Senior US Tax Reviewer (UltraTax/CCH) — Full-Time

About Whyte CPA P.C.
We're a virtual CPA firm in Gilbert, Arizona serving about 60 monthly clients. Our niche is S-corporation owners and real estate investors. Small firm, lean operation, high standards on the work that goes out the door.

The owner currently does all final review and signs every return. That bottleneck is why this role exists. We need a senior reviewer who hits the ground running and produces output clean enough that the owner's final pass is a 10-minute confirmation, not real review work.

What You'll Actually Do
This is a year-round, full-time, review-first role. Here's what you'll spend your time on:

Tax return review. Federal and state returns prepared by staff. Heavy on 1040s with K-1s, 1120Ss, partnerships, and 1041s. Most returns include K-1s coming in (most prepared by us), Schedule E with rentals, brokerage statements, and frequently a Schedule C or Schedule E pg 1. These are not generic 1040s. You catch errors, identify missed positions, flag judgment calls, and write clear review notes back to the preparer.

Bookkeeping review (monthly). QBO books prepared by staff each month. You don't do bookkeeping — but you must be able to review it at a senior level. You identify reconciliation issues, miscoded transactions, and items affecting tax planning before the books feed into planning workups.

Quarterly tax planning review. Staff prepares projections in UltraTax's tax planner using annualized financials. You review for accuracy, identify missed strategies, and flag unreasonable assumptions before the work reaches the owner and client. You may also handle some planning prep directly on the most complex clients, or step in when staff bandwidth is tight.

IRS and state tax authority correspondence. Notice review, research, and drafting responses. Volume is low (a few per month). Routine notices (math errors, balance due, missing forms) you handle end-to-end. Complex resolution work (payment plans, penalty abatement, audits, OICs, appeals) is collaborative — you bring the research and reasoning, we work through the approach together, owner reviews and signs. We don't expect deep OIC or appeals experience on day one. We expect a strong thinker who can learn the procedures. Owner holds representation authority before the IRS; EA credential is a plus but not required. IRS Solutions Software is used for transcripts and case management.

Complex return prep. Most prep work is handled by staff. You'll prepare returns yourself when they require senior-level judgment from prep through completion, or when staff bandwidth is tight. This is not the bulk of your time, but it will happen, and we want someone who treats it as part of the role rather than an exception.

New service lines we may build together. We're exploring bringing cost segregation studies in-house and may add other advisory work over time. We're not looking for someone who has done it all before — we're looking for someone who can think critically, learn alongside us, and bring solutions rather than problems.

Who You Are
You have 5–7 years of US tax experience, with 2–3 years specifically in a review capacity — not just preparation. Be ready to talk about the difference. A preparer who started reviewing six months ago is not what we're looking for. A preparer for three years who has been reviewing for three years is.

You have hands-on experience with UltraTax CS, CCH Axcess, Lacerte, or ProConnect.

You know S-corp work concretely: basis tracking, §199A computation, reasonable comp analysis, distributions vs. wages. Partnership review experience is a strong plus.

You write in clear, professional English (C1 or C2). Review notes need to be actionable for the preparer. Client communications need to land cleanly with US clients.

You are detail-oriented and self-policing. When you don't know something, you say so and look it up rather than guessing. You flag your own uncertainty before someone has to ask.

You are comfortable with AI-augmented workflows. Our review process uses Claude and TaxGPT alongside human judgment. The AI workflow is firm standard, not optional. Strong candidates are either already using AI tools in their work or genuinely curious to learn. Candidates who view AI as a gimmick or want to skip it on "easy" returns are not a fit.

You are self-directed in a remote-first environment. The owner travels for portions of the year and your time zone overlap will shift accordingly. We need someone who can run the review function with minimal oversight, not someone who needs daily check-ins to stay on track.

Real estate experience (rentals, short-term rentals, cost segregation, 1031 exchanges) is helpful but not required. We can teach the niche; we can't teach review judgment.

Software Stack
Required: UltraTax CS (preferred) or CCH Axcess, TaxDome, QuickBooks Online
Acceptable in place of UltraTax: Lacerte or ProConnect with willingness to learn UltraTax
Not acceptable: Drake-only experience
Used in workflow: Claude Pro, TaxGPT (Agent Andrew), IRS Solutions, Excel, Adobe Acrobat Pro

If your tax software experience is Drake only, please don't apply. We're not the right fit.

Compensation Detail
Base salary: $3,800/month USD (paid twice monthly via Wise, on time, every time)
13th month: $3,800 paid in December, prorated for partial first year
Internet stipend: $50/month
Total annual comp: $50,000 USD

Hours: Full-time. Compensation is salary — you are not paid hourly or for overtime. The expectation is that work gets done at high quality. During tax season (Feb 1–April 15), expect 50–55 hour weeks. In off-season, you manage your own time as long as work is current and communication is maintained.

Tax season support: One long weekend (Friday–Sunday) off during tax season, scheduled with two weeks notice, to maintain consistent quality.

Philippine holidays: All standard PH public holidays observed and paid. No work expected.

Off-season flexibility: Take time when work is slow. We don't track formal PTO. Work gets done, communication is maintained, time is yours to manage.

Negotiation: Base may be increased to $4,000/month for an exceptional candidate after the test process.

Hiring Process
1. Application — Submit per the instructions below. Generic applications are discarded immediately.
2. First screen — 30-minute video call with the owner.
3. Paid test return — One real return (sanitized client data), $400 USD, ~3–4 hours of your time, due within 7 days. You produce review notes in your own format using your own workflow. We're testing your judgment, not your ability to follow our SOP.
4. Judgment interview — 30-minute call discussing your test return, plus 2–3 scenario questions about how you'd handle specific review situations.
5. Reference check — One reference from a recent supervisor or peer reviewer who can speak to your work.
6. Offer

Total process: 2–3 weeks for serious candidates.

How to Apply
Send your application with the subject line: "Senior Reviewer — [Your Full Name]"

Include the following in the body. If your application doesn't follow this structure, we'll assume you didn't read the post and won't respond.

1. Experience summary (3–5 sentences): Your years in US tax, your years specifically in a review capacity, the type of firm you've worked at (US firm, mid-tier PH outsourcing operation, etc.), and the volume/type of returns you've reviewed.

2. Tax software: Which of UltraTax CS, CCH Axcess, Lacerte, ProConnect have you used? For each, name the specific modules (1040, 1120S, 1065, 1041) and roughly how many returns you've worked in each.

3. DISC scores (if available). If you haven't taken DISC, OnlineJobs.ph has a free 10-minute test — please take it before applying.

4. A specific review catch you're proud of (2–3 sentences): What was the issue, how did you find it, what was the correction, what would have happened if it shipped uncaught. Specific and technical, not abstract.

5. AI in your workflow (2–3 sentences): How do you currently use Claude, ChatGPT, or other AI tools in your tax work? If you don't currently use them, how would you approach learning a firm's AI-augmented review process?

6. Availability: Earliest start date and any current employment that would need to transition.

We're hiring for fit, not speed. Process moves quickly for serious applicants — but we'll wait for the right person.

What This Role Is Not
— Not part-time or seasonal
— Not for someone learning US tax (you should already know it)
— Not a stepping stone to bigger firms — we want someone who wants to settle in

We're looking forward to hearing from you.