What is tax accounting? Tax accounting work and authority

Tax accounting plays an important role in the financial activities of enterprises, ensuring compliance with tax laws. So what is tax accounting? What are the duties and powers of a tax accountant? In this article, 1C Vietnam will provide detailed information on the role of tax accounting, helping enterprises operate effectively and comply with legal regulations.

1. What is tax accounting?

Tax accounting is the department responsible for reporting, calculating and declaring taxes for businesses. The job of a tax accountant is to ensure that the company complies with tax regulations and manages taxes accurately as well as creating financial reports that comply with all tax laws and regulations.

Thanks to tax accounting, businesses can track production and business activities and the amount of money paid to the state budget. The declaration of tax-related issues is made clearly, helping to complete tax reports quickly and effectively.

2. Tax accountant's job

The work of tax accountants plays a key role in the financial activities of every business. Not only ensuring compliance with tax regulations but also helping businesses manage and optimize tax costs effectively. Let's find out in detail what tax accountants do in the section below!

2.1 Work at the beginning of the year

The tasks that tax accountants need to perform at the beginning of the year include declaring and paying business tax, submitting tax declarations and submitting reports on invoice usage. Specifically as follows:

• Declaration and payment of business license tax: This is the tax that newly established enterprises must pay at the beginning of the year. Tax accountants must declare and pay business license tax no later than January 31 according to the law.
• Submit value added tax (VAT) and personal income tax (PIT) returns: Include returns for December or the fourth quarter of the previous year.
• Submit provisional corporate income tax (CIT) return: Applicable for the fourth quarter of the previous year.
• Submit invoice usage report: Relating to the fourth quarter of the previous year.

2.2 Daily work

The daily tasks of tax accountants include collecting and processing invoices and documents, as well as accounting for documents. Specifically:

• Collect output and input invoices.
• Check and process to ensure invoices are reasonable, valid, legal and avoid information errors.
• Pay taxes promptly to avoid late payment penalties.
• Record bank transactions such as incoming and outgoing money.
• Pay money into the State budget and account for fund transactions based on payment vouchers and receipt vouchers.
• Arrange and store invoices and documents scientifically for easy searching when needed.

2.3 Monthly work

Every month, tax accountants need to perform the following tasks:

• Prepare a value added tax (VAT) declaration if the enterprise declares VAT monthly and has revenue of 50 billion VND or more.
• Prepare a personal income tax (PIT) declaration if the PIT amount is 50 million VND or more.
• Prepare declarations for other taxes if applicable.
• Prepare monthly invoice usage reports for newly established businesses under 12 months.
• Make entries for allocating tools, equipment and depreciating fixed assets.
• Balance the indicators on the balance sheet and have timely solutions to avoid piling up work at the end of the year.

2.4 Quarterly work

Every quarter, tax accountants must prepare periodic reports, including:

• VAT declaration: For newly established businesses with revenue under 50 billion VND.
• Personal income tax return: Detailed report of personal income taxes payable.
• Invoice usage report: Statistics of used invoices and damaged or canceled invoices.

Note that the deadline for filing these reports is the 30th of the first month of the following quarter.

2.5 Year-end work

The end of the year is the time to close the accounting books, so the work of tax accountants also has important tasks. Specifically:

• Complete the financial report for the whole year: This is the most important task of the whole year. The report includes: Balance sheet, Business performance report, Cash flow statement, Notes to the financial statements and Balance sheet of account transactions.
• Prepare tax report for the fourth quarter: Compile and submit tax report for the last quarter of the year.
• Prepare personal income tax (PIT) settlement report: Report all PIT payments during the year.
• Prepare corporate income tax (CIT) settlement report: Report all CIT payments during the year.
• Print books: Prepare necessary books for tax settlement and audit, including: General ledger of accounts, Cash book, Bank deposit book, Detailed account book, Fixed asset depreciation table, Receipt and payment vouchers and other related books.

3. Powers of a tax accountant

Tax accountants are not only responsible for handling tax-related tasks, but also have special powers to ensure that the work is carried out smoothly and in compliance with the law. These powers include the ability to access and inspect financial documents, participate in important financial decisions of the business, as well as the right to propose and implement measures to optimize taxes. Here are some detailed suggestions:

• Provide solutions for invoices that need to be canceled or adjusted according to current tax laws.

• Evaluate and comment when detecting differences in tax settlement data and tax reports.
• Receive, exchange information and guide the internal accounting department to declare tax reports in accordance with current laws.
• Build and maintain good relationships with relevant departments within the business, ensuring effective completion of assigned tasks.
• Only provide data related to the business being in charge with the permission of the Chief Accountant or Board of Directors.

