What is a Tax Accountant?

As a tax accountant is an accountant who specializes in preparing regional and federal taxes on behalf of an individual or an organization.

Tax Accountant: General Job Description

As a tax accountant, your primary responsibility would be to help clients prepare their federal, state/provincial and local tax returns. Your clients may be businesses, non-profit and other organizations, or individuals.

You would also have to ensure the returns you prepare are complaint with the ever-changing laws and guidelines of taxation. This means your knowledge of taxation would have to remain up-to-date at all times.

You would use your taxation savvy to not only help clients complete their tax returns in a compliant manner, but also to advise them as to what actions they can take to minimize their tax liabilities (such as moving money into certain investment vehicles and tax shelters).  

General Job Duties

Although your specific duties can vary from one job to the next, you could expect to perform the following duties as a tax accountant:

• Deal with tax authorities on tax audits and appeals

• Effectively communicate with clients, government agencies, as well as colleagues and staff

• Develop and implement strategies for clients to capitalize on business opportunities

• Participate in tax planning and reorganization projects for clients

• Identify and document tax filing positions, including risk analysis

• Examine tax accounts and records in order to determine how much tax a client owes

• Prepare tax returns for an individual or a business

• Maintain current knowledge of regional and federal taxation law and regulations

• May be involved in organizing paperwork surrounding business license taxes, property tax and sales tax

• May prepare monthly, quarterly and annual financial reports

• Ensure tax regulations and reporting guidelines have been followed

Skills Needed to Become a Tax Accountant

While being able to work with numbers is important, you don't need advanced skills in mathematics to become a tax accountant. You will however, have a much better chance of succeeding in this field if you have the following abilities:

Analytical Skills: You must be able to review many pages of documentation and identify issues, as well as provide recommendations as to how to fix those issues.

Communication Skills: Being able to listen carefully to facts and concerns from clients, managers, and other stakeholders is very important. You must also be able to communicate the results of your work and recommendations in meetings and in written reports.

Close Attention to Detail: Being able to pay attention to detail when compiling and examining documentation, as well as when preparing reports, is crucial for being accurate in your work. You must also be able to do so with stamina, as you may have several documents and reports to work with during a given day.

Math and Logic Skills: You do not need complex math skills if you want to become a tax accountant. You do however, need the ability to analyze, compare, and interpret facts and figures, as well as spot discrepancies.

Organizational Skills: You will need exceptional organizational skills, as you will  work with a wide range of financial documents for a variety of clients. If not properly organized, your work can quickly become very inefficient, resulting in mistakes, duplicate work, and ultimately a loss of clientele.

Technical Skills: Being familiar with various forms of accounting and tax preparation software will help you hit the ground running when you’re hired, as will your extensive knowledge of accounting principles and taxation. Don't have technical skills? Worry not, these skills will be acquired while you’re pursuing your accounting degree and designation.