US Tax Career Kit and Certificates

The taxpayer must be unmarried, or considered unmarried, on the last day of the year. They must have paid more than half the cost of keeping up their home for the year. A qualifying person, usually a qualifying child or a dependent relative, must have lived with them for more than half the year. The one exception is a dependent parent, who does not have to live with the taxpayer as long as the taxpayer pays more than half the cost of the parent's home. For 2025 HOH gives a standard deduction of 23,625 compared with 15,750 for Single, plus wider tax brackets.

What they check: Interviewers check whether you remember the cost-of-home test and the parent exception, not just 'single with a child'.

Start with provisional income: the taxpayer's other income plus tax-exempt interest plus half of the Social Security benefits shown in Form SSA-1099 box 5. If this is below 25,000 single or 32,000 joint, none of the benefits are taxable. Above that, up to 50 percent and then up to 85 percent of benefits become taxable through a two-tier formula. For example, a single filer with provisional income of 28,000 has 3,000 above the base amount, so 1,500 is taxable, assuming that is less than half of the benefits. The maximum taxable is always 85 percent of benefits.

What they check: Including tax-exempt interest in provisional income is the detail interviewers listen for.

Form 1120 is the federal income tax return of a domestic C corporation, which pays tax itself at a flat 21% on its taxable income. For a calendar-year corporation the return is due on 15 April of the following year, so the 2025 return of Larkfield Components Inc. is due 15 April 2026. Form 7004 gives an automatic six-month extension to file, but not to pay: any tax still owed must be paid by the original due date or interest and penalties apply. Besides page 1, a typical return carries Schedule C (dividends), Schedule J (tax), Schedule K (questions), Schedule L (balance sheet), M-1 or M-3, M-2, Form 1125-A for cost of goods sold and Form 4562 for depreciation.

What they check: Many freshers say the extension also extends the payment date; it does not.

A shareholder who works in the S corporation must be paid a reasonable salary through payroll, on a W-2, before taking distributions. Salary bears social security and Medicare taxes, while distributions do not, so owners are tempted to take a tiny salary and large distributions. The IRS can recharacterise distributions as wages and assess payroll taxes, interest and penalties. Reasonable pay is judged by duties, time spent, experience and what comparable businesses pay for similar work.

What they check: The interviewer wants the payroll tax motive explained in one line.

It starts with the engagement letter and organizer, then collecting source documents such as W-2s, 1099s, 1098s and K-1s. I log every document on a checklist, tie each one to the client's list and the prior year, and enter the data in the software. Next I clear diagnostics, compare the result with last year and prepare a workpaper for anything that needed judgement. The return then goes to a reviewer, I clear their notes, and after client approval and a signed e-file authorisation it is transmitted and the acknowledgement is saved.

What they check: The interviewer wants the full cycle in order, including review and e-file acknowledgement, not just data entry.

For strengths I pick two that matter in tax work, such as attention to detail and consistency, and give a quick example of each. For a weakness I choose something real but not critical, such as hesitation to ask questions early, and explain what I am doing about it, for example setting a rule to raise a question after a fixed amount of time stuck. I avoid fake weaknesses like 'I work too hard'. The answer should show self-awareness and steps to improve.

What they check: Interviewers check honesty and improvement, not perfection.