Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between tax attorneys and estate planning attorneys 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 attorney and an estate planning attorney. Additionally, a tax attorney has an average salary of $85,681, which is higher than the $81,446 average annual salary of an estate planning attorney.
The top three skills for a tax attorney include litigation, law firm and real estate. The most important skills for an estate planning attorney are law firm, litigation, and probate.
| Tax Attorney | Estate Planning Attorney | |
| Yearly salary | $85,681 | $81,446 |
| Hourly rate | $41.19 | $39.16 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 33,760 | 28,115 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Doctoral Degree, 42% | Doctoral Degree, 47% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A tax attorney specializes in assisting clients in understanding tax laws. Their responsibilities typically revolve around conducting extensive research, meeting with clients to conduct initial assessments and interviews, understanding their needs, and helping them make business decisions by providing legal taxation advice. A tax attorney may also help clients to find ways to minimize their tax deductions. Furthermore, aside from working with individuals, a tax attorney may also work for companies as part of their legal team.
An estate planning attorney specializes in assisting clients when it comes to planning their estate for when death or injuries occur. Among their responsibilities include understanding the clients' needs and goals, providing legal counseling, helping them arrange paperwork, drafting wills, designating beneficiaries in adherence to the client's orders, handling estate taxes, and managing estate plans and trusts. Furthermore, as an estate-planning attorney, it is essential to develop strategies to optimize procedures, prioritizing efficiency and client satisfaction.
Tax attorneys and estate planning attorneys have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Tax Attorney | Estate Planning Attorney | |
| Average salary | $85,681 | $81,446 |
| Salary range | Between $50,000 And $146,000 | Between $49,000 And $135,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | - |
| Highest paying state | New York | - |
| Best paying company | Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld | - |
| Best paying industry | - | - |
There are a few differences between a tax attorney and an estate planning attorney in terms of educational background:
| Tax Attorney | Estate Planning Attorney | |
| Most common degree | Doctoral Degree, 42% | Doctoral Degree, 47% |
| Most common major | Law | Law |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between tax attorneys' and estate planning attorneys' demographics:
| Tax Attorney | Estate Planning Attorney | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 62.7% Female, 37.3% | Male, 45.2% Female, 54.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 6.4% White, 75.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 5.7% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 6.5% White, 75.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |