How To Become A Tax Internship: What It Is and Career Path

What is a tax internship and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. J. Klaus Ph.D., CPA (KY)

Tax season doesn't always bring bad news to you; it additionally comes with new job openings calling for additional help from accounting guys. All the fresh jobless graduates out there gear up to share the workload of most Taxation authorities ready to offer Tax internships. You can serve the organizations in many ways, starting from necessary documentation to preparing schedules for tax returns.

Although it's an internship, you have to have hands-on experience dealing with financial queries and specified accounting knowledge. Therefore, holding a Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance or mathematics is a must for the potential tax intern. And if you have earned a master's degree, your chances of getting this internship increase by 50%.

A tax intern can get paid $23.26 per hour, much more than most of the jobs offered to highly qualified professionals. In addition, you will get a chance to work with the finest professionals in your field so get ready to rock.

What general advice would you give to a tax internship?

Dr. J. Klaus Ph.D., CPA (KY)

Assistant Professor, The University of Texas at Arlington

Choosing a career in accounting today is particularly appealing due to the strong demand for skilled professionals in the field. Accounting stands out for its stability, offering a secure and reliable career path. The diversity within the profession, including areas like tax accounting and financial analysis, provides individuals with flexibility to align their work with their specific interests. With a global relevance, accountants are in high demand internationally. The current technological advancements have streamlined routine tasks, allowing professionals to focus on more strategic aspects of their roles. Pursuing well-regarded certifications, such as the CPA designation, ensures continuous learning and opens avenues for career advancement. Additionally, the flexibility for remote work and potential for entrepreneurial ventures make accounting a highly sought-after and promising choice in response to the prevalent demand for skilled professionals.

ScoreTax InternshipUS Average

Salary

3.6

Avg. Salary $46,283

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.0

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.56%

Asian 11.44%

Black or African American 8.52%

Hispanic or Latino 14.07%

Unknown 4.18%

White 61.24%

Gender

female 46.39%

male 53.61%

Age - 48

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 48

Stress level

6.0

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.0

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.0

Work life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a tax internship

Explore tax internship education requirements

Most common tax internship degrees

Bachelor's

74.9 %

Master's

15.1 %

Associate

6.6 %

Start to develop specific tax internship skills

Skills	Percentages
First Hand	25.31%
CPA	7.75%
Taxation	6.77%
Tax Planning	5.16%
Local Tax Returns	4.61%

Complete relevant tax internship training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New tax interns learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a tax internship based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real tax internship resumes.

Research tax internship duties and responsibilities

Manage client accounts by organizing and categorizing financial data in QuickBooks files.
Enter clients info on w-2 for tax preparers.
Amortize treasury bonds, company own stocks and bonds.
Prepare tax returns for individuals, corporations, businesses, partnerships and provide CPA's with add help where need

Prepare your tax internship resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your tax internship resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a tax internship resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable tax internship resume templates

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