Senior Tax & Advisory Associate

ABOUT THE FIRM

Steve CPA, Inc. is a boutique tax and advisory firm headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, serving business owners, S corporations, equity-compensated professionals, and complex individual filers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. The firm’s practice spans individual and business tax preparation, quarterly tax planning and projections, entity structuring, reasonable compensation analysis, bookkeeping oversight, and year-round advisory engagements.

All work is performed in-house by the firm’s own team. The firm does not outsource or offshore any client work, and that commitment is central to both its client relationships and its standard of quality. The firm is in a period of deliberate, well-capitalized growth heading into the 2027 filing season.

The successful candidate will work directly with the firm’s founder and will play a defining role in how the practice operates as it scales.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Senior Tax Associate will carry client engagements from intake through delivery, subject to final review by the firm’s principal. This is a hands-on preparation and review role with substantial autonomy and a defined path to increasing leadership responsibility, including the supervision and technical review of a junior associate cohort expected to join the firm in late fall 2026.

The role begins at approximately 20 hours per week with flexible scheduling and converts to full-time in January 2027 ahead of the filing season.
Candidates should apply only if the January full-time conversion is consistent with their plans.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Tax Preparation and Review

• Prepare federal and California individual income tax returns of moderate to high complexity, including returns involving equity compensation (RSU, ISO, ESPP, and QSBS matters), multi-state considerations, rental real estate, and pass-through income
• Prepare business income tax returns, principally Forms 1120-S, 1120, and 1065, including complete Schedules L, M-1, and M-2, shareholder basis reporting on Form 7203, and reasonable compensation documentation
• Prepare amended returns and supporting statements, reconciling as-filed positions to corrected positions with complete workpaper support
• Review all work product for mathematical accuracy, internal consistency across forms, and conformity to firm workpaper conventions prior to submission for principal review

Tax Planning and Projections

• Prepare quarterly estimated tax analyses and safe harbor assessments for individual and business planning clients, including recommended payment amounts, deadlines, and remittance instructions
• Build and maintain multi-scenario tax projections using firm templates and tooling
• Support quarterly and year-end planning cycles, including client data collection, projection preparation, and deliverable drafting

Accounting and Bookkeeping Oversight

• Review and clean up Quick Books Online files for closely-held businesses, including chart of accounts design, transaction categorization, and reconciliations
• Prepare year-end books-to-return tie-outs, including retained earnings roll forwards and equity account reconciliation

Client Matters and Correspondence

• Draft responses to federal and state notices, including IRS CP-series notices and Franchise Tax Board correspondence, for principal review
• Prepare client-facing deliverables from standardized firm templates, maintaining the firm’s formatting and communication standards
• Communicate with clients professionally regarding document requests, open items, and engagement status through the firm’s client portal

Supervision and Firm Development

• Review the work of junior associates, provide constructive technical feedback, and contribute to their training and development
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of firm templates, checklists, and workflow documentation
• Identify recurring process inefficiencies and propose standardized solutions

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Three or more years of recent tax experience in public accounting, with demonstrated responsibility for preparing individual and pass-through business returns from start to finish
• Active CPA license or Enrolled Agent credential, or active…