Business and Financial Operations Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 13-2081

Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents

The published band from $42,000 to $114,550 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Financial Risk Specialists.

Same-major-group titles next to Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents: Financial Risk Specialists ($117K) , Credit Analysts ($84K) , Accountants and Auditors ($84K) , Management Analysts ($102K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 13-2081 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Collect taxes from individuals or businesses according to prescribed laws and regulations
  2. 2. Send notices to taxpayers when accounts are delinquent
  3. 3. Determine appropriate methods of debt settlement, such as offers of compromise, wage garnishment, or seizure and sale of property
  4. 4. Check tax forms to verify that names and taxpayer identification numbers are correct, that computations have been performed correctly, or…
  5. 5. Examine and analyze tax assets and liabilities to determine resolution of delinquent tax problems
  6. 6. Impose payment deadlines on delinquent taxpayers and monitor payments to ensure that deadlines are met
  7. 7. Confer with taxpayers or their representatives to discuss the issues, laws, and regulations involved in returns, and to resolve problems…
  8. 8. Notify taxpayers of any overpayment or underpayment, and either issue a refund or request further payment
  9. 9. Maintain records for each case, including contacts, telephone numbers, and actions taken
  10. 10. Direct service of legal documents, such as subpoenas, warrants, notices of assessment, and garnishments
  11. 11. Contact taxpayers by mail or telephone to address discrepancies and to request supporting documentation
  12. 12. Review filed tax returns to determine whether claimed tax credits and deductions are allowed by law

Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents: O*NET ranks Reading Comprehension first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 13-2081 - lead skill Reading Comprehension at 4.0 ; lead knowledge Customer and Personal Service. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Reading Comprehension 4.0
  2. 2. Active Listening 4.0
  3. 3. Speaking 4.0
  4. 4. Critical Thinking 3.9
  5. 5. Writing 3.3
  6. 6. Mathematics 3.3
  7. 7. Active Learning 3.3
  8. 8. Monitoring 3.3

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Customer and Personal Service 4.3
  2. 2. English Language 4.1
  3. 3. Mathematics 3.9
  4. 4. Administrative 3.9
  5. 5. Law and Government 3.7
  6. 6. Economics and Accounting 3.5
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$42,000 to $114,550
median $62,370 · ~2.7× spread
$62K
National median
↓ -2%
Growth 2024-2034
4,300
Annual openings
56,610
Estimated US jobs
Financial Risk Specialists
Highest-pay peer · $117K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Bachelor's degree

Top Paying States for Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents

Other Business and Financial Operations Occupations titles

  1. 1. Accountants and Auditors $83,680
  2. 2. Management Analysts $101,860
  3. 3. Financial Risk Specialists $117,330
  4. 4. Budget Analysts $91,640
  5. 5. Credit Analysts $83,510
  6. 6. Personal Financial Advisors $105,070

The OEWS band for Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents runs from $42,000 (10th) to $114,550 (90th), about 2.7× wide, with median $62,370. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect -2% change between 2024 and 2034 (declining vs baseline 3.1%). About 4,300 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Kansas at $88,610. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Financial Risk Specialists at $117,330. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents pay-rank #28 in Business and Financial Operations Occupations

On the Business and Financial Operations Occupations median table (32 detailed occupations with OEWS medians), Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents lands at #28, in the lower third. That rank is a table position, not a statement about individual workers.

Other lower-third titles · closest medians

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents land on the Business and Financial Operations Occupations median table?
Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents is pay-rank #28 of 32 in this major group, lower third of the median table. Closest lower-third titles: Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners ($61K), Farm Labor Contractors ($58K), Property Appraisers and Assessors ($68K), Training and Development Specialists ($69K). That position is a table rank, not a worker percentile.
What do tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents do day to day?
O*NET lists published task statements for Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents. Leading ones include: 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…. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents?
For SOC 13-2081, O*NET importance scores lead with Reading Comprehension (4.0), Active Listening (4.0), Speaking (4.0), Critical Thinking (3.9). Knowledge areas emphasize Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Mathematics. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents?
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $42,000 and the 90th at $114,550 for Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents (2.7× spread). The national median is $62,370. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents?
The 2024-2034 projection for Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents is -2%. Projected annual openings: about 4,300. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: declining.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents?
BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents?
Kansas ($88,610), Illinois ($80,720), Massachusetts ($75,560) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 13-2081. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics