Tax Professional resume examples for 2024

Tax Professional resume format and sections

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   1. Add contact information to your tax professional resume

   Your name should be the biggest text on the page and be at or near the top of the document. Your address doesn't need to include your street name or house number - listing your city and state works just fine. Your email address should be professional, but not your current work email address. It's not a good look to use your work email for personal projects (job-searching). Your social media can be included if you have a fully-fledged LinkedIn page or another social media page that showcases your relevant skill set.

   Tax Professional Resume Contact Information Example #1

   Hank Rutherford Hill

   St. Arlen, Texas | 333-111-2222 | hank.hill@gmail.com

   Do you want to know more?

   How To Write The Perfect Resume Header
2. 2

   2. Add relevant education to your tax professional resume

   Your resume's education section should include:

   • The name of your school
   • The date you graduated (Month, Year or Year are both appropriate)
   • The name of your degree

   If you graduated more than 15 years ago, you should consider dropping your graduation date to avoid age discrimination.

   Optional subsections for your education section include:

   • Academic awards (Dean's List, Latin honors, etc. )
   • GPA (if you're a recent graduate and your GPA was 3.5+)
   • Extra certifications
   • Academic projects (thesis, dissertation, etc. )

   Other tips to consider when writing your education section include:

   • If you're a recent graduate, you might opt to place your education section above your experience section
   • The more work experience you get, the shorter your education section should be
   • List your education in reverse chronological order, with your most recent and high-ranking degrees first
   • If you haven't graduated yet, you can include "Expected graduation date" to the entry for that school

   Check More About Tax Professional Education

   Majors

   Accounting

   41.8%

   Business

   27.9%

   Finance

   4.8%

   General Studies

   2.1%

   Show More

   Tax Professional Resume Relevant Education Example #1

   Bachelor's Degree In Business 2012 - 2015

   California State University - San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA

   Tax Professional Resume Relevant Education Example #2

   Bachelor's Degree In Finance 2003 - 2006

   Northeastern University Boston, MA

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   3. Next, create a tax professional skills section on your resume

   Your resume's skills section should include the most important keywords from the job description, as long as you actually have those skills. If you haven't started your job search yet, you can look over resumes to get an idea of what skills are the most important.

   Here are some tips to keep in mind when writing your resume's skills section:

   • Include 6-12 skills, in bullet point form
   • List mostly hard skills; soft skills are hard to test
   • Emphasize the skills that are most important for the job

   Hard skills are generally more important to hiring managers because they relate to on-the-job knowledge and specific experience with a certain technology or process.

   Soft skills are also valuable, as they're highly transferable and make you a great person to work alongside, but they're impossible to prove on a resume.

   Example of skills to include on an tax professional resume

   • Customer Service Skills.
      

     Customer service is the process of offering assistance to all the current and potential customers -- answering questions, fixing problems, and providing excellent service. The main goal of customer service is to build a strong relationship with the customers so that they keep coming back for more business.

   • IRS Skills.
      

     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.

   • Payroll Skills.
      

     Payroll is the sum of all the compensation that an organization has to pay to employees at a specified time. Payroll is managed by the finance or HR department while small business owners may handle it themselves. Payroll isn't fixed as it varies every month due to sick leaves, overtime, etc.

   Top Skills for a Tax Professional

   Strong Customer Service, 24.5%
   Customer Service, 15.8%
   Individual Tax Returns, 10.9%
   IRS, 6.4%
   Other Skills, 42.4%
   See All Tax Professional Skills

   Not sure which skills are really important?

   3 Big Tips For Listing Skills On Your Resume
4. 4

   4. List your tax professional experience

   The most important part of any resume for a tax professional is the experience section. Recruiters and hiring managers expect to see your experience listed in reverse chronological order, meaning that you should begin with your most recent experience and then work backwards.

   Don't just list your job duties below each job entry. Instead, make sure most of your bullet points discuss impressive achievements from your past positions. Whenever you can, use numbers to contextualize your accomplishments for the hiring manager reading your resume.

   It's okay if you can't include exact percentages or dollar figures. There's a big difference even between saying "Managed a team of tax professionals" and "Managed a team of 6 tax professionals over a 9-month project. "

   Most importantly, make sure that the experience you include is relevant to the job you're applying for. Use the job description to ensure that each bullet point on your resume is appropriate and helpful.

   Don't have any experience?

   How To Show Your Experience On a Resume... Even When You Don't Have Any

   Work History Example # 1

   Tax Preparer

   H&R Block

   • Corresponded with IRS and Franchise Tax Board in behalf of the clients.
   • Prepared over 150 tax returns every tax season with 97% first time approval rate.
   • Provided extensive off season services to clients including amended filings and IRS audit support.
   • Represented clients being audited by IRS.
   • Enrolled Agent - Enrolled to Practice Before The IRS - Prepare Personal and Business Tax Returns

   Work History Example # 2

   Tax Associate

   Liberty Tax

   • Completed tax training course, passing three exams and obtaining PTIN from the IRS.
   • Received a PTIN from the State in order to be able to prepare taxes for profit.
   • Obtained PTIN certification, for the state and federal taxes.
   • Passed all tests required by Liberty Tax Services and acquired PTIN from IRS.
   • Assisted customers with income tax preparation, analyzing customer's documents too effectively and efficiently summit tax returns to IRS.

   Work History Example # 3

   Tax Consultant

   Jackson Hewitt

   • Registered with CTEC and PTIN with the IRS.
   • Completed IRS continuing education courses for tax professionals and received valid 2017 PTIN.
   • Certified in current tax law/code and received a PTIN (Preparer Tax Identification Number) from the IRS.
   • Prepared tax returns and entered customer data to include W-2 data from employers for proper transmission to the IRS.
   • Obtained and maintained a PTIN and any other professional licensing requirements from the IRS and the state.

   Work History Example # 4

   Tax Professional

   Jackson Hewitt

   • Prepared tax returns and entered customer data to include W-2 data from employers for proper transmission to the IRS.
   • Conferred and assisted CPA departmentally.
   • Determined authorized tax deductions in accordance to IRS and Indiana Department of Revenue and recorded them accurately.
   • Completed all tax law courses and tests to obtain my PTIN from the IRS.
   • Completed all necessary training and obtained PTIN from IRS.

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5. 5

   5. Highlight tax professional certifications on your resume

   Specific tax professional certifications can be a powerful tool to show employers you've developed the appropriate skills.

   If you have any of these certifications, make sure to put them on your tax professional resume:

   1. Tax Certification
   2. Accredited Tax Preparer (ATP)
   3. International Accredited Business Accountant (IABA)
   4. Certified Professional - Human Resource (IPMA-CP)
   5. Certified Professional, Life and Health Insurance Program (CPLHI)
   6. Oracle Enterprise Taxation Management 2 Essentials
   7. Certified Coding Specialist (CCS)
   8. Certified Sales Professional (CSP)
   9. Certified Customer Service Representative (CCSR)

   More Certifications For Tax Professional
6. 6

   6. Finally, add an tax professional resume summary or objective statement

   A resume summary statement consists of 1-3 sentences at the top of your tax professional resume that quickly summarizes who you are and what you have to offer. The summary statement should include your job title, years of experience (if it's 3+), and an impressive accomplishment, if you have space for it.

   Remember to emphasize skills and experiences that feature in the job description.

   Are you a recent grad?

   Read our guide on how to write a resume summary statement