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What does a tax auditor do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read

The most crucial and challenging job is tax auditor. The auditor must travel to individuals, businesses, and government agencies to keep the financial analysis and documents in compliance with tax laws.

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Tax auditor responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real tax auditor resumes:

  • Collaborate extensively with external accountants to achieve all SOX compliance targets.
  • Establish community relationships with taxpayers, CPAs, and consultants.
  • Send correspondence to resolve auditing issues from non-compliance to proof by supplying documentation.
  • Conduct conferences with taxpayers and their representatives to discuss findings and resolve issues.
  • Review reports send by the IRS and make necessary changes to the Maine returns.
  • Research and respond to a variety of tax law questions base on customer inquiry.
  • Communicate results of audits to CPAs, CFOs, lawyers, taxpayers and taxpayers' representatives.
  • Educate CPA's and other tax preparers all over the country on local filing requirements in Ohio.
  • Communicate with taxpayers, tax attorneys, tax directors, IRS agents, and any other relevant stakeholders.
  • Request and review taxpayer records to verify claims and clear up any questions that arise during the initial review.
  • Plan informational and outreach events for new businesses with respect to their taxation responsibilities.
  • Provide leadership for research, analysis and make recommendations regarding taxation issues relate to municipalities and states.
  • Conduct audits and inspections of pharmaceutical and sterile manufacturing operations to ensure compliance with FDA regulations and Merck policies and procedures.
  • Serve court order subpoenas to employers, accountants and banks with severely delinquent client accounts - establish partial payment plan agreements.
  • Develop recommendations to ensure accounting procedures comply with IFTA guidelines.

Tax auditor skills and personality traits

We calculated that 24% of Tax Auditors are proficient in Audit Reports, Financial Statements, and Audit Findings. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Detail oriented.

We break down the percentage of Tax Auditors that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Audit Reports, 24%

    Prepare audit reports promptly and accurately for decision-making by management.

  • Financial Statements, 8%

    Worked independently in reviewing financial statements, ledgers, journals, invoices, and other supporting documents for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

  • Audit Findings, 8%

    Reported to management about asset utilization and audit results and prepare detailed reports on audit findings.

  • Individual Tax Returns, 6%

    Grade Level: GS-9Salary: $25,529 USD per YearResponsible for auditing individual tax returns, both personal and small business.

  • Income Tax Returns, 4%

    Analyzed and examined individual and business federal income tax returns.

  • Conduct Audits, 4%

    Conduct audits of businesses for compliance to Missouri Department of Revenue regulations for sales, use, and/or withholding taxes.

"audit reports," "financial statements," and "audit findings" are among the most common skills that tax auditors use at work. You can find even more tax auditor responsibilities below, including:

Communication skills. Many tax auditor duties rely on communication skills. "accountants and auditors must be able to listen to and discuss facts and concerns from clients, managers, and other stakeholders," so a tax auditor will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways tax auditor responsibilities rely on communication skills: "maintained constant communication with professional representatives including attorneys, controllers, and cpas. "

Detail oriented. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of tax auditors is detail oriented. This skill is critical to many everyday tax auditor duties, as "accountants and auditors must pay attention to detail when compiling and examining documents." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "prepare various reports, records and correspondence to tax payers detailing audit results and to the commissioner of the revenue"

Math skills. A big part of what tax auditors do relies on "math skills." You can see how essential it is to tax auditor responsibilities because "accountants and auditors must be able to analyze, compare, and interpret facts and figures." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical tax auditor tasks: "develop and train new associates on audit procedures, tax law, technology and statistics. "

Organizational skills. Another common skill required for tax auditor responsibilities is "organizational skills." This skill comes up in the duties of tax auditors all the time, as "strong organizational skills are important for accountants and auditors, who often work with a range of financial documents for a variety of clients." An excerpt from a real tax auditor resume shows how this skill is central to what a tax auditor does: "present audit findings to organizational leadership. "

Most common tax auditor skills

The three companies that hire the most tax auditors are:

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Compare different tax auditors

Tax auditor vs. Audit specialist

An audit specialist is responsible for evaluating the reports by a professional auditor that will assist in improving the growth of the organization to achieve its goals and objectives. Audit specialists aid in the development of the company by using a systematic approach to reach the goals set by the company. Primary responsibilities include operating complex and difficult audit projects and conducting audits of control, financial, and other operating records. Also, they develop, implement distinct audit strategies, programs, and procedures for intricate assignments.

