Tax Accountant Career Overview

Tax accountants apply specialized knowledge of federal, state, and local tax laws to help businesses and individuals plan their finances and meet their filing requirements. They often work for accounting firms and payroll management services, but some larger corporate organizations employ them in house.

The Thomson Reuters Institute’s 2024 State of Tax Professionals Report noted that talent acquisition is a top priority for employers. Tax specialists tend to benefit from strong, stable demand in all economic conditions, adding to the career path’s appeal.

Is a career in tax accounting right for you? Explore the details to see if this profession aligns with your personal goals.

A tax accountant’s key job duties include:

While tax accounting is already a specialization, you can build an even more sharply focused skill set. Doing so can help you stand out in the job market and enhance your appeal to employers with specific needs.

Examples include:

This specialization combines tax consulting with financial planning. As an estate planning specialist, you will help individuals choose strategic approaches to asset management that minimize tax liabilities for heirs and beneficiaries while remaining compliant with all applicable laws.

To enter this career path, you will need detailed knowledge of both taxation and probate law. A taxation degree may help, especially if you pursue an estate planning concentration and supplement it with a degree in accounting or law. You can also earn professional certifications as you gain experience, which may support your advancement.

Many business entities operate internationally, which can lead to complex tax situations. Every country has its own set of tax laws, and they apply to multinational companies in different ways depending on the jurisdictions involved. International tax specialists help businesses navigate these complications.

International tax accountants work for multinational companies, accounting firms that offer specialized services to global clients, and government agencies. After completing specialized education, you can start at the associate level and move into increasingly senior positions as you gain experience.

Many international professional organizations offer certifications in this area. These can enhance and accelerate your career growth.

Corporate tax specialists help guide organizational decision-making with respect to the tax implications of specific business strategies. They also manage and optimize tax obligations arising from corporate activities such as distributions, liquidations, mergers and acquisitions, and sales.

In this role, you may also collaborate with internal auditors to conduct thorough reviews of financial activity and create projections. The job also demands detailed technical knowledge of tax risk mitigation, which you can gain through a combination of education and experience.

Corporate tax specialists commonly focus on the domestic operations of large corporations. They may hold in-house positions or work for accounting firms that serve corporate clients.

An enrolled agent is a specially certified tax accounting expert. IRS regulations allow enrolled agents to carry out expanded duties for their clients. These agents can represent clients in dispute resolution negotiations. They can also argue cases before government tax authorities.

In short, enrolled agents hold more legal authority to advocate for their clients. They can assist clients or employers with most tax-related legal situations.

Tax accountants rely on advanced knowledge of accounting, taxation systems, and tax law. Building this knowledge requires extensive postsecondary education. Relevant degrees include:

Many accounting and taxation programs offer concentration tracks, which allow you to focus your learning on a specific tax-related proficiency.

You can also become a tax specialist as a certified public accountant (CPA) or by earning professional certifications in financial analysis, financial planning, internal auditing, and/or tax preparation.

Overall, you will likely spend at least four years in school and multiple years gaining experience in entry-level and junior tax accounting roles. Senior and managerial tax accounting positions typically require at least five years of experience, depending on the employer.

As of July 2025, Payscale reports the average tax accountant salary at $63,500 per year. Pay rates rise for higher-level positions, with senior tax accountants earning an average of about $81,260 annually.

Factors that could impact your earning potential include your specialization, industry of employment, and employment location. Employers generally pay more for high-demand specializations and niche proficiencies with shorter supply in the job market. However, these factors vary and change over time, making them difficult to predict.

In its forecast for accountants and auditors — an umbrella categorization related to tax accountants — the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 6% employment growth for these financial specialists from 2023-33. This outpaces the projected growth rate for all occupations by 50%.

Growing up, I always had a passion for business, economics, law, and policy. I found a career as a tax accountant to be a great way to combine those passions while also doing rewarding and meaningful work.

An accounting degree (whether it be an associate or bachelor’s degree) is a great way to get started in a career as a tax accountant.

I received a bachelor of business administration in accounting as part of my undergraduate studies, and also minored in economics and political science, all of which prepared me for my current role. Besides needing to know basic accounting and tax principles (which the accounting degree gave me), the classes I took in economics and political science gave me a good perspective on tax policy, which is something I interact with on a daily basis. My passion for tax law eventually led me to law school and, most recently, a graduate tax law program (LLM in taxation), which goes to show that a career as a tax accountant provides for continuous learning and growth.

The great thing about an accounting degree is there are plenty of career options, and it opens the door to a variety of jobs in various industries. For example, you could go into public accounting (as I did), work for private companies, or even work for nonprofits or governmental agencies. When I was in college at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, there were constantly various employers on campus recruiting students. I accepted a job with the public accounting firm Wolf & Company, PC my senior year and have proudly been with the firm ever since!

Prior to becoming a tax accountant, I had various jobs ranging from landscaping to retail to interning at a large financial institution. These experiences all helped me learn about some of the attributes I want in my career, such as the ability to serve others, have independence, and be entrepreneurial. These experiences also taught me the value of hard work, and I think that has certainly helped me in my journey to being a tax accountant.

There is a common misconception that life as a tax accountant is boring and repetitive, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. My day-to-day often depends on the time of year and what my clients are involved with. For those reasons, there really is no “typical day.” On any given day I could be filing tax returns for clients, assisting a business with tax planning, advising an entrepreneur on how to best structure a transaction, networking with other professionals (e.g., attorneys, financial advisors), sitting on internal committees/task forces, attending or giving trainings, or reading up on recent tax legislation.

I’ve always had a passion for entrepreneurship. By far, one of the most rewarding aspects of my job is providing valuable guidance to business owners and helping them reach their goals and grow their businesses. There are some clients that I’ve been working with for several years now, and there is something truly rewarding and humbling when they call asking for your opinion on various matters and truly value your insight.

One of the most challenging aspects can be the stress of having various deadlines and needing to constantly stay up to date with new legislation, regulations, and court rulings to see how tax law changes could impact clients. It can be especially challenging when it is unknown if certain legislation will pass because we often have to operate with uncertainty and still advise clients accordingly.

I don’t know if there is one specific skill that tax accountants need, but I think tax accountants need to have time management, organization, communication, and people skills in order to be successful. While technical skills are obviously important, we are in the business of client service — it’s more important that we can communicate with clients effectively, serve them to the best of our abilities, and earn their trust.

My advice would be to talk to as many people in the career as possible and don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and make yourself feel uncomfortable, as that is how you learn and grow. Additionally, I’d say that your career path doesn’t have to be the same as someone else’s, so follow your passions and you can build the career you want.