Job memo

Tax Assistant

People generally perceive tax assistants to be boring, detail-oriented, and repetitive. I confess that I had had the same stereotype until I interned as a tax assistant last summer. Although it is true that the job requires attention to detail and some repetitive work, I am here to tell you that it is actually a fun job. In order to disprove the stereotype, I would like to describe my role as a tax assistant as well as some interesting tax cases I experienced.

A tax assistant works both independently and in teams. When working in teams, a tax assistant aids professionals with organizing and updating clients’ tax information. This role is basic, but significant since a little mistake can lead to a large difference in tax discrepancies. When working independently, I communicate with clients and government agencies to solve tax related issues. Sometimes, this requires further research and documentation.

Now, I will explain how I perform each duty. A tax assistant’s main responsibilities are:

• Organizing and updating tax information
• Communication
• Research

Organizing and Updating Tax Information

This responsibility entails

• Sorting out expenses into different categories
• Recording accounting information into system
• Preparing bank reconciliation

This part of the job oversees the tax reporting process. Firstly, I receive bank statements from clients. Then, I sort out and record expenses into different categories, such as salary and entertainment expenses. For instance, advertisement expenses are 100% deductible, which means the client pays less taxes for that amount. In case of entertaining expenses, it is only 50% deductible. Therefore, I should be extra careful because my client may pay more taxes than they should, or worse, the IRS could fine the client for paying the incorrect amount. 

Next, I enter checks data from sales and payrolls into my work sheet called “Bank reconciliation.” Finally, I balance cash inflows and outflows. It may sound boring to you, but it gets more interesting if your clients are in fields like the entertainment industry.

Communication

This responsibility entails

• Respond to clients’ inquiries 
•  Cooperate with government agencies to solve tax problems of clients

Another main duty is to respond to emails, usually inquiries about simple tax issues. Sometimes, I get more complicated cases. For example, one day I received an email from a former client saying his company dissolved in 2004. However, he recently received a letter form IRS, which informed him of tax overdue on his dissolved company. What was worse, there were penalties had been piled up on that overdue since 2004. Firstly, I calmed down the client and gathered all related information, in order to contact the IRS and the FTB for review. The client had conflicting assertions with the IRS and the FTB. However, it turned out to be a mistake by an IRS agent, and they revoked all penalties.

Research

This responsibility entails

• Maintaining and updating tax related regulations
• Conducting research for business projects

Unlike other duties, researching is not a daily task. I update tax regulation files when there are changes, such as a minimum wage increase. Also, I conduct research for various business projects. Last summer, there was a client who wanted to expand his embroidery business in Korea. I assisted CPA in researching Korean embroidery market and prepared a draft for business proposal. Since tax assistants get much inside information of clients, maintaining confidentiality is the top priority.