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Tax associate vs senior tax accountant

The differences between tax associates and senior tax accountants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a senior tax accountant has an average salary of $77,537, which is higher than the $62,466 average annual salary of a tax associate.

The top three skills for a tax associate include strong customer service, CPA and tax planning. The most important skills for a senior tax accountant are CPA, state income, and tax research.

Tax associate vs senior tax accountant overview

Tax AssociateSenior Tax Accountant
Yearly salary$62,466$77,537
Hourly rate$30.03$37.28
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs42,01957,686
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 56%Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Average age4744
Years of experience-4

What does a tax associate do?

Tax associates are responsible for helping businesses and individuals with state and federal income tax preparation and compliance. These professionals often work for accounting firms and financial services companies. They perform varied tasks that include reviewing income statements, financial records, and expenditures, interviewing clients about income and expenses, and minimizing their clients' tax liability. Tax associates also conduct research on tax issues and assist with tax audits, advise clients on compensation and tax information, and maintain accurate and current client records.

What does a senior tax accountant do?

Senior Tax Accountants recommend tax strategies, as well as assist the preparation of federal, state, and local taxes. They contact clients to resolve minor tax issues and work with the senior tax manager to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local tax legislation.

Tax associate vs senior tax accountant salary

Tax associates and senior tax accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.

Tax AssociateSenior Tax Accountant
Average salary$62,466$77,537
Salary rangeBetween $40,000 And $95,000Between $60,000 And $99,000
Highest paying CityLas Vegas, NVWashington, DC
Highest paying stateNevadaNew York
Best paying companyRopes & GrayRiverbed Holdings, Inc.
Best paying industryFinanceProfessional

Differences between tax associate and senior tax accountant education

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

Tax AssociateSenior Tax Accountant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 56%Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Most common majorAccountingAccounting
Most common collegeUniversity of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Southern California

Tax associate vs senior tax accountant demographics

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

Tax AssociateSenior Tax Accountant
Average age4744
Gender ratioMale, 36.4% Female, 63.6%Male, 50.6% Female, 49.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 10.2% White, 57.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.7% Asian, 14.3% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage8%7%

Differences between tax associate and senior tax accountant duties and responsibilities

Tax associate example responsibilities.

  • Provide tax planning and preparation services for corporate, individual and high net-worth clients of this midsize CPA firm.
  • Implement process to identify and prepare the balances for W2 purposes at year end.
  • Prepare customer taxes from w-2's and other tax information, answer phones, print checks, filing
  • Resolve a major system problems with split process level errors so employee W2's and companies returns are correct.
  • Respond to inquiries from the IRS and other tax authorities regarding reconciliation of filings, liabilities, and other associate matters.
  • Advise clients on questions they have pertaining to their tax liabilities and ensure that they are compliant to the IRS regulations.
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Senior tax accountant example responsibilities.

  • Research technical topics in taxation to present to the tax department and clients on areas of concern in the IRS code.
  • Participate in monthly accounting close with preparation and ownership of tax accrual journal entries and reconciliations.
  • Help implement, and maintain federal and state tax provision information into OneSource.
  • Work with internal and external resources to ensure implementation of CCH software on shopping cart is successful.
  • Assist and review the maintenance of the OneSource database relative to coding & mapping of the trial balance.
  • Conduct research with CCH and RIA on tax exposures, savings, refund, recovery, and credits.
  • Show more

Tax associate vs senior tax accountant skills

Common tax associate skills
  • Strong Customer Service, 26%
  • CPA, 13%
  • Tax Planning, 6%
  • Taxation, 5%
  • Tax Research, 4%
  • Local Tax Returns, 4%
Common senior tax accountant skills
  • CPA, 14%
  • State Income, 5%
  • Tax Research, 5%
  • Income Tax Returns, 4%
  • Tax Planning, 4%
  • Tax Compliance, 4%

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