4. Responsibilities of a tax accountant

Tax accountants not only ensure accurate and timely tax declarations, but also perform tasks such as preparing tax reports and resolving tax-related issues. Join 1C Vietnam to learn about the responsibilities of a tax accountant in the following section:

• Directly resolve tax-related issues with tax authorities.
• Compare and check information on the export declaration form.
• Prepare periodic and ad hoc tax reports as needed.
• Monitor and manage outstanding status, budget payment, tax refund for businesses.
• Organize storage and preservation of VAT invoices to avoid loss or damage.
• Check and report the status of tax invoice usage to the Tax Department.
• Update and monitor new policies and information on tax laws related to production and business activities.
• Regularly check and flexibly adjust revenue and tax reports when there are changes in receipt or return records.

5. Requirements to become a tax accountant

Tax accounting plays an important role in controlling the financial operations of a business. The work of a tax accountant requires meticulousness, accuracy, high professional knowledge as well as the ability to adapt to new changes in the law, especially in the field of tax. Below are some specific requirements:

5.1 Education level

To become a tax accountant, candidates need to have a high level of education and in-depth knowledge of accounting and taxation. Usually, the minimum requirement is a bachelor's degree in Finance or Accounting. In addition, to improve their competitiveness in the labor market, many candidates also study and obtain certificates such as CPA, CPO, ACCA.

5.2 Experience

The experience requirements of employers for tax accountant positions can vary depending on the size and job requirements of each company. However, most employers expect candidates to have 1 to 3 years of experience working in the field of tax accounting, general accounting or general accounting. In addition to experience, businesses often require candidates to be knowledgeable about accounting software, tax laws as well as have proficient office computer skills.

5.3 Skills

It can be said that professional skills are the key for candidates to attract employers. To become an excellent tax accountant , candidates need to possess the following skill set:

• Professional knowledge of accounting and tax: Tax accountants need to have a good grasp of tax regulations, tax regimes, regulations on fees, tax deductions and tax payments, and apply them accurately to the accounting process of the enterprise.
• Software skills: With the strong development of technology, tax accountants need to be proficient in accounting software to carry out their work effectively and quickly. Tax accountants need to know how to process, store and retrieve data accurately to minimize errors and improve work efficiency.
• Communication skills: Tax accountants often have to liaise with clients, tax authorities and business partners. Excellent communication skills help them build good relationships and perform their jobs effectively.
• Data analysis and problem solving skills: In the process of calculating and managing taxes, tax accountants need to flexibly respond to arising problems to avoid errors that negatively affect the business.
• Time Management Skills: Faced with important deadlines, tax accountants need to be able to manage their time to ensure taxes are processed on time.

6. Some frequently asked questions

The field of accounting requires solid professional knowledge as well as high professional skills. Therefore, new candidates entering the industry inevitably have questions and confusion. Below are answers to some frequently asked questions about tax accounting:

6.1 What are the minimum qualifications required for a tax accountant?

Companies and businesses often require a minimum bachelor's degree in Finance or Accounting for tax accountant positions to ensure specialized training and adaptability in the job.

6.2 Can tax accountants get promoted to higher positions?

Tax accountants can advance to general accounting positions to take advantage of career development opportunities and receive higher compensation.

6.3 How is tax accounting different from auditing?

When not clearly understanding what tax accounting is, many people often confuse this concept with “auditing”. In fact, these two positions have significant differences. Specifically:

6.4 Is there any way to limit risks when doing tax accounting?

To increase efficiency in financial management, tax accountants should apply supporting software from reliable suppliers, typically the 1C:ERP solution of 1C Vietnam. This is a comprehensive business management software, built on a modern low-code platform, allowing flexible application customization without taking as much time as traditional programming methods.

In particular, the 1C:ERP solution is ready to support Vietnamese Accounting Standards (VAS) and International Accounting Standards (IFRS), helping to ensure accuracy and compliance with tax laws, thereby optimizing management and minimizing risks for businesses. This solution is also compatible with multiple platforms, taking advantage of existing platforms and resources of the business, while providing full functionality for in-depth application to different business models, especially manufacturing businesses. If you are looking for a management solution with a modern technology platform and deployment time twice as fast as other software, 1C:ERP will be a solution that businesses cannot ignore.

Hopefully, through the above article, your business has a better understanding of what tax accounting is as well as the important role of this position in the business. To increase work efficiency as well as ensure accuracy, tax accountants can consider using 1C Vietnam's 1C:ERP solution. For software advice, please contact hotline (+84)247 108 8887.