How to hire a senior tax accountant

How to hire a senior tax accountant, step by step

Here's a step-by-step senior tax accountant hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a senior tax accountant job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new senior tax accountant
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a senior tax accountant do?

Post a senior tax accountant job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your senior tax accountant job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a senior tax accountant for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A senior tax accountant's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, senior tax accountants from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of senior tax accountant salaries for various roles:

   Type of Senior Tax Accountant	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Tax Accountant	Accountants and auditors prepare and examine financial records. They ensure that financial records are accurate and that taxes are paid properly and on time... Show more	$28-47
   Tax Analyst	A tax analyst specializes in managing and filing tax forms and tax returns, all while devising strategies to reduce tax payments legally. A tax analyst may work as a member of a company or independently... Show more	$20-41
   Accountant/Consultant	Accountants/consultants perform accounting tasks for organizations or companies. The accountants improve accounting practices and prepare financial statements at the end of every year... Show more	$22-41

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • CPA
   • State Income
   • Tax Research
   • Income Tax Returns
   • Tax Planning
   • Tax Compliance
   • Taxation
   • Tax Provision
   • ASC
   • Strong Analytical
   • Tax Software
   • OneSource
   • Financial Statements
   • Reconciliations

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Research technical topics in taxation to present to the tax department and clients on areas of concern in the IRS code.
   • Participate in monthly accounting close with preparation and ownership of tax accrual journal entries and reconciliations.
   • Help implement, and maintain federal and state tax provision information into OneSource.
   • Work with internal and external resources to ensure implementation of CCH software on shopping cart is successful.
   • Assist and review the maintenance of the OneSource database relative to coding & mapping of the trial balance.
   • Conduct research with CCH and RIA on tax exposures, savings, refund, recovery, and credits.

   More senior tax accountant duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your senior tax accountant job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A senior tax accountant can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, senior tax accountants' average salary in montana is 45% less than in district of columbia.
   • Seniority. Entry-level senior tax accountants 39% less than senior-level senior tax accountants.
   • Certifications. A senior tax accountant with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a senior tax accountant's salary.

   Average senior tax accountant salary

   $77,537yearly

   $37.28 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior tax accountant salary

   $60,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 17, 2025

   Average senior tax accountant salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	District of Columbia	$92,380	$44
   2	New York	$87,050	$42
   3	New Jersey	$85,250	$41
   4	California	$84,496	$41
   5	Massachusetts	$80,202	$39
   6	Virginia	$79,788	$38
   7	Connecticut	$77,004	$37
   8	Texas	$76,028	$37
   9	North Carolina	$75,252	$36
   10	Arizona	$74,292	$36
   11	Georgia	$73,116	$35
   12	Pennsylvania	$71,836	$35
   13	Ohio	$71,526	$34
   14	Nevada	$71,187	$34
   15	Washington	$70,601	$34
   16	Illinois	$70,572	$34
   17	Colorado	$68,886	$33
   18	Florida	$68,546	$33
   19	Michigan	$67,954	$33
   20	Missouri	$66,377	$32

   Average senior tax accountant salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Riverbed Holdings, Inc.	$107,637	$51.75
   2	Ropes & Gray	$102,629	$49.34
   3	Invesco	$101,436	$48.77
   4	Benjamin Moore	$101,429	$48.76	1
   5	Micron Technology	$97,100	$46.68
   6	Ventas	$96,835	$46.56	5
   7	Nordstrom	$96,528	$46.41	1
   8	Fanatics	$96,455	$46.37	1
   9	Sherpa	$95,487	$45.91	15
   10	The TJX Companies	$94,814	$45.58	3
   11	RGP	$93,958	$45.17	16
   12	CIT Group	$93,670	$45.03
   13	Affiliated Computer Services	$93,664	$45.03
   14	Exelixis	$93,650	$45.02	1
   15	Global Partners	$92,023	$44.24	1
   16	Texas Capital Bank	$92,013	$44.24
   17	Praxair	$91,555	$44.02
   18	Fidelity National Information Solutions	$91,316	$43.90	1
   19	Ernst & Young	$90,826	$43.67	2,116
   20	Autodesk	$90,675	$43.59

4. Writing a senior tax accountant job description

   A job description for a senior tax accountant role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a senior tax accountant job description:

   Senior tax accountant job description example

   Under the general supervision of the Controller, performs a variety of tax accounting functions in support of the organization's corporate tax accounting operations.
   Duties and Responsibilities
   
   Prepares annual corporate tax returns for federal, state and local tax authorities, quarterly and annual payroll tax returns, sales tax exemption applications, mercantile tax returns and Bureau of Charity annual returns. Files and requests refunds for unclaimed transactions with the state of PA. Monitors and remits payroll and corporate tax payments. Provides advice on sales and use tax issues to members of System staff. Responds to tax inquires from the IRS, PA Department of Revenue and local agencies. Monitors moving expenses relating to new employees.
   Qualifications
   Notes: Other combinations of formal education, training and experience may be considered.
   
   Minimum Experience: 3 - 5 years Experience preparing annual corporate tax returns including 1120, 1065 and 990 returns. Experience responding to tax inquires from taxing authorities. Experience providing guidance on sales and use tax and payroll tax issues. Public Accounting experience a major plus
   
   Minimum Education: Bachelor's Degree in Accounting or Finance
   
   Preferred Certification: Certified Public Accountant
   
   Required Courses: Tax accounting/finance

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right senior tax accountant for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with senior tax accountants they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit senior tax accountants who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your senior tax accountant job on Zippia to find and attract quality senior tax accountant candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as efinancialcareers, financialjobsweb.com, careerbank, financial job bank.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting senior tax accountants requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new senior tax accountant

   Once you've decided on a perfect senior tax accountant candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a senior tax accountant?