Accounting, Tax Prep & Bookkeeping Services — profit margin & cost structure (U.S.)

For the U.S. accounting, tax prep & bookkeeping services industry, IRS tax data shows an estimated 40.7% net margin on an owner-operator basis (national, sole proprietorships, tax year 2023). That figure — what a self-employed owner keeps per sales dollar before paying themselves — is the number this page exists to report; read the note below on how it's measured.

40.7%net margin · owner-operator basis

National as of tax year 2023 Moderate confidence source ↗

Owner-operator basis (IRS SOI sole proprietorships, TY2023): net income less deficit ÷ business receipts. Measured at NAICS 5412 — Accounting, Tax Prep & Bookkeeping (CPA offices + other accounting combined). Owner's own labor is not expensed.

Cost structure

National, from IRS Statistics of Income (weighted sample). Where a component is not separately reported, it is shown as insufficient data — never estimated.

Component	Value
Cost of goods sold (% of receipts)	3.5%	National source ↗
Labor / officer compensation (% of receipts)	9.0%	National source ↗

2019–2023 trend (national)

Change in the number of accounting, tax prep & bookkeeping services establishments and employment, nationally, from Census County Business Patterns.

Metric	2019	2023	Change
Establishments	134,491	137,069	+1.9%
Employment	1,159,229	1,297,995	+12.0%

Business size distribution (national)

Share of U.S. accounting, tax prep & bookkeeping services establishments by number of employees (Census County Business Patterns, 2023). 70% have fewer than 5 employees.

1–4 emp95,534 (70%)

5–9 emp23,330 (17%)

10–19 emp10,233 (7%)

20–49 emp4,853 (4%)

50–99 emp1,609 (1%)

100+ emp1,510 (1%)

Where this industry operates — all 51 states

Establishment counts, employment, and wages are available for free elsewhere too (e.g. Data USA). States ordered by number of establishments — pick one for local context:

Full cost-structure breakdown by business-size class and side-by-side industry comparison are available to subscribers. This page shows the current-year national headline plus the multi-year establishment trend.

Frequently asked

What is the average profit margin for accounting, tax prep & bookkeeping services businesses?

About 40.7% net margin on an owner-operator basis (national, IRS SOI sole proprietorships, tax year 2023). This counts the owner's own labor as profit, so it overstates corporate-style margin — see the note above.

How many accounting, tax prep & bookkeeping services businesses are there in the U.S.?

137,069 establishments with paid employees (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).

What is the average wage in the accounting, tax prep & bookkeeping services industry?

$1,891 per week (BLS QCEW 2024, private sector) — about $98,332/year.

Is the accounting, tax prep & bookkeeping services industry growing?

The number of U.S. accounting, tax prep & bookkeeping services establishments changed +1.9% from 2019 to 2023 (134,491 → 137,069), per Census CBP.

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machine-readable JSON · NAICS 5412

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