Tax Accountant Resume—Sample & 20+ Writing Tips

Do you have the perfectionist’s attention to detail that drives people crazy, but guarantees the books are squeaky clean? Do you have most, if not all, tax laws and regulations down cold? Are you highly organized, motivated and diligent?  A trio of yeses indicates you have the skills and mindset of a top-notch tax accountant. 

So, how do you get this across to the hiring manager? With the right tax accountant resume, you can present yourself to an employer as exactly the kind of candidate they like to see. 

In this article:

• A tax accountant resume that gets you interviews.
• Tips to professionally format your tax accountant resume.
• How to make your tax accountant job description and skills sections shine.
• Expert hints from career experts that will help you boost your chances of success.

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Looking for a different accounting or finance-related job? See our guides:

• Tax Preparer Resume Sample
• Accounting Resume Sample
• Accounting Manager Resume Sample
• Business Analyst Resume Sample
• Data Analyst Resume Sample
• Accounting Assistant Resume Sample
• Bank Teller Resume Sample
• Consultant Resume Sample
• Financial Analyst Resume Sample
• Accounts Payable Resume Sample
• Bookkeeper Resume Sample
• Investment Banking Resume Sample
• Accounts Receivable Resume Sample
• Financial Advisor Resume Sample
• Payroll Manager Resume
• Best Resume Examples for All Jobs

Tax Accountant Resume Sample

Want to learn how to write your own professional resume? Let’s dive right into the good stuff:

1. Format Your Tax Accountant Resume Correctly 

When it comes to money, a decimal point in the wrong place is more than just a cosmetic error. Things such as font, margins and spacing also make a HUGE difference when it comes to resume formatting, so make sure you get it right.

You don’t want to look unprofessional, do you? Follow these rules of proper resume formatting and present your information in an organized and attractive manner:

Senior Tax Accountant Resume Format

• Set 1-inch resume margins on all sides of the document.
• Choose a clean and professional resume font—like 11–14pt Arial, Times New Roman, Helvetica or Calibri.
• Divide your resume into sections: Header, Summary or Objective, Experience, Education, Skills, Certifications, and Extras. Remember to leave spaces between them for clarity.
• List your experiences in the reverse chronological resume order.
• Try to make a one-page resume, unless you have 15+ years of experience.
• Print or save your resume as a PDF file format, unless otherwise specified.

After you’ve done all that, you can insert a resume header with all your details and contact information: 

• Full name
• Job title
• Address (optional)
• Phone number
• E-mail address
• LinkedIn profile (optional)

Expert Hint: Looking competent at all times is very important in the business world, that’s why having a professional email is vital. Emails like hot-chica3729@yahoo.com or gigglez83@gmail.com simply won’t cut it. Studies show that 76% of resumes with unprofessional email addresses are rejected.

2. Write a Jaw-Dropping Resume Summary or Objective (Depending On Your Work Experience)

Here’s where you really want to sell yourself as the most qualified candidate for the position. In two or three sentences, show them that you enjoy adding up endless columns of numbers, doing overtime in April and October, and being up in people’s business all the time (figuratively and literally).

To really make an impression, follow these steps:

1. Start with a power adjective that will help you come across as a strong and confident candidate, like: driven, passionate, enthusiastic, goal-oriented, etc. 
2. “Tax accountant”
3. Years of experience
4. Your area of expertise, past responsibilities, skills, etc.
5. 1–2 of your proudest professional achievements (remember to use resume action words)

Take a look at these examples:

Tax Accountant Resume Summary

Driven tax accountant with 8+ years of experience preparing federal, state and local tax returns for small businesses, individuals, and mid-size companies. Prepared and supervised the filing of over 70 monthly different state and local sales and use tax returns in compliance with multiple state & local jurisdictions. Restructured UC Claim Reporting and Response procedures, which resulted in $750K in UC Tax savings.

Tax accountant with experience in preparing tax returns for companies and individuals. Knowledge of federal and state tax laws and regulations, experience in bookkeeping and financial reporting. Acted as a liaison between clients and the IRS.

So, the first example conveys the qualities and experience of a professional tax accountant who’s ready to meet the challenges of a fast-growing firm. The second example… not so much. What really pops in the first one is numbers. They’re the real proof of value. Think metrics, statistics, money, and percentages… you know the drill.

However, if you’re writing a resume with no experience, your introduction should focus on what you can offer to the organization rather than on your experiences. Here’s how to write a solid career objective for an entry-level resume:

Tax Accountant Resume Objective Examples

Detail-oriented and motivated graduate with a Bachelors degree in Accounting seeking a tax accountant assistant position with BGF Company, where I can utilize my deductive reasoning, mathematical, and problem-solving skills. Graduated Summa Cum Laude. Published 5 articles covering financial reporting, taxation, and financial planning in 3 most influential journals in academic accounting.

Recent accounting graduate seeking an entry-level position. Graduated with honors. Ready to take on a new challenge and utilize my deductive reasoning, mathematical, and problem-solving skills.

