What does a tax advisor do?
Tax Advisors are responsible for providing tax advice to clients in the area of tax legislation and tax obligations. Their duties include researching tax legislation, gathering client information, submitting tax returns, liaising with internal revenue service representing clients, and developing tax strategies. They are responsible for performing tax computations, forming family trusts, undertaking estate planning as well as consulting on matters regarding domicile and tax residence. Tax Advisors also give advice related to indirect taxation and prepare reports.
Tax advisor responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real tax advisor resumes:
- Manage a staff of six for all aspects of tax compliance, tax accounting, research, planning and IRS audits.
- Provide payroll processing, invoicing and tax support services for small consulting business using QuickBooks software.
- Assist customers with IRS correspondence/notices.
- Advise companies on international taxation law and bilateral taxation recognition regimes to identify most cost effective strategies.
- Review domestic payroll reporting metrics, ensure home/host payments are updated and reconcile for timely submission and payment.
- Start job by assisting TurboTax user's on how to enter information into the TurboTax program.
Tax advisor skills and personality traits
We calculated that 8% of Tax Advisors are proficient in Local Tax Returns, Reconciliations, and Customer Service.
We break down the percentage of Tax Advisors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Local Tax Returns, 8%
Prepared over 250 annual federal, state and local tax returns for individuals, small businesses and farmers each tax season.
- Reconciliations, 7%
Performed monthly bank statement reconciliations and created monthly financial statements.
- Customer Service, 7%
Provide seasonal customer service and support by accurately processing hundreds of individual tax returns annually.
- IRS, 7%
Assisted customers with IRS correspondence/notices.
- Income Statement, 6%
Prepared W2 and W3 wage and income statements along with 1096 and 1099MISC income statements for accounting clients.
- Individual Tax Returns, 6%
Prepared individual tax returns for elderly high income individuals.
Common skills that a tax advisor uses to do their job include "local tax returns," "reconciliations," and "customer service." You can find details on the most important tax advisor responsibilities below.
The three companies that hire the most tax advisors are:
- H&R Block51 tax advisors jobs
- Goodwin Recruiting7 tax advisors jobs
- ENGIE North America6 tax advisors jobs
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Compare different tax advisors
Tax advisor vs. Certified public accountant
A certified public accountant (CPA) acts as an advisor to small businesses and chief financial officers to Fortune 500 companies. They typically work for both small and large public accounting firms. They offer advice on many issues, such as accounting and taxation. They aid businesses and individuals to plan and achieve their financial goals. There are several requirements to become a CPA, including having a degree in accounting, passing the CPA examination, and obtaining a CPA license to practice.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between tax advisors and certified public accountant. For instance, tax advisor responsibilities require skills such as "local tax returns," "income statement," "treasury," and "client retention." Whereas a certified public accountant is skilled in "cpa," "strong customer service," "payroll tax returns," and "financial statement preparation." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Certified public accountants really shine in the finance industry with an average salary of $92,755. Comparatively, tax advisors tend to make the most money in the energy industry with an average salary of $97,172.The education levels that certified public accountants earn slightly differ from tax advisors. In particular, certified public accountants are 1.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a tax advisor. Additionally, they're 1.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Tax advisor vs. Licensed tax consultant
Each career also uses different skills, according to real tax advisor resumes. While tax advisor responsibilities can utilize skills like "local tax returns," "reconciliations," "customer service," and "irs," licensed tax consultants use skills like "clinical assessments," "management system," "property tax," and "technical assistance."
Licensed tax consultants earn similar levels of education than tax advisors in general. They're 3.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for tax advisors in the next 3-5 years?
Richard Brody Ph.D.
Professor, University of New Mexico
In addition, remote servicing of clients has increased the use of cloud-based technology, and this is likely to continue. This would include cloud-based document management and the use of client portals. Virtual environments raise additional concerns with respect to the security of the technology being used.
Tax advisor vs. Corporate tax preparer
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, tax advisors are more likely to have skills like "local tax returns," "reconciliations," "customer service," and "taxation." But a corporate tax preparer is more likely to have skills like "payroll," "audit projects," "tax provision," and "journal entries."
Most corporate tax preparers achieve a lower degree level compared to tax advisors. For example, they're 9.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Tax advisor vs. Income tax consultant
Types of tax advisor
Updated January 8, 2025
