Tax accountant screening questions: returns by type, busy season, software, EA and CPA
On this page
- Which tax seat: preparer, senior, reviewer or industry
- Returns by type: counts that mean something
- Review and complexity: the question that separates levels
- Busy season: hours, deadlines and extensions
- Tax software and research tools
- PTIN, EA and CPA: what to verify and where
- How tax resumes overstate
- Knockout checklist and scorecard
- Questions people ask
Tax accountant screening questions should find out which returns the candidate prepared and reviewed last season, by form and complexity, which tax software they used, how many hours they worked at the peak, and whether they hold a PTIN, an enrolled agent credential or a CPA license. Candidates who did the work give counts by return type, name the entities and states, and can describe the last return they sent back to a preparer. Weak ones quote a total like "300 returns" that turns out to be mostly roll-forwards.
This bank is for tax preparers, tax seniors, reviewers and in-house tax accountants. It goes deeper on tax than the staff accountant phone screen, which treats tax as one background among several, and it assumes the candidate prepares returns rather than supporting someone who does, which is the bookkeeper's job. Credential facts below were checked on the IRS and AICPA sites as of September 2026.
Which tax seat: preparer, senior, reviewer or industry
| Seat | What the work usually is | Facts to ask for | Common overstatement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonal or associate preparer | Individual returns, simpler business returns, data entry from organizers and source documents | Returns by form last season, share that were new clients, who reviewed them | "Prepared returns" for a season of scanning documents and running diagnostics |
| Tax senior (public accounting) | Complex individuals, partnerships, S corporations, first review of staff work, client questions | Returns prepared versus reviewed, entity types, states, staff supervised | "Reviewed" meaning they self-reviewed their own returns |
| Tax manager or reviewer | Final or second review, planning, notices, client relationships, busy season scheduling | Review count, what they sign, planning engagements, realization or budget responsibility | Manager title at a two-person practice with no one to review |
| Industry tax accountant | Income tax provision, federal and state compliance for one group, estimated payments, sales and property tax, audit support | Entities in the group, states filed, provision work, which pieces are outsourced | "Corporate tax" meaning sales and use tax filings only |
| Representation specialist | IRS and state notices, audits, collections, payment plans | Cases handled, outcomes, credentials that allow representation | Answering notices for a supervisor who signed and spoke to the IRS |
Settle at intake whether the client needs volume, complexity or review. A preparer who turned 400 individual returns in a franchise office and a senior who prepared 40 multistate partnerships are both good hires, for different desks.
Returns by type: counts that mean something
Ask for last season's numbers broken down by form, then whether each group was prepared from scratch, rolled forward and updated, or reviewed. Write the answer as a small table in your notes; it is the most useful thing you can send a hiring manager.
| Question | What a strong answer sounds like | Red flags |
|---|---|---|
| How many returns did you prepare last season, by form? | "About 120 1040s, maybe 30 with Schedule C or rentals; 25 1065s; 15 1120-S; a handful of 1041s." | One total with no split, or the office's total. |
| Which of those were the most complex, and why? | A specific return: multi-tier partnership, many K-1s, several states, a sale of a business, a trust with distributions. | "They were all pretty standard" for a senior role. |
| How many states did you file in, and for which entities? | Named states, nonresident and composite filings, which states needed the most attention. | Only their home state, for a client with multistate work. |
| How much of your work was prepared from source documents versus rolled forward? | An honest share, and what they checked on a roll-forward: carryovers, depreciation, basis, changes in ownership. | Does not see the difference. |
| Did you do any tax planning or projections? | Quarterly estimates, year-end projections for business owners, entity choice questions, with who led the conversation. | Planning meant entering estimates the client gave them. |
Review and complexity: the question that separates levels
For seniors and above, the best single question is about review. Ask what they check when a return comes to them and what they last sent back.
Question to read aloud: "A staff accountant hands you a calendar-year 1120-S with three shareholders and operations in two states. What do you check before you look at anything else, and what was the last thing you sent back on a return like this?"
What a strong answer covers:
- Tie-out of the return to the final trial balance and the book-to-tax reconciliation.
- Prior-year carryovers and depreciation rolled correctly, and fixed asset additions from the books.
- Shareholder basis and distributions, and whether distributions were in proportion to ownership.
- Officer compensation and whether it looks reasonable for the business.
- State filings: apportionment, nonresident shareholders, and any pass-through entity tax election the client made.
- A concrete miss they caught recently and what they told the preparer.
Red flags: starts with "I run the diagnostics," or cannot name a return they sent back.
For individual-heavy desks, useful depth questions are:
- "Walk me through a return with a K-1 from a partnership that had losses." Strong: basis, at-risk and passive limits in that order, and where the carryforwards live in the software.
- "A client sold a rental property. What do you need from them?" Strong: purchase records, improvements, depreciation history, closing statement, and whether it was ever a residence.
- "What do you do when a client's documents do not match the IRS transcript?" Strong: pulls the transcript, asks for corrected forms, and does not file on a guess.
Busy season: hours, deadlines and extensions
Busy season is part of the job description, not a surprise to spring later. Describe the client's real expectations and ask about the candidate's last season in numbers.
| Question | What a strong answer sounds like | Red flags |
|---|---|---|
| What did your peak weeks look like last season, in hours? | A number, which weeks, and whether Saturdays were expected. | Vague, or surprised that it matters. |
| How did you manage the March and April deadlines at the same time? | Prioritized pass-through returns so K-1s reached individual clients, extended early where documents were missing. | Filed extensions only on the last day, every year. |
| How do you handle the extension season through the fall? | A list of extended returns with what was missing, and a plan to clear them before the extended deadlines. | The extended returns were somebody else's problem. |
| This role expects about [client's number] hours a week from February to April. Is that workable for you? | A clear yes or no, possibly with a conversation about remote days or start times. | Only a problem if they say yes and plan to leave in March. |
Ask the hours question the same way for every candidate. Do not ask about children, caregiving or family plans to predict availability; ask whether they can work the stated schedule.
