Tax Senior Job Description

A Tax Senior is a qualified or part-qualified tax professional working in a tax team at an accountancy firm — Big Four, Top 10 or regional — or in-house at a corporate or financial services business. The Tax Senior leads the day-to-day delivery of client tax compliance and advisory work in practice, or manages the tax compliance and reporting obligations of an in-house business at a level of seniority above the Tax Assistant or Tax Associate.

This guide covers what a Tax Senior does, the qualifications the role requires, what Tax Seniors earn in 2026, how the Tax Senior role differs between public practice and in-house, and the career path from Tax Senior to Tax Manager and Head of Tax. For the in-house tax recruitment service, see London Tax Recruitment and Qualified Finance Recruitment. To register as a tax candidate with Accountancy Capital, see the candidate registration page.

What Does a Tax Senior Do?

The Tax Senior’s role differs materially depending on whether they are working in public practice or in an in-house tax function. In both contexts the seniority level is comparable — Tax Senior typically corresponds to two to five years of post-qualification or post-ATT experience — but the work content, the client relationship and the career trajectory are significantly different.

Tax Senior in Public Practice

Compliance delivery. The Tax Senior in practice leads the preparation and review of tax computations and returns for a portfolio of clients. For a corporate tax senior, this includes preparing corporation tax computations under CTSA, reviewing the computation against the statutory accounts for accuracy, identifying any disallowable expenditure or adjustable timing differences and submitting the CT600 return through HMRC’s online filing system within the nine-month and one-day statutory filing deadline.

Client relationship management. The Tax Senior is typically the primary day-to-day contact for a defined portfolio of clients — managing the annual compliance timeline, requesting the information and documentation needed for the computation, responding to HMRC correspondence and flagging any tax issues that need advisory discussion to the Tax Manager above them.

Junior team supervision. The Tax Senior reviews the work of Tax Associates and Tax Assistants below them — checking computation accuracy, identifying errors in the treatment of specific items, providing technical feedback and coaching and ensuring the work meets the firm’s quality standard before it is submitted to the Tax Manager for final review.

Technical advisory contribution. As their experience and technical depth develops, the Tax Senior increasingly contributes to advisory work alongside the compliance portfolio: research notes on specific technical issues, draft technical memos for client transactions, contributions to the tax due diligence reports that the firm’s corporate finance team uses in M&A transactions.

Tax Senior In-House

Tax compliance management. The in-house Tax Senior manages the business’s UK tax compliance obligations — corporation tax computations and returns, quarterly instalment payments where applicable, R&D tax relief claims, the construction industry scheme (CIS) if relevant, employment-related securities reporting and any specialist tax compliance the business’s activities require.

Tax accounting and reporting. In-house Tax Seniors are often responsible for the tax elements of the management accounts and statutory accounts: the current and deferred tax calculations, the effective tax rate analysis, the uncertain tax positions disclosure under IAS 12 or FRS 102 Section 29, and the tax note disclosures in the statutory accounts.

HMRC relationship and correspondence. Managing HMRC correspondence, responding to enquiries and ensuring that any HMRC compliance review is handled promptly and professionally. The in-house Tax Senior who manages the HMRC relationship proactively — who discloses issues before HMRC identifies them, who provides complete and well-organised responses to HMRC requests — typically achieves better outcomes at lower cost than one who manages the relationship reactively.

Business partnering. Providing tax input to commercial decisions: advising on the tax treatment of new contracts, flagging the employment tax implications of a new benefits policy, contributing to the financial model for a potential acquisition from a tax perspective.

Tax Senior Qualifications — 2026

The most common qualification routes for Tax Seniors in UK practice and in-house are:

The CTA qualification (Chartered Tax Adviser, awarded by the Chartered Institute of Taxation) is the benchmark technical qualification for senior tax practitioners in both practice and in-house roles and is increasingly required at Tax Manager level and above. The ATT (Association of Taxation Technicians, awarded by the ATT) is the standard entry-level tax qualification, typically completed in the first two to three years of a tax career before progression to CTA study. See London Tax Recruitment for the in-house tax recruitment service.

Tax Senior Salary Benchmarks — 2026

Big Four Tax Seniors in London at two to three years post-qualification earn toward the upper end of the range. Corporate tax and financial services tax specialists consistently earn at a premium over personal tax and trust specialists at equivalent qualification and experience level. See the London Accountancy Salary Guide 2026 for all qualified finance and tax role benchmarks.