The annual salary of audit specialists is $10,065 higher than the average salary of tax auditors.Even though tax auditors and audit specialists are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require audit reports, financial statements, and audit findings in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, tax auditor responsibilities require skills like "individual tax returns," "income tax returns," "conduct audits," and "state tax laws." Meanwhile a typical audit specialist has skills in areas such as "patients," "customer service," "internal audit," and "process improvement." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Audit specialists earn the highest salaries when working in the professional industry, with an average yearly salary of $72,330. On the other hand, tax auditors are paid more in the government industry with an average salary of $45,075.audit specialists tend to reach similar levels of education than tax auditors. In fact, audit specialists are 3.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.5% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Tax auditor vs. Tax internship

A tax intern is responsible for supporting the finance and accounting department on preparing tax documents, including analyzing financial statements and performing account reconciliations, under the supervision of a tenured tax preparer. Tax interns observe tax processes, shadowing the staff on daily operations, and utilizing their classroom knowledge to practical applications by recommending strategic procedures to handle tax filings efficiently and accurately. A tax intern must have excellent knowledge of the financial industry, as well as high-organizational skills on processing paper works and following instructions from the tax consultant.

A career as a tax internship brings a lower average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a tax auditor. In fact, tax interns salary is $1,943 lower than the salary of tax auditors per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Tax auditors and tax interns both require similar skills like "financial statements," "individual tax returns," and "income tax returns" to carry out their responsibilities.

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that tax auditor responsibilities requires skills like "audit reports," "audit findings," "conduct audits," and "state tax laws." But a tax internship might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "first hand," "cpa," "tax planning," and "excellent computer."

Tax interns earn similar levels of education than tax auditors in general. They're 1.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Tax auditor vs. Audit internship

An audit intern is responsible for assisting the finance department in processing financial reports, analyzing account statements, releasing invoices, and conducting tax audits. Audit interns shadow tenured staff on the operation procedures to familiarize themselves with work processes. They are also tasked to do administrative and clerical duties under the supervision of a direct supervisor, such as writing reports, ensuring the accuracy of financial statements, responding to clients' inquiries and concerns, and escalating high-level complaints to the supervisor for immediate resolution.

On average, audit interns earn higher salaries than tax auditors, with a $87 difference per year.Using the responsibilities included on tax auditors and audit interns resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "audit reports," "audit findings," and "individual tax returns.rdquo;

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from tax auditor resumes include skills like "financial statements," "income tax returns," "conduct audits," and "state tax laws," whereas an audit internship is more likely to list skills in "risk assessments," "cpa," "gaap," and "audit intern. "

Audit interns earn the highest salary when working in the professional industry, where they receive an average salary of $58,466. Comparatively, tax auditors have the highest earning potential in the government industry, with an average salary of $45,075.Most audit interns achieve a similar degree level compared to tax auditors. For example, they're 3.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Tax auditor vs. Internal audit internship

An internal audit intern is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties as needed for the financial department under the supervision of tenured staff or a direct manager. Internal audit interns shadow staff on analyzing and preparing documents, familiarizing office operations, writing financial reports, verifying account statements, and escalating financial discrepancies to management for immediate resolution. An internal audit intern must be detail-oriented, as well as possess excellent analytical and organizational skills to handle tasks efficiently and spot audit inconsistencies.

Internal audit interns average a lower salary than the annual salary of tax auditors. The difference is about $17,962 per year.According to resumes from tax auditors and internal audit interns, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "audit reports," "financial statements," and "audit findings. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between tax auditors and internal audit interns, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a tax auditor might have more use for skills like "individual tax returns," "income tax returns," "conduct audits," and "state tax laws." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of internal audit interns require skills like "internal audit," "data analytics," "sox," and "patients. "

Internal audit interns enjoy the best pay in the energy industry, with an average salary of $61,292. For comparison, tax auditors earn the highest salary in the government industry.internal audit interns reach similar levels of education compared to tax auditors, in general. The difference is that they're 0.5% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 8.9% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of tax auditor

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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