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Tax internship vs tax associate

The differences between tax interns 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 $46,283 average annual salary of a tax internship.

The top three skills for a tax internship include first hand, CPA and taxation. The most important skills for a tax associate are strong customer service, CPA, and tax planning.

Tax internship vs tax associate overview

Tax InternshipTax Associate
Yearly salary$46,283$62,466
Hourly rate$22.25$30.03
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs71,99142,019
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 75%Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Average age4747
Years of experience--

What does a tax internship do?

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.

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 internship vs tax associate salary

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

Tax InternshipTax Associate
Average salary$46,283$62,466
Salary rangeBetween $30,000 And $71,000Between $40,000 And $95,000
Highest paying City-Las Vegas, NV
Highest paying state-Nevada
Best paying company-Ropes & Gray
Best paying industry-Finance

Differences between tax internship and tax associate education

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

Tax InternshipTax Associate
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 75%Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Most common majorAccountingAccounting
Most common collegeUniversity of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Southern California

Tax internship vs tax associate demographics

Here are the differences between tax interns' and tax associates' demographics:

Tax InternshipTax Associate
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 53.6% Female, 46.4%Male, 36.4% Female, 63.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 14.1% Asian, 11.4% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%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 Percentage8%8%

Differences between tax internship and tax associate duties and responsibilities

Tax internship example 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
  • Answer phones, make appointments, solve issues clients have, input data w-2 information conduct interview and collect signatures.
  • Learned from working closely with veteran CPA's in a small and personal office space where growth and interaction are encouraged.
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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.
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Tax internship vs tax associate skills

Common tax internship skills
  • First Hand, 25%
  • CPA, 8%
  • Taxation, 7%
  • Tax Planning, 5%
  • Local Tax Returns, 5%
  • Tax Issues, 4%
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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