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The differences between tax specialists and tax accountants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a tax accountant has an average salary of $62,142, which is higher than the $57,168 average annual salary of a tax specialist.
The top three skills for a tax specialist include IRS, customer service and tax compliance. The most important skills for a tax accountant are CPA, tax audits, and income tax returns.
| Tax Specialist | Tax Accountant | |
| Yearly salary | $57,168 | $62,142 |
| Hourly rate | $27.48 | $29.88 |
| Growth rate | -7% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 46,937 | 57,919 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 47 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | 4 |
A tax specialist is responsible for handling the tax compliance and correspondence of an organization, finalizing tax audits, and resolving discrepancies. Tax specialists should have excellent knowledge of tax laws and federal regulations, ensuring the accuracy of tax statements, and filing it accurately and efficiently. They should also be highly-analytical and communicative, especially on explaining tax-related documents to the management or the clients, as well as analyzing tax computations and managing the company's financial transactions.
A tax accountant is an individual who works with clients to produce tax return documents that follow tax laws and regulations while keeping them updated on their return information. Tax accountants must determine tax strategies for their clients that may minimize or eliminate tax payments while arranging audits with taxation authorities. They prepare tax documents for different clients, including private companies, non-profit organizations, and private individuals. Tax accountants are also required to obtain a bachelor's degree in accounting and should understand business concepts.
Tax specialists and tax accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Tax Specialist | Tax Accountant | |
| Average salary | $57,168 | $62,142 |
| Salary range | Between $36,000 And $88,000 | Between $45,000 And $83,000 |
| Highest paying City | Stamford, CT | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | New York |
| Best paying company | STMicroelectronics | Pacific Investment Management Company LLC |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a tax specialist and a tax accountant in terms of educational background:
| Tax Specialist | Tax Accountant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between tax specialists' and tax accountants' demographics:
| Tax Specialist | Tax Accountant | |
| Average age | 47 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 30.8% Female, 69.2% | Male, 47.3% Female, 52.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.8% Asian, 10.0% White, 57.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 8.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 15.5% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 7% |