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Tax examiner skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted experts

Natalie Burgos,

Vivek Pande

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical tax examiner skills. We ranked the top skills for tax examiners based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 23.0% of tax examiner resumes contained business tax returns as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a tax examiner needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 tax examiner skills for your resume and career

1. Business Tax Returns

Here's how tax examiners use business tax returns:

Reviewed business tax returns for accuracy; assisted individual taxpayers; assessed past-due accounts and referred delinquent accounts to collections.
Research and analyze individual and business tax returns to determine delinquent federal tax liabilities have been reported and paid accurately.

2. Tax Accounts

Here's how tax examiners use tax accounts:

Analyze complex audit referrals and conduct in-depth investigations on personal and business tax accounts to determine state tax liability.
Initiated collection procedures against delinquent individual and business tax accounts per IRC.

3. Technical Assistance

Technical assistance is the non-financial assistance provided by local or international specialists. The purpose of technical assistance is to maximize the project's implementation and quality of the final product. Technical assistance consists of sharing information, the transmission of working knowledge, and other transfer of technical data which would aid the administration, management team and help build the project. The technical assistance focuses on particular needs identified by the beneficiary country and is delivered in the form of missions.

Here's how tax examiners use technical assistance:

Provide technical assistance to individuals primarily through telephone interaction in a call center environment and face-to-face contact.
Provided technical assistance to taxpayers.

4. Income Tax Returns

Here's how tax examiners use income tax returns:

Audited Massachusetts personal income tax returns to identify accurate versus fraudulent activity specific to the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Bestowed quality correction procedures to income tax returns according to the prescribed guidelines and authorities.

5. Sound Judgment

The importance of sound judgment is to assess a circumstance or an issue impartially with a clear mind, compute dangers, and settle on a decision. It is a significant working environment ability since it avoids panicking under tension and handle difficulties.

Here's how tax examiners use sound judgment:

Work independently by using sound judgment and working within the established practices, methods and procedural framework of the Service.
Used sound judgment in resolving audit issues and making accounting adjustments.

6. Corrective Action

Here's how tax examiners use corrective action:

Audited and reconciled taxpayer accounts, determined and processed adjustments and corrective actions.
Reviewed information received from taxpayers and/or other sources to determine corrective action.

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7. IRS

IRS stands for internal revenue services. It helps many compliant taxpayers become conversant with the law regarding taxes; it ensures the minority who refuse to comply with paying taxes pay the required amount.

Here's how tax examiners use irs:

Served as liaison to professional organizations and other stakeholder groups with an interest in IRS enforcement policies and compliance initiatives.
Compared independent third party financial information reported to the IRS against the financial information reported by the individual taxpayer.

8. Tax Credit

Here's how tax examiners use tax credit:

Processed and reviewed approximately 1000 tax returns daily to ensure taxpayer declared legitimate tax credits and deductions.
Examined tax credits to interpret qualifications.

9. Tax Issues

Here's how tax examiners use tax issues:

Review examinations and related investigations of a variety of individual taxpayers involving complex tax issues and accounting records.
Reported financial status and identified potential tax issues.

10. Tax Liability

Here's how tax examiners use tax liability:

Determined tax liability of individuals and business firms according to laws and regulations.
Determined tax liability from individuals according to prescribed laws and regulations.

11. Account Adjustments

Here's how tax examiners use account adjustments:

Corresponded with taxpayers regarding account adjustments refund application and online filing issues.
Contacted individuals or their representatives to discuss account adjustments or interest computations.

12. Delinquent Accounts

A delinquent account is an account wherein there are many past-due funds.

Here's how tax examiners use delinquent accounts:

Reviewed field assignments prepared by investigators and auditors, for further actions and recommendations to resolve delinquent accounts.
Retrieved client/taxpayer data and initiated appropriate action by contacting taxpayers regarding delinquent accounts.

13. Computer System

Here's how tax examiners use computer system:

Operate two computer systems simultaneously.
Enter analysis into computer system.

