jersey, this work ranks 418 of 490 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and New Jersey income tax is $36,217 for tax preparers, from $43,420. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $33,262. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $52,870 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Tax Preparers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,250 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $43,420 |
| Top tenth earn over | $77,640 |
| This salary | $43,420 |
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 New Jersey | $36,217 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,068 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,883 |
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 | $42,361 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,906 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in New Jersey earn less than $43,420. The published range is $34,250 up to $77,640, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $36,217 take-home in New Jersey comes from $43,420. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 418 of 490.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $33,262 uses one figure for the whole of New Jersey. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 490 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 418.
- Reported values are medians; for tax preparers in New Jersey the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $34,250 to $77,640. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $36,217, from $43,420, assumes a single New Jersey filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 418 of 490 locally, and the state ranks 36 of 48 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $33,262, worked from $43,420, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular New Jersey address, on work sitting at 418 of 490 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $52,870, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $34,250 and the top tenth $77,640 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $33,262 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and New Jersey adds its own income tax on top — which is why $36,217 of this wage survives to your account.
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.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in New Jersey is $52,870. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($34,250) and the ninetieth ($77,640) 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?
New Jersey's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $33,262 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 $36,217 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and New Jersey 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.