What does a Tax Preparer do?
A tax preparer is responsible for preparing and processing the tax obligations of an organization. Tax preparers' duties include calculating tax returns, reviewing financial statements and make adjustments as needed, analyzing deductible expenses and credits, and adhering to the tax regulations and legislation procedures at all times. A tax preparer must have excellent knowledge of the tax processes and timely updated with the recent changes and updates within the financial industry. Tax preparers should have impeccable analytical and critical thinking skills to manage account statements for business and individual clients.
Tax preparer responsibilities
Tax preparers play a crucial role in ensuring accurate and timely filing of tax returns. Their responsibilities often include verifying data entry on federal and state forms, keeping track of annual tax law changes, and preparing individual, corporate, and partnership tax returns. They also interview clients to obtain additional information and provide tax advice. Kenton Klaus, Director of Master of Science in Taxation, emphasizes the importance of understanding the broad discipline of taxation and exploring available opportunities to align with one's interests and skills. This can help tax preparers maximize their earning potential.
Here are examples of responsibilities from real tax preparer resumes:
- Verify data input and totals on forms prepare by others to detect errors in math, data entry, or procedures.
- Follow IRS's guidelines in accurately preparing taxes and complete entries on forms, following tax form instructions and tax tables.
- Prepare a wide range of tax returns, help prepare subscription agreements, and help small start-up companies comply with GAAP.
- Perform monthly bank statement reconciliations and create monthly financial statements.
- Assist outside real property tax appeal providers by providing information necessary for filing appeals.
- Create engaging Microsoft PowerPoint sides about associate trading arrangements with transfer pricing policy for upcoming speeches for the group director.
- Help with the clients' appreciation seminar by enhancing the PowerPoint presentations.
- Prepare treasury wires for payment of retirement, benefit and loan withholding.
- Maintain a monthly tax calendar for returns, treasury funding request and reports.
- Used knowledge of GAAP to make adjusting journal entries to clients' trial balances.
- Draft grand jury subpoenas, search warrants and various legal documents in preparation for trial.
- Perform math computations, office assistant, answer phones, schedule appointments and answer tax questions.
- Prepare abatement appeals for penalty and interest reduction, and resolve tax lien and levy issues in an expedite manner.
- Conduct periodic reconciliations of all accounts to ensure accuracy.
- Reconcile and certify all Spanish bonds, Korean and Norwegian equities hold at Euroclear and Cedel.
Tax preparer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 27% of Tax Preparers are proficient in Customer Service, Good Communication, and Exceptional Client.
We break down the percentage of Tax Preparers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 27%
Deliver exceptional customer service by anticipating customer needs and considers the impact of all decisions/actions on the customer.
- Good Communication, 14%
Prepared taxes for customers and employed good communications regarding refund/payment status.
- Exceptional Client, 8%
Ensured exceptional client service and quality product offerings.
- Math, 7%
Checked data input or verify totals on forms prepared by other to detect errors in math Prepared Federal and State Income Taxes
- Excellent Interpersonal, 6%
Trained in and maintained excellent interpersonal and communication skills that complement proven creative problem solving capabilities.
- Taxable Income, 6%
Interviewed clients to obtain additional information on taxable income and deductible expenses and allowances along with analysis of completed tax returns.
Common skills that a tax preparer uses to do their job include "customer service," "good communication," and "exceptional client." You can find details on the most important tax preparer responsibilities below.
The three companies that hire the most tax preparers are:
- Liberty Tax73 tax preparers jobs
- Robert Half41 tax preparers jobs
- Paro28 tax preparers jobs
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Compare different tax preparers
Tax preparer vs. Certified public accountant
A certified public accountant (CPA) acts as an advisor to small businesses and chief financial officers to Fortune 500 companies. They typically work for both small and large public accounting firms. They offer advice on many issues, such as accounting and taxation. They aid businesses and individuals to plan and achieve their financial goals. There are several requirements to become a CPA, including having a degree in accounting, passing the CPA examination, and obtaining a CPA license to practice.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, tax preparer responsibilities require skills like "good communication," "brand awareness," "exceptional client," and "math." Meanwhile a typical certified public accountant has skills in areas such as "payroll tax returns," "financial statement preparation," "audit reports," and "reconciliations." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Certified public accountants really shine in the finance industry with an average salary of $92,755. Comparatively, tax preparers tend to make the most money in the finance industry with an average salary of $59,516.The education levels that certified public accountants earn slightly differ from tax preparers. In particular, certified public accountants are 3.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a tax preparer. Additionally, they're 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Tax preparer vs. Licensed tax consultant
Each career also uses different skills, according to real tax preparer resumes. While tax preparer responsibilities can utilize skills like "customer service," "good communication," "brand awareness," and "exceptional client," licensed tax consultants use skills like "clinical assessments," "management system," "property tax," and "technical assistance."
In general, licensed tax consultants achieve higher levels of education than tax preparers. They're 8.6% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Tax preparer vs. Income tax consultant
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a tax preparer is likely to be skilled in "customer service," "good communication," "brand awareness," and "exceptional client," while a typical income tax consultant is skilled in "fixed income," "customer accounts," "tax laws," and "risk management."
Income tax consultants typically earn higher educational levels compared to tax preparers. Specifically, they're 10.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Tax preparer vs. Master tax advisor
Types of tax preparer
Updated June 25, 2024