14. Taxation

Here's how tax examiners use taxation:

Analyzed and evaluated taxpayer information using accounting and taxation rules and principles to process amended federal tax returns.
Executed various tax basis calculations, tax research and tax analysis projects based on federal law taxation.

15. Tax Code Changes

Here's how tax examiners use tax code changes:

Maintained knowledge of tax code changes in order to properly ascertain proper tax.
Maintain knowledge of tax code changes, and of accounting procedures.

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What skills help Tax Examiners find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on tax examiner resumes?

Natalie Burgos

Associate Faculty, Edmonds Community College

-Great writing and communication skills - I recommend taking Business Writing classes at Edmonds College. It helped me a lot with my business writing skills!
-Two-plus years of experience with QuickBooks or any other accounting software. Another popular accounting software is Microsoft Dynamics 365, also known as "D365".
-More than one year using Microsoft Excel. Advanced Excel is a plus! Commonly used Excel formulas and functions include VLookUps, IF formula, IFERROR, and Pivot Tables.
-Experience using Ten-Key - most companies don't use the Ten-Key machine anymore. Instead they use the calculator that's already on the computer. Some companies like to use the Ten-Key machine to print the paper and tape it on the source document to show their work. I remember throughout my college years, none of my instructors taught us how to use Ten-Key, so if you have never used the Ten-Key machine or keypad, I recommend to start practicing by using the Ten-Key on the right side of the keyboard. I self-taught myself because my mom, who is an accountant, recommended me to.

What tax examiner skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Vivek Pande

Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin - La Crosse

There are two skills all business students and graduates can always work on. The first is computer skills - basic knowledge of, for example, SQL or advanced Excel wizardry is always useful for career advancement. Secondly, students interested in global business can always learn/improve foreign language skills. Spanish is not even a "foreign" language anymore and some basic knowledge of, for example, Arabic or Mandarin can obviously be very useful.

What type of skills will young tax examiners need?

Dr. Hassan Niazi

Assistant Professor of Accounting, Kansas Wesleyan University

The post-pandemic workforce is likely to have a more remote, collaborative, and perhaps work-from-home type of environment. Hence, this would require deeper understanding of the IT tools at their disposal with emphasis on their limitations and security aspects. To complement these hard skills, graduates will also need effective communication, problem-solving, and crisis management skills to overcome some of the inherent IT limitations.

What soft skills should all tax examiners possess?

Jaclyn Barkow

Clinical Assistant Professor of Accounting, Indiana University Northwest

The most valuable soft skill is communication. Being able to communicate effectively with colleagues, superiors, and clients. Communication comes in the form of written and oral. Effective communication also entails knowing when to listen, when to respond, and asking questions. Young accountants will also not know everything upon entering the workplace; asking questions is important for the learning process.

What hard/technical skills are most important for tax examiners?

Jaclyn Barkow

Clinical Assistant Professor of Accounting, Indiana University Northwest

Understanding tax return preparation is important. This is where the internship or volunteer work stands out on resumes. Tax law changes every year, so remembering what is in a textbook becomes obsolete year after year. Research skills are important for keeping up with the ever-changing tax law.

The profession is also changing so that tax accountants must have a working understanding of information security and maintaining client information confidentially. Data security is extremely important in the profession, and identity theft is very common in tax return preparation. Having some technical information systems and information security understanding is valuable to maintaining sensitive information.

Do you want to know more?

List of tax examiner skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a tax examiner resume and required skills for a tax examiner to have include:

Business Tax Returns
Tax Accounts
Technical Assistance
Income Tax Returns
Sound Judgment
Corrective Action
IRS
Tax Credit
Tax Issues
Tax Liability
Account Adjustments
Delinquent Accounts

Computer System
Taxation
Tax Code Changes
Revenue Service
OJT
Individual Tax Returns
Federal Tax Laws
Financial Statements
Delinquent Taxes
Quality Review
Computer Processing
Tax Regulations

Itin
Withholding Tax
Telephone Numbers
Social Security Numbers
Due Notices
IRM
Tax Season
Data Retrieval
Idrs
Tax Rules
Installment Agreements
Manual Refunds

Updated January 8, 2025

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.

Updated January 8, 2025

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