Tax Reviewer / Tax Professional (Painesville)

Position Overview

A small, established CPA firm is seeking an experienced Tax Return Reviewer to provide interim 1099 support during tax season. The consultant will primarily review individual Form 1040 tax returns prepared by the firm's tax professionals, ensuring returns are accurate, complete, properly supported, and prepared in accordance with current federal and applicable state tax requirements.

This is a hands-on opportunity for an experienced tax professional who can independently review individual tax returns, identify potential errors or missed deductions, provide constructive feedback to preparers, and help ensure returns are ready for partner or client review.

Key Responsibilities

• Review individual Form 1040 tax returns for accuracy, completeness, and compliance with applicable federal and state tax regulations.
• Review tax returns prepared by staff and identify errors, omissions, inconsistencies, and potential areas requiring additional research or documentation.
• Review supporting schedules and tax forms, including Schedules A, B, C, D, E, and SE , as applicable.
• Review returns involving W-2s, 1099s, K-1s, investment income, rental properties, self-employment income, retirement distributions, and other common individual tax situations .
• Verify the proper reporting of income, deductions, credits, capital gains and losses, and other tax items.
• Review depreciation schedules and supporting information for applicable business and rental activities.
• Review federal returns in conjunction with applicable state and local returns to identify potential inconsistencies or filing issues.
• Verify that tax elections, carryforwards, estimated payments, withholding, and other applicable tax attributes have been properly reflected.
• Identify opportunities for additional deductions, credits, or tax-planning considerations when appropriate and supported by the client's documentation.
• Communicate review comments clearly to tax preparers and work with them to resolve identified issues.
• Research technical tax questions and provide guidance to preparers when questions arise.
• Ensure tax workpapers and supporting documentation adequately substantiate amounts reported on the return.
• Assist with resolving complex or unusual individual tax return issues as needed.
• Maintain a high level of accuracy while meeting firm deadlines and seasonal production requirements.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of individual tax preparation and review experience , preferably within a public accounting or CPA firm environment.
• Strong experience preparing and reviewing Form 1040 individual income tax returns .
• Strong understanding of federal individual income taxation and applicable state tax requirements.
• Experience reviewing a variety of individual returns with varying levels of complexity.
• Strong knowledge of individual tax forms, schedules, deductions, credits, and tax reporting requirements.
• Ability to identify technical tax issues and determine when additional research or documentation is required.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to accuracy.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Excellent organizational and time-management skills, particularly in a deadline-driven tax season environment.
• Strong communication skills and ability to provide clear, professional feedback to tax preparers.

Preferred Experience

• CPA, EA, or other relevant tax credential preferred.
• Experience reviewing returns for high-net-worth individuals.
• Experience with Schedule C, Schedule E, rental properties, partnerships, S corporations, investments, and K-1 reporting.
• Multi-state individual tax return experience.
• Experience with tax software such as CCH Axcess, UltraTax, Lacerte, ProSeries, Drake, GoSystem, or similar platforms .
• Experience identifying tax planning opportunities during the return review process.
• Prior experience working as a reviewer, senior tax preparer, tax manager, or similar role within a CPA firm.

Ideal Consultant

The ideal consultant will be an experienced individual tax professional who can step into a small CPA firm and immediately provide high-quality 1040 review support . This individual should be comfortable reviewing returns prepared by other tax professionals, identifying issues efficiently, communicating corrections clearly, and helping the firm maintain accuracy and quality while meeting tax-season deadlines.

Engagement Details

This is an interim consulting engagement designed to provide additional individual tax return review capacity to a small CPA firm. The consultant will primarily focus on reviewing completed 1040 returns rather than preparing returns from start to finish .

The engagement is expected to be project-based and may be structured around a specific number of returns, weekly hours, or the firm's seasonal workload.