Senior tax associate vs senior tax accountant

The differences between senior tax associates and senior 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 a senior tax associate and a senior tax accountant. Additionally, a senior tax associate has an average salary of $91,872, which is higher than the $77,537 average annual salary of a senior tax accountant.

The top three skills for a senior tax associate include CPA, tax compliance and client relationships. The most important skills for a senior tax accountant are CPA, state income, and tax research.

Senior tax associate vs senior tax accountant overview

	Senior Tax Associate	Senior Tax Accountant
Yearly salary	$91,872	$77,537
Hourly rate	$44.17	$37.28
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	28,339	57,686
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

What does a senior tax associate do?

A senior tax associate is responsible for assisting the accounting and finance department in processing tax requirements and analyzing documents for accurate completion of tax filings. Senior tax associates also support the analysis of financial transactions and account statements, resolving billing discrepancies, and performing account reconciliations. They handle tax disputes immediately to mitigate complications on tax systems and coordinate with the management and clients for the updates. A senior tax associate must have excellent analytical skills, as well as extensive knowledge of the financial and taxation industry.

What does a senior tax accountant do?

Senior Tax Accountants recommend tax strategies, as well as assist the preparation of federal, state, and local taxes. They contact clients to resolve minor tax issues and work with the senior tax manager to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local tax legislation.

Senior tax associate vs senior tax accountant salary

Senior tax associates and senior tax accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Senior Tax Associate	Senior Tax Accountant
Average salary	$91,872	$77,537
Salary range	Between $66,000 And $126,000	Between $60,000 And $99,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	Lord Abbett	Riverbed Holdings, Inc.
Best paying industry	Finance	Professional

Differences between senior tax associate and senior tax accountant education

There are a few differences between a senior tax associate and a senior tax accountant in terms of educational background:

	Senior Tax Associate	Senior Tax Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Southern California

Senior tax associate vs senior tax accountant demographics

Here are the differences between senior tax associates' and senior tax accountants' demographics:

	Senior Tax Associate	Senior Tax Accountant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 49.7% Female, 50.3%	Male, 50.6% Female, 49.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.1% Asian, 17.8% White, 60.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.7% Asian, 14.3% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between senior tax associate and senior tax accountant duties and responsibilities

Senior tax associate example responsibilities.

Prepare and review tax exempt-bond arbitrage rebate calculations; communicate findings to managing director and clients.
Identify book-tax differences to reconcile GAAP basis income to tax basis income.
Prepare and audit year-end/quarterly provision for public and private companies (ASC [].
Maintain tax and GAAP capital accounts for investors and respond to limit partner requests when necessary.
Assist in the booking of in-transit, and audit invoices, to ensure sales tax bill accurately.
Register all new DG store locations for sales and use tax with the appropriate jurisdiction within each assign state.

Senior tax accountant example 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.

Senior tax associate vs senior tax accountant skills

Common senior tax associate skills

CPA, 24%
Tax Compliance, 12%
Client Relationships, 5%
Taxation, 4%
FAS, 4%
Tax Planning, 3%

Common senior tax accountant skills

CPA, 14%
State Income, 5%
Tax Research, 5%
Income Tax Returns, 4%
Tax Planning, 4%
Tax Compliance, 4%

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Senior Tax Associate
Senior Tax Associate vs Senior Tax Accountant

Updated January 8, 2025

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