Business and Financial Operations · Holland code CES

Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents

Determine tax liability or collect taxes from individuals or business firms according to prescribed laws and regulations.

Also called: Revenue Agent, Tax Collector, Tax Compliance Officer, Tax Examiner, City Tax Auditor, Collections Specialist, Revenue Collector, Revenue Officer.

O*NET 13-2081.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $62,370; Middle half earn $49,450 to $83,390. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Bachelor's Degree; 34% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 3 of 5; Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: -2% · Decline; 57,600 jobs in 2024, projected 56,500. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Collect taxes from individuals or businesses according to prescribed laws and regulations.
Send notices to taxpayers when accounts are delinquent.
Determine appropriate methods of debt settlement, such as offers of compromise, wage garnishment, or seizure and sale of property.
Check tax forms to verify that names and taxpayer identification numbers are correct, that computations have been performed correctly, or that amounts match those on supporting documentation.
Examine and analyze tax assets and liabilities to determine resolution of delinquent tax problems.
Impose payment deadlines on delinquent taxpayers and monitor payments to ensure that deadlines are met.
Confer with taxpayers or their representatives to discuss the issues, laws, and regulations involved in returns, and to resolve problems with returns.
Notify taxpayers of any overpayment or underpayment, and either issue a refund or request further payment.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.0 / 5
Active Listening4.0 / 5
Speaking4.0 / 5
Critical Thinking3.9 / 5
Writing3.3 / 5
Mathematics3.3 / 5

Knowledge areas

Customer and Personal Service4.3 / 5
English Language4.1 / 5
Mathematics3.9 / 5
Administrative3.9 / 5
Law and Government3.7 / 5
Economics and Accounting3.5 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic3
Investigative25
Artistic0
Social36
Enterprising56
Conventional98

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

tax advisor · DE Steuerberater/Steuerberaterin · FR fiscaliste
bankruptcy trustee · DE Insolvenzverwalter/Insolvenzverwalterin · FR mandataire judiciaire
financial fraud examiner · DE Prüfer im Bereich Finanzbetrug/Prüferin im Bereich Finanzbetrug · FR commissaire aux comptes
fiscal affairs policy officer · DE Referent für Steuerpolitik/Referentin für Steuerpolitik · FR chargé de mission fiscalité/chargée de mission fiscalité
tax policy analyst · DE Analytiker Steuerpolitik/Analytikerin Steuerpolitik · FR analyste de la politique fiscale
insurance fraud investigator · DE Versicherungsdetektiv/Versicherungsdetektivin · FR inspecteur enquêteur d’assurances/inspectrice enquêteuse d’assurances

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Chartered and certified accountants (2421)233,600 employed
Taxation experts (2423)44,700 employed
Pensions and insurance clerks and assistants (4132)65,200 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.37. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (13-2081).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test