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The differences between accountant-contractors and tax accountants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an accountant-contractor and a tax accountant. Additionally, a tax accountant has an average salary of $62,142, which is higher than the $56,906 average annual salary of an accountant-contractor.
The top three skills for an accountant-contractor include reconciliations, general ledger accounts and payroll taxes. The most important skills for a tax accountant are CPA, tax audits, and income tax returns.
| Accountant-Contractor | Tax Accountant | |
| Yearly salary | $56,906 | $62,142 |
| Hourly rate | $27.36 | $29.88 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 60,024 | 57,919 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
An accountant contractor directly manages a customer's business. The contractor works exclusively on the company and organizes all its financial reports. The accountant contractor controls, inspects, and encodes all the company's financial transactions, ensuring that everything is well-accounted for and adequately documenting its activities. The contractor must be licensed, have expert skills in accountancy, be well-organized, have a high level of communication skills, and work under pressure.
A tax accountant is an individual who works with clients to produce tax return documents that follow tax laws and regulations while keeping them updated on their return information. Tax accountants must determine tax strategies for their clients that may minimize or eliminate tax payments while arranging audits with taxation authorities. They prepare tax documents for different clients, including private companies, non-profit organizations, and private individuals. Tax accountants are also required to obtain a bachelor's degree in accounting and should understand business concepts.
Accountant-contractors and tax accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Accountant-Contractor | Tax Accountant | |
| Average salary | $56,906 | $62,142 |
| Salary range | Between $44,000 And $73,000 | Between $45,000 And $83,000 |
| Highest paying City | Newark, NJ | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New York |
| Best paying company | Broadridge | Pacific Investment Management Company LLC |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Finance |
There are a few differences between an accountant-contractor and a tax accountant in terms of educational background:
| Accountant-Contractor | Tax Accountant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between accountant-contractors' and tax accountants' demographics:
| Accountant-Contractor | Tax Accountant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 43.8% Female, 56.2% | Male, 47.3% Female, 52.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 12.1% White, 63.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 8.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 15.5% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |