Corporate tax preparer vs tax associate

The differences between corporate tax preparers and tax associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a tax associate has an average salary of $62,466, which is higher than the $47,529 average annual salary of a corporate tax preparer.

The top three skills for a corporate tax preparer include tax research, payroll and individual tax returns. The most important skills for a tax associate are strong customer service, CPA, and tax planning.

Corporate tax preparer vs tax associate overview

	Corporate Tax Preparer	Tax Associate
Yearly salary	$47,529	$62,466
Hourly rate	$22.85	$30.03
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	36,530	42,019
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	-	-

Corporate tax preparer vs tax associate salary

Corporate tax preparers and tax associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Corporate Tax Preparer	Tax Associate
Average salary	$47,529	$62,466
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $71,000	Between $40,000 And $95,000
Highest paying City	Hoboken, NJ	Las Vegas, NV
Highest paying state	Rhode Island	Nevada
Best paying company	Ernst & Young	Ropes & Gray
Best paying industry	-	Finance

Differences between corporate tax preparer and tax associate education

There are a few differences between a corporate tax preparer and a tax associate in terms of educational background:

	Corporate Tax Preparer	Tax Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Southern California

Corporate tax preparer vs tax associate demographics

Here are the differences between corporate tax preparers' and tax associates' demographics:

	Corporate Tax Preparer	Tax Associate
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 41.7% Female, 58.3%	Male, 36.4% Female, 63.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 8.3% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 10.2% White, 57.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between corporate tax preparer and tax associate duties and responsibilities

Corporate tax preparer example responsibilities.

Answer clients' accounting, QuickBooks, and tax concerns.
Handle all sales, franchise, payroll, and income tax reporting requirements, as well as, relate accounting spreadsheets.
Assist clients in responding to IRS letters.
Assist the manager in computing estimate tax payments and extension requests for all subsidiaries base on apportionment factors.
Reconcile and analyze various defer accounts and create necessary tax adjustments.
Prepare individual tax returns in a timely manner-assist with account reconciliations for clients-help track basis for clients-update clients fix asset accounts

Tax associate example responsibilities.

Provide tax planning and preparation services for corporate, individual and high net-worth clients of this midsize CPA firm.
Implement process to identify and prepare the balances for W2 purposes at year end.
Prepare customer taxes from w-2's and other tax information, answer phones, print checks, filing
Resolve a major system problems with split process level errors so employee W2's and companies returns are correct.
Respond to inquiries from the IRS and other tax authorities regarding reconciliation of filings, liabilities, and other associate matters.
Advise clients on questions they have pertaining to their tax liabilities and ensure that they are compliant to the IRS regulations.

Corporate tax preparer vs tax associate skills

Common corporate tax preparer skills

Tax Research, 19%
Payroll, 12%
Individual Tax Returns, 10%
Financial Statements, 8%
Tax Provision, 7%
Journal Entries, 7%

Common tax associate skills

Strong Customer Service, 26%
CPA, 13%
Tax Planning, 6%
Taxation, 5%
Tax Research, 4%
Local Tax Returns, 4%