Tax software and research tools
Software is a real hiring filter in tax, because firms rarely switch and the learning curve costs a busy season. Ask which product, which modules, and whether they prepared in it or only reviewed.
| Area | Products candidates will name | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Professional preparation software | CCH Axcess Tax, CCH ProSystem fx, UltraTax CS, Lacerte, ProConnect, Drake, GoSystem Tax RS | Which one for which entity types, and whether they set up the client file or only filled in inputs |
| Workflow and document tools | Practice management, client portals, organizer tools, source document scanning | How they tracked where each return stood, and what they did when a portal upload was incomplete |
| Research | Checkpoint, CCH AnswerConnect, Bloomberg Tax, IRS publications and instructions | The last question they researched and where the answer came from |
| Provision and corporate tax | Corporate provision software, Excel-based provision models, ERP data | Whether they built the provision or updated a template someone else built |
A strong preparer on one package can learn another, but budget time for it. If the client insists on an exact match, make it a knockout at the start of the call rather than a disappointment at the end.
PTIN, EA and CPA: what to verify and where
These are the credentials a tax screen needs to settle, with where to check each.
- PTIN. As of September 2026, the IRS PTIN requirements page says anyone who prepares or assists in preparing federal tax returns for compensation must have a valid PTIN for the year, and PTINs are renewed annually. Ask whether theirs is current. It is a requirement to prepare, not a credential.
- Enrolled agent. The IRS enrolled agent page describes a three-part IRS exam covering individual and business returns (or qualifying IRS experience), 72 hours of continuing education every three years, and unlimited practice rights before the IRS, like attorneys and CPAs. Ask when they passed and whether they are active.
- CPA. Licenses are issued by state boards of accountancy. The AICPA's CPA Exam toolkit describes the current exam as three core sections plus one discipline section of the candidate's choice, and Tax Compliance and Planning is one of the three disciplines. For a tax role, "I chose TCP" is a useful detail. "Passed" is not "licensed": ask which state issued the license and check the board's lookup or NASBA's CPAverify search.
- No credential. Plenty of good preparers have none. The IRS publishes a directory of federal tax return preparers with credentials and select qualifications, which also lists people who completed the Annual Filing Season Program. Absence from it does not mean the person cannot prepare returns.
Then ask about representation: "Have you responded to IRS or state notices yourself, and did you sign a power of attorney to do it?" A candidate who drafted responses for a manager who signed is describing useful experience, but not the same experience as handling an examination.
How tax resumes overstate
- "Prepared 500 returns" including roll-forwards, extensions and returns someone else finished. Ask for the split.
- "CPA" on a resume that means "passed three sections." Ask for the licensing state.
- "Reviewed returns" meaning they checked their own before sending them up. Ask whose returns they reviewed and who reviewed theirs.
- "Corporate tax" meaning sales, use or property tax compliance. Ask which returns they prepared and whether income tax was outsourced.
- "Tax planning" meaning they entered estimated payments. Ask about the last planning conversation they led.
Knockout checklist and scorecard
Settle these in the first five minutes:
- Entity types and states the role covers, and whether the candidate has prepared those returns in the last two seasons.
- The client's tax software, and whether it is a hard requirement.
- Credential required: PTIN only, EA, CPA license, or on track to one, with a date.
- Busy season hours and on-site days, stated plainly.
- Pay expectation (see salary expectation questions), notice period relative to busy season, and the same work authorization questions you ask everyone.
| Area | 1: weak | 2: solid | 3: strong |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return experience | A total with no breakdown | Counts by form, prepared versus rolled forward | Counts by form and states, with complex examples explained |
| Review | Has not reviewed others' work | First review with a checklist | Clear review order and a recent catch described |
| Busy season | Vague on hours and deadlines | Worked a full season, knows the calendar | Planned the season: pass-throughs first, extensions tracked and cleared |
| Software and research | Different package, preparer inputs only | Client's package as a preparer | Client's package, set up files, researches from primary sources |
| Credentials | Unclear or unverifiable | Current PTIN, credential in progress | EA or CPA license verified, or strong practice without one |
Put the return counts and the review example in the note to the hiring manager, in the candidate's own words. If you run screens with Interview Signal, those quotes come from the transcript rather than memory, which matters when the manager asks exactly which returns the candidate said they reviewed.
Questions people ask
Is an enrolled agent as qualified as a CPA for a tax role?
For federal tax preparation and representation before the IRS, an enrolled agent has the same unlimited practice rights as a CPA or attorney, according to the IRS. A CPA license covers much more, including attest work, and some firms require it for promotion or partnership. Ask the client which one the role actually needs.
How do I check whether a tax preparer has a PTIN?
Ask for it and search the IRS Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers with Credentials and Select Qualifications. The directory lists credentialed preparers and those who completed the Annual Filing Season Program, so a preparer with a PTIN and no credential may not appear there. The PTIN itself must be renewed every year.
What is a reasonable number of returns for a tax accountant to have prepared?
There is no standard number, because a simple 1040 and a multistate partnership return are different jobs. Ask for last season's count by form type and complexity, and whether each was prepared, reviewed or rolled forward.
Can I ask a tax candidate about busy season hours?
Yes. Describe the client's actual expected hours and weeks, then ask whether the candidate can work them. Ask everyone the same question and do not ask about family or childcare arrangements behind the answer.