Tax Materials Specialist (Hybrid/Remote)

Primary Function of Position

Under the direction of the Tax School Director, this position works as a core member of the Tax School editorial team responsible for authorship, research, and development of the annual Federal Tax Workbook and other tax education materials.

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

Develop tax-related content for use in Tax School educational offerings, including the Federal Tax Workbook, in-depth seminars, webinars, and self-study courses.
Authors professional tax education content.
Continually stays up-to-date on new tax laws.
Researches emerging issues in the field of taxation, identifies key concepts to include in topic-specific content, and writes and reviews topic-specific content. Investigates various authoritative sources of tax law explanations to create the most accurate description of tax law for the workbook.
Conducts a technical review and editing of content developed by other internal and external authors to ensure accurate interpretation of changing tax laws.
Writes articles for Tax School blog.
Collaborate with editorial team to ensure smooth and efficient operation during the workbook production process including proofreading, editing and revising content.
In collaboration with editorial team, identifies and selects content authors and reviewers.
Attends meeting related to workbook content development, contributes ideas, and resolves problems as needed.
Contribute to setting and accomplishing Tax School strategic goals related to position.
Perform other related duties as assigned.

PROPOSED STARTING DATE:

February 17, 2025 or as soon as possible after the close of the search

APPLY HERE BY JAN. 27

Required Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or related field.
A minimum of 4 years of recent professional experience preparing/auditing federal and state tax returns for both individuals and entities.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Proficiency in Microsoft Word and electronic tax research.
Excellent interpersonal skills.
Demonstrated ability to set and meet deadlines.
Demonstrated ability to manage and prioritize multiple projects effectively.
Ability to work both independently and in a team environment.

Preferred Qualifications:

CPA, JD, or Enrolled Agent designation.
Experience writing technical tax-related content.
Experience editing materials written by others.
Familiarity with Illinois Tax School seminars.
Experience developing and/or teaching self-study courses, webinars, or seminars.

SALARY AND APPOINTMENT DETAILS:

This position can be hybrid or fully remote, with a preference for on-site in Urbana, Illinois. The budgeted salary range for this position is $67,000-87,000. Final salary offered will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. This is a full time, 100% academic professional appointment on a 12-month service basis.

Sponsorship for work authorization is not available for this position.

Freelance Authors for Federal Tax Workbook

Are you interested in contributing content to the University of Illinois Federal Tax Workbook? We frequently contract with freelance authors with a strong tax background.

Evaluating potential authors is a multi-step process:

Email your resume to Kelly Golish at kgolish@illinois.edu.
Upon our evaluation of your resume, you may be invited to complete the writing assignment below. We will be considering author submissions on an ongoing basis.
Upon receipt of your writing assignment, our editorial team will review and evaluate within 3 weeks.

Writing Assignment Parameters

Our Federal Tax Workbook customers are tax practitioners who have clients in varying tax situations, and we are looking for authors with a variety of experiences and expertise. Therefore, we would like a writing sample of 2500–3500 words on one of the following topics:

Advantages and disadvantages of incorporation for a sole proprietor
Bonus depreciation vs. §179
MFJ v. MFS
Farm losses

Your approach to the assignment should theoretically assume that it would be included in our workbook. Stylistically this is different from newsletter or article-based writing; it’s more instructional than persuasive or informal. Style guidelines will be provided.

Questions?

Should you have any questions about freelance, part-time, or permanent positions with Tax School, please email taxschool@illinois.edu.

Email Tax School

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