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Senior tax associate vs tax specialist

The differences between senior tax associates and tax specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a senior tax associate has an average salary of $91,872, which is higher than the $57,168 average annual salary of a tax specialist.

The top three skills for a senior tax associate include CPA, tax compliance and client relationships. The most important skills for a tax specialist are IRS, customer service, and tax compliance.

Senior tax associate vs tax specialist overview

Senior Tax AssociateTax Specialist
Yearly salary$91,872$57,168
Hourly rate$44.17$27.48
Growth rate6%-7%
Number of jobs28,33946,937
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 64%Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Average age4447
Years of experience4-

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 specialist do?

A tax specialist is responsible for handling the tax compliance and correspondence of an organization, finalizing tax audits, and resolving discrepancies. Tax specialists should have excellent knowledge of tax laws and federal regulations, ensuring the accuracy of tax statements, and filing it accurately and efficiently. They should also be highly-analytical and communicative, especially on explaining tax-related documents to the management or the clients, as well as analyzing tax computations and managing the company's financial transactions.

Senior tax associate vs tax specialist salary

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

Senior Tax AssociateTax Specialist
Average salary$91,872$57,168
Salary rangeBetween $66,000 And $126,000Between $36,000 And $88,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCStamford, CT
Highest paying stateNew YorkRhode Island
Best paying companyLord AbbettSTMicroelectronics
Best paying industryFinanceFinance

Differences between senior tax associate and tax specialist education

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

Senior Tax AssociateTax Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 64%Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Most common majorAccountingAccounting
Most common collegeUniversity of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Southern California

Senior tax associate vs tax specialist demographics

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

Senior Tax AssociateTax Specialist
Average age4447
Gender ratioMale, 49.7% Female, 50.3%Male, 30.8% Female, 69.2%
Race ratioBlack 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, 10.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.8% Asian, 10.0% White, 57.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage7%8%

Differences between senior tax associate and tax specialist 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 specialist example responsibilities.

  • Operate industry-specific taxation software to complete the tax returns.
  • Author of several articles on topics of international taxation.
  • Prepare and electronically file accurate and timely individual tax returns base on IRS regulations and company policies.
  • Conduct confidential interviews with individuals/couples using current IRS and state laws and manually or electronically file returns through proprietary software.
  • Prepare quarterly and annual tax accruals and return-to-provision calculations.
  • Analyze historical property tax for multiple internal divisions to accurately forecast current year expenses and support annual accruals.
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Senior tax associate vs tax specialist skills

Common senior tax associate skills
  • CPA, 24%
  • Tax Compliance, 12%
  • Client Relationships, 5%
  • Taxation, 4%
  • FAS, 4%
  • Tax Planning, 3%
Common tax specialist skills
  • IRS, 11%
  • Customer Service, 8%
  • Tax Compliance, 8%
  • Tax Issues, 7%
  • Taxation, 6%
  • Appeals, 6%

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