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Job description: Tax specialist
As a tax specialist, you've got an important role to help people understand the world of tax and making sure they are paying the right amount.
Individuals, small businesses and large companies all need good, clear and simple tax advice. You can choose to focus on tax planning (advising clients on ways to reduce their tax bill) or on tax compliance (preparing and submitting tax returns forms).
Your typical activities include: researching and understanding tax law, meeting clients to gather information and explain options to them, liaising with HM Revenue and Customs on your clients' behalf, checking and completing tax forms and auditing clients' tax records.
As you get more senior you'll probably specialise in certain areas.
Hours and environment
Apart from busy times like in March/April, which is the beginning of the tax year, you should work a standard 37 to 40 hour week.
Some firms have introduced flexi-working to allow you to fit your working day around meetings with clients and part-time opportunities are also quite common.
Your time will be split between the office and time spent with clients.
Skills and interests
Your biggest skill should be communicating complicated tax issues to clients in a simple, understandable way. It will also help if you are:
- Good with maths
- Enjoy problem solving
- Analytical and logical
- Good at meeting deadlines and working under pressure
- Detail oriented
- Interested in business and finance
Entry
Any degree can help you get your foot in the door, but it helps if it is in a related subject like business, accountancy, economics or law.
You have two routes in. Firstly to become a tax trainee with a firm of accountants or solicitors or within an in-house tax department. Alternatively you could study and become a chartered accountant or a qualified lawyer and then go on to specialise in tax.
As a trainee you'll need to study on the job for your Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT) exams (this usually takes about 2 to 3 years), and then go on to sit the Chartered Institute of Tax qualifications (CIOT).
If you come to it as a chartered accountant you'll go straight to the CIOT exams.
Any work experience you can get will really make a difference to your CV.
Training
Ongoing qualifications will be the main focus of your training. ATT and CIOT are the main ones you'll hear talked about around the industry and they are the most important ones for your career development.
The Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT) exams include papers on: principles of accounting; principles of law, personal taxation and business taxation.
The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT)/CTA exams consist of four papers. These cover: general taxation, an option chosen from general practice, taxation of trusts and estates, companies, indirect tax, interaction of taxes, professional responsibilities, ethics and law.
You'll also learn on the job from qualified tax specialists and chartered tax advisers, but must make it your responsibility to keep up with changes to taxation laws.
CIOT offers advanced courses to keep your skills sharp even once you are fully qualified.
Opportunities
You could work for an accountancy firm, a specialist tax consultancy or a company with its own tax team. Banks, legal firms and HM Revenue and Customs also need good tax specialists. You could also become a freelance tax consultant and start your own business.
If you want to break out of tax at a later date, you'll have a great bank of transferable skills that should allow you to move into a more general financial role.
Annual income
It's difficult to estimate what you should be earning at a junior level as starting salaries vary widely from £20,000 to £37,000. With your ATT qualifications you should be on at least £26,000 a year.
Once you have your CIOT/CTA qualifications this should earn you a nice pay-rise, and you can expect to be on £30,000 to £50,000.
With 10 to 15 years experience you'll have a healthy looking bank balance as you could be earning as much as £45,000 to £150,000.
The salary bands are very wide as your employer, type of specialisation and where you are based in the country will all have an impact.
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