The side hustles that suit accountants best use skills you already have: seasonal tax preparation, bookkeeping for small businesses, part-time teaching, and finance AI training, where AI labs pay accountants to build and check the spreadsheets and memos their models produce.
Each one has its own rules, from IRS registration to your employer's outside-work policy. Here is what each involves, from official pages and job ads read on 2026-10-13. This is a guide to options, not tax, legal or financial advice.
Seasonal Tax Preparation
Tax season already shapes the job. BLS says accountants often work longer hours at certain times, such as tax season and quarterly audits.
If you prepare federal returns for pay, the IRS says you need a valid PTIN (preparer tax identification number) for the current year. Enrolled agents need one too.
What you can do beyond preparing returns depends on your credential:
| Credential | What the IRS lets you do |
|---|---|
| CPA, attorney or enrolled agent | Can represent any taxpayer on any tax matter before any IRS office |
| Annual Filing Season Program record | Can represent only clients whose returns you prepared and signed, and only before certain IRS staff |
| PTIN only | Can prepare returns but cannot represent clients |
The Annual Filing Season Program is voluntary. It asks for 18 hours of continuing education, including a six-hour federal tax law refresher with a test, a renewed PTIN, and consent to Circular 230 obligations. People who finish it are listed in the IRS public directory of return preparers.
Not a CPA? The enrolled agent route is a three-part IRS exam, then 72 hours of continuing education every three years.
Sources: IRS PTIN requirements, IRS Annual Filing Season Program, IRS enrolled agent information, BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Accountants and Auditors.
Bookkeeping for Small Businesses
Bookkeeping work covers the general ledger, debits and credits, financial statements, bank deposits, payroll, invoices and overdue accounts, according to BLS. Bookkeepers who serve several firms may visit client sites.
Many small businesses run their books in QuickBooks. Intuit's ProAdvisor program for accountants has a free sign-up, free training, certifications for Intuit products, and badges you can show on your website and profiles.
Sources: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Bookkeeping Clerks, Intuit QuickBooks ProAdvisor.
Part-Time Teaching
BLS says part-time work is common for college teachers, and that some part-time teachers hold a full-time job in their field alongside a teaching post. Some classes run in the evenings and on weekends, which fits around a day job.
Sources: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Postsecondary Teachers.
Finance AI Training
AI labs hire accountants to create, check and fix the finance work their models produce. On 2026-10-13, Ethos ads for staff accountants listed the documents involved:
- Monthly close reconciliations and journal entry packages.
- Audit request schedules and PBC documentation.
- Payables and receivables aging reports.
- Budget-to-actual variance summaries.
- Internal control walkthroughs and SOX testing memos.
Ethos tax ads ask for tax structuring decks, technical position summaries and client advisory slides. Mercor‘s standing finance listing describes grading AI-built financial work: does it tie, is the accounting treatment right, would it pass review under disclosure and audit standards.
Sources: Ethos Staff Accountant ad, Ethos Tax Professional ad, Mercor public job listings, 2026-10-13.
Accounting AI Training Roles Listed Now
| Role | Platform | Listed at | What the ad asks for | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staff Accountant; Accountant, Finance Operations and Audit Support | Ethos | $80/hr | 5+ years in corporate accounting, financial operations or audit support; GAAP and spreadsheet control testing | United States |
| Tax Professional | Ethos | $80/hr | CPA, JD or equivalent with 4+ years at a top tax practice | United States |
| Finance Expert (standing listing) | Mercor | $60 to $180/hr | Professional experience in finance or accounting, including accounting and auditing | Remote |
These are the rates the ads state, not what anyone will earn. A listing is not a promise of work, and hours depend on the project.
The Ethos ads ask for 5 to 20 hours a week on your own schedule. Mercor says you join a finance pool after a short AI interview, and that a matching project can come within a week or take several months.
AI training platforms usually pay you as a contractor, so taxes are on you. Step 11 of our guide covers how AI trainer pay and taxes work.
Sources: Ethos Staff Accountant ad, Ethos Tax Professional ad, Mercor public job listings, 2026-10-13.
What Accountants Say on Reddit
We read side hustle threads in r/Accounting and r/taxpros up to 2026-10-13.
- CPAs in industry and audit often weigh a small bookkeeping or tax practice on the side, sometimes as a step toward running their own firm.
- People used to working inside a firm say the admin is the surprise: client intake, engagement paperwork and picking tax software.
Sources: r/Accounting thread, r/taxpros thread, r/taxpros thread.
Check These Before You Start
- Your employer's policy on outside work and conflicts of interest.
- Your state board of accountancy. NASBA notes that CPAs are licensed by a state board and must meet that state's requirements.
- The AICPA Code of Professional Conduct, if you are a member.
- Any confidentiality terms. Do not bring client or employer data into side work, including AI training tasks.
Sources: NASBA licensure, AICPA Code of Professional Conduct.
Find Finance AI Training Work
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Which Side Hustle Fits You
Tax preparation suits accountants who want seasonal work and are ready to register with the IRS. Bookkeeping suits those who want steady monthly clients. AI training suits experienced accountants who want remote project work with no clients to find.
DigiNo earns a referral if you join Ethos or Mercor through our links. It does not change what we report from the ads.
Side Hustles for Accountants FAQ
What are good side hustles for accountants?
Seasonal tax preparation, bookkeeping for small businesses, part-time teaching and finance AI training all use accounting skills you already have. Each has its own registration or experience requirements.
Do I need a PTIN to prepare tax returns on the side?
The IRS says anyone who prepares or helps prepare federal tax returns for compensation needs a valid PTIN for the current year.
What is finance AI training for accountants?
AI labs pay experienced accountants to create and review the reconciliations, audit schedules, variance summaries and tax materials that AI models produce, so the models learn what correct work looks like.
Can a CPA take side work while employed?
Check your employer's outside-work policy, your state board of accountancy and the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct first. This guide does not give legal or professional advice.
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