Tax associate vs staff accountant

The differences between tax associates and staff accountants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a tax associate has an average salary of $62,466, which is higher than the $54,216 average annual salary of a staff accountant.

The top three skills for a tax associate include strong customer service, CPA and tax planning. The most important skills for a staff accountant are reconciliations, account reconciliations, and GAAP.

Tax associate vs staff accountant overview

	Tax Associate	Staff Accountant
Yearly salary	$62,466	$54,216
Hourly rate	$30.03	$26.07
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	42,019	115,930
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Average age	47	44
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 staff accountant do?

Staff accountants are employees who are part of the company's accounting department. They are usually certified public accountants (CPAs). Staff accountants should be familiar with accounting tasks. Previous accounting experiences play a huge advantage in their success. They perform a variety of accounting responsibilities such as information verification and analysis, financial report preparation and presentation, financial account reconciliation, billing and payment receiving activities, vendor database management, and invoice processing requirements. They should also know how to do bookkeeping. Staff accountants should have good communication skills, analytical skills, and decision-making skills. They should also be organized and trustworthy since they will be handling confidential information.

Tax associate vs staff accountant salary

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

	Tax Associate	Staff Accountant
Average salary	$62,466	$54,216
Salary range	Between $40,000 And $95,000	Between $42,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City	Las Vegas, NV	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Nevada	New York
Best paying company	Ropes & Gray	Meta
Best paying industry	Finance	Government

Differences between tax associate and staff accountant education

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

	Tax Associate	Staff Accountant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Pennsylvania

Tax associate vs staff accountant demographics

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

	Tax Associate	Staff Accountant
Average age	47	44
Gender ratio	Male, 36.4% Female, 63.6%	Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4%
Race ratio	Black 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, 8.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 14.4% White, 61.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	8%	7%

Differences between tax associate and staff 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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Staff accountant example responsibilities.

Manage and monitor accounting procedures for compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and coordinate and facilitate external audit requirements.
Contribute revenue accruals using job cost system, fix assets including reclassification, reconciliation and depreciation.
Prepare month-end journal entries and assist in compilation of financial statements, reconcile bank statements and general ledgers.
Complete audit-quality account reconciliations monthly for balance sheet accounts including the capital projects in progress accounts and miscellaneous revenue accounts.
Assume responsibility for cash management encompassing wire and ACH transfers processing, bank activity confirmation, and monthly bank account reconciliations.
Handle all A/R and A/P, payroll, change orders, collections, lien placement and release, vendor account management.

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Tax associate vs staff 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 staff accountant skills

Reconciliations, 15%
Account Reconciliations, 7%
GAAP, 6%
General Ledger Accounts, 4%
External Auditors, 4%
Internal Controls, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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