Tax Examining
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the Tax Examining occupation series (code 0592): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
Tax Examining is a mid-sized federal occupation: 10,631 employees (0.5% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Accounting and Budget Group family. At an average salary of $56,610 it pays below the federal average of $117,339, and headcount declined 0.9% from the prior period.
- Employees
- 10,631
- Share of workforce
- 0.5%
- Avg salary
- $56,610
- Avg tenure
- 10.9 yrs
FedScope read on Tax Examining (dense series)
As of the June 2026 reporting window, 10,631 people work in the Tax Examining occupation (OPM code 0592) across federal agencies, 0.5% of the 1,953,300-strong federal civilian workforce. Headcount moved down by -0.9% from the prior period, a useful gauge for job seekers on USAJOBS trying to assess whether this role is expanding government-wide or contracting under hiring freezes and attrition.
Tax Examining pays $56,610 per year on average, moving up 0.2% from the prior period (a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change). Employees in this role stay an average of 10.9 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.
The Accounting and Budget Group family (code 05) groups Tax Examining together with 17 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Tax Examining postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Accounting and Budget Group family.
Tax Examining makes up 12.2% of the 86,835 employees across the Accounting and Budget Group family, ranking #3 of 18 occupations in that family by headcount. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (19th percentile) of pay among Accounting and Budget Group occupations.
Salary context · lean-pay series
How Tax Examining pay compares to the federal average of $117,339
Occupation Average
$56,610
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-51.8%
Where Tax Examining ranks on lean federal pay
Its average salary of $56,610 is higher than 10% of federal occupation series (56 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Tax Examining sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; Tax Examining ranks higher than 10%.
Related Occupations in Accounting and Budget Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial Administration and Program | 25,018 | $114,904 | 15.9 yrs |
| Budget Analysis | 12,255 | $131,861 | 16.8 yrs |
| Accounting | 8,731 | $145,658 | 16.1 yrs |
| Internal Revenue Agent | 7,678 | n/a | 13.6 yrs |
| Auditing | 5,808 | $144,351 | 17 yrs |
| Financial Clerical and Assistance | 5,304 | $56,817 | 10.7 yrs |
| Financial Institution Examining | 4,728 | $168,883 | 15.2 yrs |
| Accounting Technician | 1,754 | $61,366 | 12.3 yrs |
| Financial Management | 1,049 | $166,042 | 21.6 yrs |
| Military Pay | 738 | $63,334 | 11.7 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Tax Examining outside the Accounting and Budget Group family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar dense headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (10,631 here).
Similar lean average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($56,610 here).
Key takeaways
- Tax Examining pays below the federal average by 51.8% ($56,610 vs $117,339 federal-wide), at the 10th percentile for pay among 541 tracked occupation series.
- A mid-sized federal occupation by headcount: 10,631 employees, 0.5% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount declined 0.9% from the prior period.
- According to OPM FedScope June 2026, Tax Examining ranks #44 of 663 federal occupation series by headcount (the same employee_count ordering as our occupations directory).
- Tax Examining makes up 12.2% of the 86,835 employees across the Accounting and Budget Group family, ranking #3 of 18 occupations in that family by headcount.
OPM FedScope and Federal Workforce Data figures are federal civilian headcounts, average salaries, and length-of-service statistics - not job-quality scores, hiring advice, or a live vacancy listing. A larger or higher-paid agency is not a better employer.