How to become a tax agent
Official title: Tax agent
Also called: Tax adviser, Tax consultant, Tax accountant, Tax administrator, Tax specialist, Tax analyst, Tax manager
Tax agents provide tax advice and prepare tax returns for people and small businesses.
Main tasks
- Help clients with tax returns
- Make sure taxes are paid correctly
- Give advice about taxes
- Review tax records
- Help businesses and people understand tax laws
- Fix mistakes in tax returns and payments
- Talk to Inland Revenue about tax issues
- Remind clients about tax deadlines
How to become one
You usually need experience to become a tax agent. You usually don’t need specific NCEA levels for this job. Other requirements: experience in similar work; to register as an intermediary with Inland Revenue; to get authority to act on behalf of clients; to join the Accountants and Tax Agents Institute of NZ (ATAINZ).
Pay · Past change · AI and this job
- Most common pay: $65,000 to $157,000 a year (median $93,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
- Lower: $55,000 a year · Upper: $222,000 a year
- TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
- Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Decrease (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
- People employed in the group Accountants: 30,591 at the 2018 Census and 32,457 at the 2023 Census (+6.1%). Past change, not a forecast.
- Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, by the ILO's global estimate.
Who does this work
- About 1,000 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
- In the group Accountants, 59% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
- Where people in the group Accountants work (2023 Census): Auckland 44.2%, Wellington 13.1%, and Canterbury 11%.
Related jobs
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Questions people ask
How do I become a tax agent?
You usually need experience to become a tax agent. You usually don’t need specific NCEA levels for this job. Other requirements: experience in similar work; to register as an intermediary with Inland Revenue; to get authority to act on behalf of clients; to join the Accountants and Tax Agents Institute of NZ (ATAINZ).
How much does a tax agent earn in New Zealand?
The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $93,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $65,000 to $157,000 a year.
Has the number of people working as a tax agent grown in New Zealand?
It has shrunk: TEC records a decrease in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.
Will AI change the work of a tax agent?
Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
- Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census totals by topic for individuals 2013, 2018, 2023 (CEN23_TBT_004): employed by occupation, ANZSCO V1.3, summed to unit group (2023 Census (CEN23_TBT_004)), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.
Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.
This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.
Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.
These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Updated 4 October 2026