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The differences between tax assistants and tax specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a tax specialist has an average salary of $57,168, which is higher than the $43,893 average annual salary of a tax assistant.
The top three skills for a tax assistant include individual tax returns, low-income families and income tax returns. The most important skills for a tax specialist are IRS, customer service, and tax compliance.
| Tax Assistant | Tax Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $43,893 | $57,168 |
| Hourly rate | $21.10 | $27.48 |
| Growth rate | - | -7% |
| Number of jobs | 29,307 | 46,937 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 57% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
The tax assistant is responsible for supporting an organization's tax or accounting department. Their job is a combination of accounting support and administrative assistance. They should be able to run an office, as well as perform higher-level tasks, such as processing tax returns and sustaining databases. A tax assistant works under the direction of a tax manager or executive, but most of their duties are performed with less supervision. Tax assistants should also be dynamic and can comfortably work alone.
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.
Tax assistants and tax specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Tax Assistant | Tax Specialist | |
| Average salary | $43,893 | $57,168 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $79,000 | Between $36,000 And $88,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Stamford, CT |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | Ernst & Young | STMicroelectronics |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a tax assistant and a tax specialist in terms of educational background:
| Tax Assistant | Tax Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 57% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between tax assistants' and tax specialists' demographics:
| Tax Assistant | Tax Specialist | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 39.3% Female, 60.7% | Male, 30.8% Female, 69.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 11.1% White, 60.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | 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 Percentage | 8% | 8% |