Senior Tax Analyst

Company Description Lightening The Load is a tax preparation and advisory firm built on a simple idea — taxes shouldn't be something clients white-knuckle through alone once a year. We work as our clients' base camp: steady guidance, clear numbers, and a real relationship rather than a once-a-season transaction. Our clients range from W-2 households with a side business to real estate investors, professional practices, and growing companies that lean on us for accounting and advisory year-round. Role Description This is the technical engine room of the firm. As a Senior Tax Analyst, you'll prepare and review the returns that carry the most complexity in our book — multi-state, rental portfolios, K-1s, S-corps, partnerships, trusts — and you'll be a first point of contact for clients who have a question mid-year, not just in April. You'll work closely with a Tax Manager who owns the relationship, which means you get to spend your time on the actual tax work rather than chasing scope and invoices. What you'll own Prepare and self-review individual and entity returns: 1040 (including Schedule C, E, and multi-state), 1120-S, 1065, and 1041, plus related informational filings such as FBAR/FinCEN 114 and 1099s Build tax projections and planning scenarios that support client planning meetings — entity election analysis, estimated payment strategy, timing of income and deductions Review work prepared by junior staff and give feedback that actually teaches, not just corrects Serve as the day-to-day technical responder on our tax planning retainer — clients ask questions as they come up, and you answer them clearly and promptly Handle IRS and state notices end to end: read the notice, diagnose the cause, draft the response, track it to resolution Research technical positions and document conclusions so the file stands on its own if anyone looks at it two years from now Keep engagements moving in our practice management system, with clean notes and honest status Qualifications 2+ years preparing individual and business returns in a public accounting or tax firm EA or CPA (or CPA candidate with parts passed) — we'll support you through the rest Real fluency in pass-through taxation: basis, distributions, reasonable compensation, K-1 mechanics Comfort with rental real estate and multi-state allocation Strong written communication — a lot of client contact here is in writing, and clarity matters more than polish Someone who flags a problem early rather than hoping it resolves itself Trust and estate returns (1041), cost segregation exposure, or international reporting Experience in a firm running fixed-fee packages rather than pure hourly billing QuickBooks Online or Xero literacy — enough to understand where the numbers came from What success looks like At 90 days: you're preparing the majority of your assigned returns with minimal review notes and responding to retainer questions independently. At one year: you're the technical go-to on a defined book of clients, reviewing others' work, and Managers trust your projections without rebuilding them. #J-18808-Ljbffr Lightening the Load