Senior Tax Associate

Job Description

Job Description

About Gatewood

At Gatewood, we're more than accountants — we are trusted partners helping families and business owners build enduring wealth with purpose. Gatewood Tax & Accounting integrates tax preparation, compliance, accounting, and CFO-level support into our holistic wealth services. With expertise and care, we work with clients to build a personalized plan for wealth that instills confidence for life's key moments.

The Senior Tax Associate is the operational anchor of Gatewood Tax & Accounting. This person owns business and individual tax returns end-to-end across our diversified book — including S-corporations, partnerships, C-corporations, individuals, and trusts and estates — and works closely with our integrated team to deliver complete client service.

• Prepare passthrough returns (1120-S, 1065) including multi-state allocations, basis tracking, and K-1 production.

• Prepare C-corporation returns (1120) including book-to-tax reconciliations, NOLs, and credits.

• Prepare individual returns (1040), including business-owner returns with K-1s and Schedule C/E.

• Prepare fiduciary returns (1041) for trusts and estates, including beneficiary K-1s.

• File extensions on time. Support quarterly estimates, safe-harbor planning, and year-end close.

• Own all major filing deadlines end-to-end — March 15, April 15, September 15, October 15 — plus quarterly cycles.

• Conduct first-level review of returns prepared by junior staff or contract preparers.

• Track status across the full book of returns and provide weekly visibility to leadership.

• Serve as primary preparer-side contact for assigned engagements — manage client communication, data requests, and engagement follow-through.

• Identify tax planning opportunities during compliance work and route them to the right specialist.

• Coordinate across Gatewood teams: wealth advisors on personal tax strategy; the employer-sponsored retirement plan specialist on retirement-plan tax and strategic planning; and other GTA specialists in accounting and CFO services for clients with integrated needs.

• Contribute to process improvement, workflow documentation, and tax-technology evaluation.

• Help onboard future team members as the department grows.

• Maintain CPE and technical currency.

Requirements

• Minimum 3-5 years of public accounting tax experience (CPA firm, not solely industry).

• CPA licensed or within 12 months of completion.

• Demonstrated ability to own a business return end-to-end without line-by-line supervision.

• Hands-on experience with at least one major professional tax platform (CCH Axcess, UltraTax, Lacerte, or ProSystem fx).

• Excellent client service and written communication skills.

• Ability to manage multiple deadlines with high accuracy under filing-season pressure.

• Available to start no later than mid-June 2026.

• Multi-state compliance experience.

• Fiduciary tax experience (Form 1041) for trusts and estates.

• Exposure to international forms (5471, 5472, 8865, 8938, FBAR).

• Accounting and bookkeeping software fluency (QuickBooks Online, Xero).

• Familiarity with Practifi or other Salesforce-based practice-management platforms.

• Specialty exposure: R&D credits, ERC, energy credits, cost segregation, or similar.

• Prior experience in an integrated wealth management environment.

These are the competencies that distinguish a successful Senior Tax Associate at Gatewood. We assess these throughout the interview process and use them to shape how we develop the role over time.

• Technical Depth Across Entity Types. Owns partnerships, individual, fiduciary, and corporate (C-corp & S corp) returns end-to-end without line-by-line supervision.

• Filing-Season Discipline. Manages multiple deadlines simultaneously with precision; identifies risks early and escalates with lead time.

• Integrated Collaboration. Works seamlessly with wealth advisors, the retirement plan specialist, and accounting/CFO services teammates to deliver coordinated client outcomes.

• Client-Facing Communication. Translates complex tax concepts into clear, plain language for business owners and families.

• Judgment & Independent Ownership. Makes sound decisions on ambiguous facts, owns mistakes specifically, and asks for help on the right things at the right time.

• Process & Technology Orientation. Improves how work gets done; engages with our tax-technology and Practifi integration roadmap rather than working around it.

• Values Alignment. Brings expertise and care to every engagement; treats client problems as solutions to be built, not answers to be delivered.

Benefits

Gatewood offers a competitive salary with both individual and team-based incentive compensation, as well as a competitive benefits package. We pay 100% of a team member's health insurance, life insurance, short and long-term disability insurance, and offer a partially funded HSA option. Additional benefits include a company match 401(k) plan, education reimbursement, voluntary dental, and vision insurances. Gatewood offers 10 weeks of paid leave for the primary caregiver and 3 weeks for the secondary caregiver, tenure-based Paid Time Off, and part-time remote work opportunities.