Tax Senior Job Description Template — 2026

Role title: Tax Senior  |  Reports to: Tax Manager / Head of Tax  |  Salary: £46,000–£72,000 depending on firm/business size and context  |  Qualification: ATT minimum; CTA preferred or in progress  |  Updated: June 2026

Key Responsibilities

Tax compliance. Prepare and review corporation tax computations and CT600 returns for a client portfolio or for the employing business within applicable statutory deadlines. Identify and correctly treat disallowable expenditure, capital allowances, R&D qualifying expenditure and timing differences. Submit returns accurately via HMRC online systems.

Tax accounting. Prepare or review the current and deferred tax calculations for the annual statutory accounts. Ensure the tax charge and deferred tax positions are correctly computed and disclosed in the accounts under FRS 102 or IAS 12 as applicable.

HMRC correspondence. Respond to HMRC compliance checks, information requests and enquiry correspondence promptly and professionally. Flag any significant HMRC contact to the Tax Manager immediately.

Junior team supervision. Review the tax compliance work of Tax Assistants and Associates before submission to the Tax Manager. Provide technical feedback, training and coaching to develop junior team member capability.

Technical research. Prepare technical research notes and memos on specific tax issues as required by the Tax Manager or Head of Tax. Demonstrate currency with HMRC guidance, HMRC Manuals and relevant case law in the technical issues covered.

Client / business communication. Manage the day-to-day relationship with the client portfolio or with the business’s operational managers on tax compliance matters. Communicate complex tax issues clearly to non-tax professionals.

Qualifications and Experience Required

ATT qualification required. CTA qualification preferred at Senior level or in active study. Two to five years of relevant tax experience in practice or in-house. Proven experience of independently preparing corporation tax computations to a high standard. Experience of managing HMRC correspondence and filing deadlines without oversight failure.

Tax Senior Career Path

The Tax Senior career progression in practice typically runs: Tax Associate/Assistant → Tax Senior → Tax Manager → Senior Tax Manager → Associate Director / Director → Partner track. The transition from Tax Senior to Tax Manager typically requires CTA qualification alongside three to five years of Tax Senior experience, a demonstrated ability to manage client relationships independently and some experience of supervising and developing junior tax team members.

The in-house career path follows a similar seniority progression: Tax Accountant → Senior Tax Accountant / Tax Senior → Tax Manager → Senior Tax Manager → Head of Tax. The in-house path at each level typically requires slightly less specialised technical depth than the practice equivalent — because in-house businesses have a narrower range of tax issues than a practice client portfolio — but more commercial business partnering capability, because the in-house tax professional needs to communicate tax positions to non-tax stakeholders in the business and to contribute to commercial decision-making from a tax perspective.

For qualified tax professionals considering the move from practice to in-house, see Public Practice Accountancy Recruitment and the Moving from Practice to In-House Finance guide.

Tax Senior vs Tax Manager: The Promotion Threshold

Personal Tax Senior vs Corporate Tax Senior

Corporate Tax Senior is the most common specialism in large practice firms and in-house at commercial businesses. The corporate tax senior prepares corporation tax computations, manages CTSA compliance, works on R&D tax relief claims and contributes to M&A transaction tax due diligence. Corporate tax is the primary pathway to in-house Head of Tax roles at UK commercial businesses.

Personal Tax Senior prepares self-assessment returns for individuals, partnerships and trusts — typically high-net-worth individuals, owner-managed business shareholders and family offices. The personal tax senior develops deep knowledge of capital gains tax, inheritance tax, domicile and residence issues and trust taxation. Personal tax tends to remain in practice throughout career; the in-house personal tax market is smaller and concentrated in private client departments of wealth managers and private banks.

VAT Senior manages VAT compliance and advisory for a client portfolio or for an in-house business — preparing VAT returns, managing partial exemption calculations, advising on the VAT treatment of specific transactions and managing HMRC VAT inspections. VAT is a distinct specialism; many large businesses employ a dedicated VAT Manager or VAT Senior alongside the main corporate tax team.

Accountancy Capital places corporate, personal and VAT tax professionals at £50,000 and above. Call 0204 553 8893 or see London Tax Recruitment for the full service.