Turning taxes into retirement income
If you have mathematical ability and computer skills, you can become a tax preparer and work seasonally for the large tax companies, such as H&R Block or Jackson Hewitt.
The national tax preparation companies will train you with the classes they offer every year, usually during the Fall and Winter. They charge for Tax School, but if you complete their classes successfully you may be able to go to work for them during tax season, from January through April.
Jim, a chemical engineer approaching retirement, wanted more income, so he took the classes and worked for one of the large tax preparation companies for a couple of tax seasons. Because he was still employed full time at his engineering job, he worked peak hours during evenings and weekends for the tax preparation company.
The following year he launched his own part time business by preparing federal tax returns for friends, family and neighbors. Now retired, he makes a tidy extra income from a few months of work each year.
Another way to learn tax preparation is through the I.R.S’s VITA program. While is is instruction for volunteers it is FREE and could give you a head start on tax preparation.
Taxes and the small business bookkeeper
Our engineering friend’s tax work consists of preparing individual federal and state income tax forms. Small businesses also have to pay taxes and people with a background in business bookkeeping or accounting can set up their own independent company to service neighborhood businesses for both taxes and year ’round accounting.
If you have this type of experience, you already will know which professional accounting program to use. Then order some business cards, make some phone calls and regularly go to Chamber of Commerce meetings to meet potential new clients. You may also find assignments on job hunting sites like Indeed or Career Builder.
While this work is clearly not seasonal, you can take on as many–or as few– clients as you want while still giving yourself free time.
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Note: The people mentioned on this site are real and what they did is true. Their names have been changed to protect their privacy.