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The differences between tax accountants and senior cost 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 tax accountant and a senior cost accountant. Additionally, a senior cost accountant has an average salary of $65,824, which is higher than the $62,142 average annual salary of a tax accountant.
The top three skills for a tax accountant include CPA, tax audits and income tax returns. The most important skills for a senior cost accountant are reconciliations, variance analysis, and GAAP.
| Tax Accountant | Senior Cost Accountant | |
| Yearly salary | $62,142 | $65,824 |
| Hourly rate | $29.88 | $31.65 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 57,919 | 45,010 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A tax accountant is an individual who works with clients to produce tax return documents that follow tax laws and regulations while keeping them updated on their return information. Tax accountants must determine tax strategies for their clients that may minimize or eliminate tax payments while arranging audits with taxation authorities. They prepare tax documents for different clients, including private companies, non-profit organizations, and private individuals. Tax accountants are also required to obtain a bachelor's degree in accounting and should understand business concepts.
A senior cost accountant is an individual who maintains detailed costs in a company's system and provides cost analysis that supports operations and sales. Senior cost accountants are required to review inventory and deal with manufacturing personnel to control and analyze standard costs. They must record cost information to be used in controlling expenditures as well as recommend cost efficiencies in new product layouts. Senior cost accountants must also provide reports that specify and compare factors affecting prices and profitability of products or services to the management.
Tax accountants and senior cost accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Tax Accountant | Senior Cost Accountant | |
| Average salary | $62,142 | $65,824 |
| Salary range | Between $45,000 And $83,000 | Between $48,000 And $89,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Pacific Investment Management Company LLC | OraSure Technologies |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a tax accountant and a senior cost accountant in terms of educational background:
| Tax Accountant | Senior Cost Accountant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between tax accountants' and senior cost accountants' demographics:
| Tax Accountant | Senior Cost Accountant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 47.3% Female, 52.7% | Male, 59.7% Female, 40.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 15.5% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 12.3% White, 64.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |