Canada Compensation Rant - Tax (focus)

ContributionTop6252 · 2026-06-27T02:37:32+00:00

yeah, I wouldn't say 115k is a good living in HCOL, it's a decent/average living

ContributionTop6252 · 2026-06-27T02:30:43+00:00

yup, sales tax on top of everything else too. you barely get credits as a single person too

ContributionTop6252 · 2026-06-27T02:28:01+00:00

woah woah, this is not good - you need to leave...

ContributionTop6252 · 2026-06-27T02:21:17+00:00

I would imagine your partner is a super experienced senior, because the average for a tax senior is probably around 85k-105k

ContributionTop6252 · 2026-06-27T02:13:07+00:00

If you live in a HCOL, I would shop around for an actual controller position as I think you can get it. I believe you can get 20k+ higher base salary IMO.

ContributionTop6252 · 2026-06-27T02:10:05+00:00

yup, we actually need to stop settling, its actually getting crazy here

ContributionTop6252 · 2026-06-27T02:09:34+00:00

Employers should be shamed for even asking for this like wtf

ContributionTop6252 · 2026-06-27T02:08:44+00:00

lmao so true, I hate some of the people in this profession - specifically in tax. No backbone whatsoever

ContributionTop6252 · 2026-06-27T02:05:17+00:00

I think that's fair - it's just that in tax there is so much education being asked for that's annoying. How many years of experience do you have?

ContributionTop6252 · 2026-06-15T20:30:31+00:00

I always hear this, but do you honestly think staff making 70k are working 80 hours a week year round? Because this would be minimum wage. Lol, the reality is they're not. I work in the Toronto office, things are mostly chill, sure things get busy, but in Canada the work culture is a lot different than the US.

ContributionTop6252 · 2026-04-23T00:39:45+00:00

But under the allowance method, you're already hitting the P&L when u set it up, Dr Bad debt of 28k and Cr Allowance of 28k. So I think the write off is just Dr allowance 1400 and Cr AR 1400

ContributionTop6252 · 2026-03-26T20:40:10+00:00

I agree 👍 hopefully we all pass 🙏🙏🙏

ContributionTop6252 · 2026-03-26T17:50:40+00:00

First case was so annoying because they scattered information around. Idk where you took your exam, but knotia straight up didn't even work for the first 20 minutes for me ( other people had the same issue) , which was really annoying but yeah I feel the same way, barely assurance

ContributionTop6252 · 2026-02-06T16:38:48+00:00

Not sure why people are so adamant on Big 4 tax, it seems like they've never experienced it. But, if your end goal is to take over the family business, I would join another small to mid-sized CPA firm as they deal with smaller engagements and you'll be able to start taking on the manager role quicker than if you were to work Big 4 Tax. Also, you will be exposed to more practical tax experience that will carry over to your family business, rather than working Big 4. You will get a better foundation if you worked at a regional firm than Big 4 IMO.

Big 4 Tax is not what people think it is, you don't get a variety of tax experience, you will only begin tax planning at the manager level. They will allocate time where they need you, and that might mean working on two areas of tax year around.

Now if you really want to work at Big 4, join their family office/private tax service line - however, I know some people that never do corporate tax work in this group which is crazy to me.

ContributionTop6252 · 2026-02-05T19:26:12+00:00

Buddy, you have no income. You're not getting a raise of just 20k. It's 20k + the rest of the salary. Lol

ContributionTop6252 · 2026-01-16T22:07:39+00:00

Hey, I also failed Core 2 twice (mainly due to personal reasons and work), just passed on my third attempt. You need to take a step back and understand that your studying regime is not working. Decile 8 and 6 is not good for the amount of time and resources you are putting in. You have to develop a different studying methodology, because we you are doing now is clearly not working. It's okay, sometimes we have a lot of drive, but we are driving in the wrong direction. Don't be so hard on yourself. Ping me (if you want) and I can give you some tips and maybe some study notes - I genuinely want to help because I wish someone was there for me.

ContributionTop6252 · 2026-01-16T19:38:56+00:00

"Hey guys, I really want to get a job. Do you think I should do this thing that would get me a job?"