To write your resume objective statement use anything you can: academic experience, side projects you’ve worked on, first job experiences, skills acquired during an internship… whatever you can to make it look like you have all the right skills and qualities to become a successful tax accountant. 

3. Boost Your Chances With an Impressive Job Description and Skill Set

Preparing tax filings, bookkeeping, researching technical tax topics, preparing month-end accruals. You know what about these duties is true? Every self-respecting tax accountant knows how to do them. So the employer will have 200 resumes that say the exact same thing…

Wondering how to not fall into that trap? Make your job description count. Check out these samples:

Sales Tax Accountant Resume Example

Experience

Tax Accountant

Star Accounting & Tax Services

New Orleans, LA

April 2019-June 2021

• Applied tax laws according to the appropriate amendments in state tax filing procedures.
• Verified, allocated and posted details of business transactions to all subsidiary accounts.
• Prepared federal and multi-state tax filling for individuals, medium corporations, and partnerships with assets ranging from $500K million to $2 million.
• Prevented a loss of $150K by detecting a recurring error in balance sheets.
• Automated reporting systems resulting in 40% of time efficiency savings.

Tax Accountant

Star Accounting & Tax Services

• Verified, allocated, and posted details of business transactions to all subsidiary accounts.
• Prepared federal and multi-state tax filling for individuals and smaller companies.
• Prevented a loss by detecting a recurring error in balance sheets.
• Automated reporting systems resulting in time efficiency savings.

Your work experience resume section should contain at least:

• A job title
• Company name
• Company location
• Dates of employment
• 3-5 bullet points about your responsibilities supported by metrics

Make sure you have all that, and you’re going to be on the right track.

But there are other things you should be keeping in mind here as well. Resume keywords. This mysterious two-word phrase is your recipe for targeting your resume and making you more hirable. Simply put—tailoring a resume is using certain keywords straight from the job posting in your own work experience and skills sections.

Why? First of all, it will help you create that coveted ATS resume, so you’ll pass the ATS scan and be one step closer to the job interview. Secondly, you’ll use all the right words that will charm the hiring manager into thinking that you’re the only candidate out there that’ll make them happy.

Sounds like a pretty good deal, doesn’t it? Here’s a list of skills that recruiters might be looking for in a tax accountant:

Tax Accountant Resume Skills

• Advanced knowledge of accounting and taxation principles
• Tax preparation: individuals, partnerships, corporations
• Knowledge of US workflow process
• Account analysis
• MS Office Suite
• Quickbooks
• Peachtree
• TurboTax
• TaxAct
• ProSeries
• Bookkeeping
• Invoicing
• Payroll taxes
• Mathematics and statistics
• Phone and e-mail etiquette
• Attention to detail
• Excellent communication skills: both written and oral
• Analytical skills
• Teamwork
• Multitasking
• Customer service
• Problem-solving skills
• Time management
• Ability to work under pressure

Expert Hint: Make sure to use the right resume keywords to gain a well-sharpened edge over others.According to studies, keywords are one of the first things a recruiter looks for when scanning a resume.

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4. Make Your Education a Reason to Hire You

Your resume for tax accountant jobs needs a resume education section. Make it known that you’ve always been serious about your career and that you have the theoretical knowledge to match your practical work experience. 

It should look something like this:

Senior Tax Accountant Resume Example

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting

The University of New Orleans

2014

In most cases, a degree name, university name and year of graduation will be enough, but if you’re writing a recent college graduate resume or if you’re an entry-level applicant, you can also add some extra information, like:

• GPA (if above 3.7)
• Scholarships
• Honors
• Awards
• Publications
• Relevant coursework

5. Add Bonus Sections to Your Tax Accountant Resume 

Let’s add a little something-something to make your resume pop even more. Use additional sections to share more information about yourself. These can be:

• Certifications
• Associations / Memberships
• Interests and hobbies
• Volunteer work
• Foreign languages

You can also put hobbies and interested on your resume, but only if they’re relevant to the job. Let’s look at two examples:

Resume For Tax Accountant

Certifications

• Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
• Certified Financial Analyst (CFA)

Memberships

• American Association of Finance & Accounting

Interests & Hobbies

• Cooking, astrology, jogging
• Member of the Chicago Single Mom Group

The last thing you need to do is write a persuasive cover letter to get those interviews! And that’s that!

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Key Points

To write a tax accountant resume that lands you interviews:

• Start with property formatting your tax accountant resume and using the template up top.
• Write an attention grabbing resume summary or career objective statement.
• List your education and work experience in the reverse chronological order.
• Add tax accountant skills and your achievements supported by metrics.
• Include extra information like certifications, languages, memberships, etc.

About ResumeLab’s Editorial Process

At ResumeLab, quality is at the crux of our values, supporting our commitment to delivering top-notch career resources. The editorial team of career experts carefully reviews every article in accordance with editorial guidelines, ensuring the high quality and reliability of our content. We actively conduct original research, shedding light on the job market's intricacies and earning recognition from numerous influential news outlets. Our dedication to delivering expert career advice attracts millions of readers to our blog each year.