Senior tax associate vs tax manager

The differences between senior tax associates and tax managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a senior tax associate, becoming a tax manager takes usually requires 6-8 years. Additionally, a tax manager has an average salary of $96,100, which is higher than the $91,872 average annual salary of a senior tax associate.

The top three skills for a senior tax associate include CPA, tax compliance and client relationships. The most important skills for a tax manager are CPA, client relationships, and tax planning.

Senior tax associate vs tax manager overview

	Senior Tax Associate	Tax Manager
Yearly salary	$91,872	$96,100
Hourly rate	$44.17	$46.20
Growth rate	6%	17%
Number of jobs	28,339	79,204
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age	44	46
Years of experience	4	8

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 tax manager do?

A Tax Manager is responsible for managing tax reporting and compliance within an organization. They provide innovative tax planning and prepare state and federal tax returns for companies.

Senior tax associate vs tax manager salary

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

	Senior Tax Associate	Tax Manager
Average salary	$91,872	$96,100
Salary range	Between $66,000 And $126,000	Between $70,000 And $131,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	Lord Abbett	Meta
Best paying industry	Finance	Finance

Differences between senior tax associate and tax manager education

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

	Senior Tax Associate	Tax Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Southern California

Senior tax associate vs tax manager demographics

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

	Senior Tax Associate	Tax Manager
Average age	44	46
Gender ratio	Male, 49.7% Female, 50.3%	Male, 58.5% Female, 41.5%
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, 7.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 10.0% White, 63.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	7%	11%

Differences between senior tax associate and tax manager 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.

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Tax manager example responsibilities.

Test and learned to analyze accounting processes managing SOX testing including accumulating documentation and reviewing other testers work.
Perform tax provision review to ensure compliance with ASC 740 and ASC 740-10 for public trade companies and private companies.
Pull data and work with Hyperion.
Used Lexis Nexis, RIA, and CCH to research multiple tax projects.
Prepare and review ASC 740 tax balances for the company s fifteen largest foreign subsidiaries.
Calculate, prepare and submit quarterly estimate payments without need for review from third party CPA.

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Senior tax associate vs tax manager skills

Common senior tax associate skills

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

Common tax manager skills

CPA, 16%
Client Relationships, 7%
Tax Planning, 6%
Tax Compliance, 5%
Taxation, 4%
Tax Research, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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