If tax season is a breeze for you, you might consider becoming an IRS Enrolled Agent with the ability to prepare taxes for other people and businesses. The other two ways to prepare taxes are as a CPA or an Attorney, but if you were one of those you’d probably already know how to do other people’s taxes.
Becoming an Enrolled Agent (EA) is actually pretty straightforward. The good thing for side hustlers is that it doesn’t require any specific type of college degree. First, you need to get a Preparer Tax Identification Number, and that’s done through the IRS. You then need to register and pass the Special Enrollment Examination. It’s a long test, but you have two years to study and complete all the sections to a passing grade. After passing, you’ll receive an IRS check to make sure you don’t have any tax anomalies, then you’ll pay a fee and become an EA. We chose this for our Side Hustle Master List because it’s pretty simple to do (if you like taxes).
Concept | |
category | Financial |
Takeaways | Requires knowledge of tax. |
complexity lowhigh  | Capital Required lowhigh |
skill required lowhigh | time required lowhigh |
return potential lowhigh |
 | learn more |
What Can You Do?
There are three levels of EAs: low, mid, and high. If you’re a low level (1-2 years experience), you’ll generally just be preparing taxes for other businesses or people. And that’s great. It’s simple and easy to do for someone who’s good at taxes. This level makes between $18 and $35 an hour. After a few years, you’ll be a mid-level EA and can start advising people on tax matters as well as assisting businesses in audit preparation. The pay at this level can be $20 to $50 an hour. And as a high-level EA, you’ll have more responsibility and can do some accounting related activities. Interested in being an EA and helping with taxes? Check out the links below for more information.