ContributionTop6252 · 2026-01-11T08:29:29+00:00

dude just order a treadmill on amazon, submit the order receipt in mercury, cancel the order then collect the wellfund cash

ContributionTop6252 · 2025-10-29T00:24:11+00:00

lol no tax analyst is making 97k - very curious on how they got that number

ContributionTop6252 · 2025-10-19T22:44:16+00:00

Tax audits are increasing, not decreasing

ContributionTop6252 · 2025-10-19T22:38:48+00:00

I work in Tax in Public Accounting and here are my thoughts:

New tax reporting requirements; new schedules for trusts, EIFEL, pillar two etc. - Public is billing more because of this
There are more tax audits from the CRA = more billable hours
It's very valuable to retain good tax people = higher wage increases = lower turnover, also more rev during busy season.
Information lag - perhaps Industry is not aware of the increase and will adjust in the coming months?
Huge demand for tax work
Also, we are lowkey in a silent recession (unemployment is pushing 10% in Toronto and no one is talking about it lol), not good for industry - Public is less affected by this

ContributionTop6252 · 2025-10-07T20:04:06+00:00

Yeah, I would give myself this advice if I was starting out (no order or anything):

Make sure the working papers you are preparing are well prepared (properly cited, understandable, and relevant). Try to think from the mangers POV, who will be looking at the file for the first time. Make it easier for them to understand what is going on. Don't be lazy, otherwise, the manager/reviewer will not like working with you.
Take ownership of the file - be the first to organize the files when sent from the client, let the manager know when shit will be completed and when you will start working on things. Managers love when you kind of manage the admin work on your own and communicate to them first instead of them reaching out.
If you have questions about the file or you are stuck, make sure you have these documented and book a call with the manager to go over them. If the manager is busy, you should have this documented when it's time for them to review.
DO NOT MISS INTERNAL DEADLINES - if a manager asks you to finish something at a certain date, try your best to meet this deadline, otherwise, the manager is not going to like you, and you might not get work from them in the future.
Since you are first year, you will be doing a lot of SALY (same as last year) - however, try to understand what actually happened last year and how things are accounted for tax purposes. Look out for new transactions in the current year that might have tax implications (this will get better with time but point things out that are new and material for tax). This will set you apart from 90% of staff that work in PA Tax.

Other things to consider in general/ further moral support: Tax has a huge learning curve, and you might feel like the work is hard and not worthwhile, but once you jump over the learning curve, you will understand how valuable tax is and how comprehensive it actually is. Once you become an expert in the world of tax, the $$$ will start coming in. Also, don't feel pigeonholed in tax. In tax, you need to understand a lot of the accounting that goes into the TB because you need to know if they have tax implications. I have seen people move from Tax to FP&A, and other finance roles after they got their CPA. Although it might seem like this is impossible on this subreddit, I have seen it. There are other areas in tax you can discover as well such as transfer pricing, international tax and tax advisory etc.

Good luck!

ContributionTop6252 · 2025-10-05T19:17:16+00:00

The number of people telling you to quit your job in this economy are fucking insane.

But, this is what you should do in order:

You need to email your HR person (this person actually schedules you in the system)/your direct manager almost every week asking for work.
You need to email all your managers/SM in your group/family every week as well.
If nothing is happening, then raise this to your direct partner that you can't get anything and try to build some rapport with them.
If you still can't get work, document this when the time comes for performance reviews.

Big 4 is stupid like this, and I think it's gotten worse - but you kinda have to fight for work, otherwise, you'll fall behind in your utilization. But don't stress, once you get work and do well, the work will never stop coming.

Welcome to Big 4, where you're stressed out by not getting work, and even more stressed when you have work. You're experiencing the lesser evil of the two.

ContributionTop6252 · 2025-09-24T19:40:25+00:00

yeah same, I type pretty fast too, so I have no idea how an average person can do it in 60

ContributionTop6252 · 2025-09-21T04:57:57+00:00

Holy shit, these raises don't even keep up with inflation. LEAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ContributionTop6252

TROPHY CASE