Tax examining technician vs tax associate

The differences between tax examining technicians and tax associates 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 $43,422 average annual salary of a tax examining technician.

The top three skills for a tax examining technician include corrective action, sound judgment and IRS. The most important skills for a tax associate are strong customer service, CPA, and tax planning.

Tax examining technician vs tax associate overview

	Tax Examining Technician	Tax Associate
Yearly salary	$43,422	$62,466
Hourly rate	$20.88	$30.03
Growth rate	-7%	6%
Number of jobs	43,996	42,019
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Average age	48	47
Years of experience	2	-

What does a tax examining technician do?

In comparison to other jobs, tax examining technician is projected to have an enormous growth of reputation with the taxation service. Moreover, tax examining technicians have a plethora of skills in relation to tax compliance and revenue service.

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.

Tax examining technician vs tax associate salary

Tax examining technicians and tax associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Tax Examining Technician	Tax Associate
Average salary	$43,422	$62,466
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $65,000	Between $40,000 And $95,000
Highest paying City	Hoboken, NJ	Las Vegas, NV
Highest paying state	Washington	Nevada
Best paying company	Deloitte	Ropes & Gray
Best paying industry	Government	Finance

Differences between tax examining technician and tax associate education

There are a few differences between a tax examining technician and a tax associate in terms of educational background:

	Tax Examining Technician	Tax Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Most common major	Business	Accounting
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Southern California

Tax examining technician vs tax associate demographics

Here are the differences between tax examining technicians' and tax associates' demographics:

	Tax Examining Technician	Tax Associate
Average age	48	47
Gender ratio	Male, 36.9% Female, 63.1%	Male, 36.4% Female, 63.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.8% Unknown, 3.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 9.9% White, 55.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	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%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between tax examining technician and tax associate duties and responsibilities

Tax examining technician example responsibilities.

Review and correct tax returns in accordance with the IRM and instructions from supervisors.
Review correspondence attach to the return for further actions in accordance with IRM and establish guidelines.
Maintain current knowledge of procedures, policies and directives to provide employees both classroom and OJT instructions.
Input and/or update taxpayer and/or representative information using IDRS.
Update individual accounts as instructed by very complicate IRS procedures.
Research of computerize records by accessing multiple online/database systems including IDRS.

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.

Tax examining technician vs tax associate skills

Common tax examining technician skills

Corrective Action, 15%
Sound Judgment, 14%
IRS, 11%
Account Adjustments, 6%
Enforcement Actions, 6%
OJT, 5%

Common tax associate skills

Strong Customer Service, 26%
CPA, 13%
Tax Planning, 6%
Taxation, 5%
Tax Research, 4%
Local Tax Returns, 4%

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Tax Examining Technician
Tax Examining Technician vs Tax Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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