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.
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
to get some one-the-job training.
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We know a chemical engineer approaching
retirement who 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 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.
Taxes and the
small business bookkeeper
Our engineering friend's tax work consists of
preparing individual's 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 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. 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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