Tax Paralegal

Nobody likes paying taxes. Because everybody has to, however, Tax Attorneys are in high demand — and so are Tax Paralegals, who often serve as Tax Attorneys’ most important allies.

Indeed, a Tax Paralegal is a Tax Attorney’s second-in-command. “Second” because, as a Tax Paralegal, you’re not a licensed Attorney, but still “in command” because you can do almost everything that a Tax Attorney does, except give legal advice, set legal fees and represent clients in court.

Even without those three tasks, your list of responsibilities is large. During a typical day, for instance, you might do legal research using reference books and electronic databases; search, analyze and report on changes to state and federal tax codes; advise Tax Attorneys on legal and tax strategies; collect, organize and manage tax documents from clients; enter clients’ financial data into tax software; and create finished case files for the Tax Attorneys you work for. Like an Accountant, you may even be asked to prepare and file clients’ tax returns.

Although you’re neither an Attorney nor a CPA, all of this requires acute knowledge of the tax code, as well as a double dose of financial and legal savvy. After all, your main job is protecting and defending your clients in the face of a most formidable foe: the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Like David versus Goliath, your job is to help clients win a difficult battle by assisting their Tax Attorneys, who you’ll equip with the information and tools they need to be victorious — either in court or on paper.