How to Become a Tax Lawyer

In every country, taxes are needed to fuel government expenditures so that it can stimulate and increase a country and its economy to function and develop properly. This means no one is exempted from taxes. Whether you are an ordinary citizen or an owner of a corporation, taxes are always compulsory and remain to be an obligation of a nation. For that reason, no one is spared from ignorance of the law’s tax requisites since, to be able to collect taxes correctly and systematically, a horde of laws, be it simple or complicated, are enforced. Therefore, an indispensable tool for a citizen to understand these laws and to be fully aware of all these obligations is a tax attorney.

A tax attorney’s main job is to be able to advice and assist one’s client, usually an individual or a business, in the matters of taxation. This means that a tax lawyer needs to be a master of the various federal and state tax codes. A tax attorney should also help a client be aware of the constantly changing tax codes, to be able to assist a client with matters concerning the IRS, to be able to organize a client’s payroll taxes, as well as the nuances of a client’s incomes and assets. It is also required that a tax attorney knows the various forms of taxes such as inheritance taxes, while being able to correct a client’s tax filings, fight for a client’s late tax returns via requesting for lenient payment plans and to be able to handle legal documentation.

Of course, in order to become a tax attorney, one must first earn a pre- law bachelor’s degree. After this, one must take the Law School Admission Test and enroll in a school accredited by the American Bar Association. This is where an aspiring lawyer can earn another degree as Juris Doctor (Attorney at Law) and be eligible for licensure. After graduating, the aspirant must take the board exams and get a license from the State Board of Law Examiners. It is to be known though that since the government is federal, one must take the state board exam of the particular state the aspirant wishes to practice in because the tax codes in different states are also different. Another option, if one doesn’t wish to take the boards, is to apprentice for a tax firm for 5 years. Though this saves time, the validity of this practice is limited to some states only. After passing the board, the tax attorney can intern and work under a seasoned tax attorney or firm and learn the ropes from there. After a reasonable amount of years, a tax attorney can now practice.

Valuable skills in the area of tax law on the other hand is being able to cope up with the ever changing tax codes, logical reasoning, analysis, research, a great memory and the love for long hours and mathematics. One also has the edge when they are experts in the fields of tax structuring, accounting, partnership tax, estate tax and the like. Other than that you can think about becoming a credit repair lawyer.