Tax Manager

Aiola CPA, PLLC; United States; Remote; USD 132,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited PTO

Flexible schedule

Hobby days

Team trips/trainings

Job summary

Aiola CPA is a virtual CPA firm serving real estate investors across the U.S. Our goal is to be the leading tax advisory firm in this niche, and we're building the team to get there. The Tax Manager runs the tax team.

You'll manage and develop senior and junior associates, review and sign off on returns, prepare the most complex returns yourself, and own the quality and turnaround of everything that goes out the door. You set the bar for the team, and you make sure the team meets it.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's in Accounting/Tax required.
• Active CPA or EA license is preferred.
• 5+ years public accounting with tax review experience.
• Strong knowledge of real estate tax concepts.

Responsibilities

• Lead the tax team and manage senior/junior associates.
• Review and sign individual, partnership, and corporate returns.
• Prepare the most complex returns yourself when needed.
• Own client relationships and maintain high client satisfaction.
• Develop training materials and internal workflows.
• Coach associates to meet KPIs and improve processes.

Skills

Leadership

Urgency

Clear communication

Discipline

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Accounting/Tax

Tools

Form 3115

Section 481(a) adjustments

Job description

• Total Compensation: $132,000–$150,000 (base + bonus)
• Bonus: Performance-based, up to 15% of base salary
• Perks: Unlimited PTO, flexible schedule, hobby days, team trips/trainings
• Reports To: CEO
• Direct Reports: Senior Tax Associates, Junior Tax Associates

Why Aiola CPA, PLLC?

• Specialized Focus – We work exclusively with real estate investors. You'll be leading a team that solves real tax problems for a specific audience, and you'll get really good at it.
• Fully Remote – We've been fully virtual from day one. Work from wherever you do your best work.
• Autonomy– We don't track time. Our managers are trusted to deliver. You'll own your team's workflow and client deliverables. No micromanagement, just clear goals, good systems, real accountability, and a team that works together and is always trying to get better.
• Leadership and Growth– You'll lead a high-performing team and help build out a department. We're hiring with long-term leadership in mind, and the right person will grow quickly here.
• People-First Culture– Unlimited PTO, flexible scheduling, hobby days, team trips and trainings. We genuinely value the people on this team.

Role Overview

Aiola CPA is a virtual CPA firm serving real estate investors across the U.S. Our goal is to be the leading tax advisory firm in this niche, and we're building the team to get there.

The Tax Manager runs the tax team. You'll manage and develop senior and junior associates, review and sign off on returns, prepare the most complex returns yourself, and own the quality and turnaround of everything that goes out the door. You set the bar for the team, and you make sure the team meets it.

Here's the most important thing about this role. Our clients depend on us to be responsive and reliable. They're trusting us with their financial futures, and that trust gets built or broken in how quickly your team responds and whether deliverables are ready when we said they would be. You're the person who makes sure that happens.

Outcomes

• Lead the tax team – Manage senior and junior associates day to day. Set expectations, coach the team, and run a process that hits deadlines without quality slipping. 100% of returns and projects delivered on schedule.
• Review and sign returns – Oversee and sign individual, partnership, and corporate returns. Every return that goes out reflects the firm's quality standards. Review turnaround stays under one week from preparer handoff during peak engagement periods.
• Prepare complex returns – Personally handle the highest-complexity returns yourself: multi-entity structures, multi-state filings, REPS positions, STR strategy, cost segregation, 1031 exchanges, Form 3115 filings.
• Own client relationships – Be the technical lead and the person clients trust. Maintain an average NPS of 85 or higher and a client retention rate of 85% or higher.
• Keep the team responsive – Your team responds to client emails within 24 business hours. You set the standard and you enforce it. Clients should never feel like they're waiting on us.
• Build the process – Refine review checklists, training materials, and internal workflows. The team you're running at the end of this year should be running tighter than the team you inherited.
• Develop the team – Coach associates to consistently hit their KPIs. Your job is building the people who do the work, alongside running the work itself.

Attributes

These are the qualities we look for. We care more about how you actually work than what's on your resume.

• Leadership– You lead by example, and you set a standard the team wants to meet. You give clear direction, your feedback is useful, and your team gets better because you're the one running it.
• Agency– You take ownership of the team and your work without waiting for someone to tell you to. When something is off, you catch it before anyone else does and you fix it. You don't push problems up the chain, and you don't sit around waiting for direction when you can see what needs to happen.
• Urgency– You move quickly and you expect the same from your team. Client emails don't sit. Reviews don't pile up. People don't wait on you.
• Technical Depth– You know real estate tax cold. You can review a complex return, spot what's wrong, and explain it in a way the preparer learns from.
• Discipline– You manage a multi-client, multi-preparer workload without things slipping through the cracks. Your process is consistent and your deadlines are real.
• Clear Communication– You can take a complicated tax concept and explain it to a client in plain language they can use. With your team, your feedback is direct and people always know where they stand.
• Continuous Improvement– You're always trying to get better. You ask questions, you take feedback well, and you push yourself and the team to keep raising the bar. The minute you stop learning, your team stops learning.

Non-Negotiables

• Respond quickly– Client and internal messages get a response within 24 hours. If you need more time, you say so. Nobody waits in silence.
• Own your team's work– If your team's name is on it, it reflects your standard. Don't sign something you wouldn't stake your reputation on.
• Communicate proactively– If a deadline is at risk, say so early. If a client situation needs attention, flag it. If a team member is struggling, surface it. Nobody on this team should have to find out about something after the fact.
• Lead by example– Don't ask the team to do anything you wouldn't do yourself. The standard you hold them to is the standard you hold yourself to.
• Respect the process– Use the firm's systems, keep records current, document your work. Consistency protects clients and builds leverage for the whole team.

Requirements

This role takes deep technical tax knowledge, real leadership instincts, and the discipline to operate fully remote. We'll get you up to speed on our systems and processes, but you'll need to come in ready on the technical and management side.

Education and Credentials

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Accounting or Tax
• Active CPA or EA license

Experience

• 5+ years of public accounting experience with recent tax review responsibility
• Direct team management experience, including reviewing work, coaching, and developing staff
• Experience preparing and reviewing multi-state tax returns
• Experience leading client relationships as the senior point of contact

Tax Knowledge

• Strong real estate tax knowledge: Schedule E, Form 8825, depreciation and depreciation recapture, passive activity rules, gain/loss calculations, basis tracking
• Solid handle on material participation, short-term rental, and real estate professional status rules
• Ability to research tax positions, cite authority, and make confident calls with sound judgment

Nice to Have (We'll Help You Get There)

• Experience managing a team in a fully virtual or work-from-home environment
• Experience with Form 3115 and Section 481(a) adjustments

Tools and Systems

• Comfortable working across multiple software platforms in a fully virtual environment
• Tech-savvy and willing to pick up new systems quickly

Metrics of Success

• Weekly (Leading) – Team responds to all client emails within 24 business hours.
• Weekly (Leading) – No returns sitting more than 7 calendar days at any stage of the workflow.
• Monthly (Lagging) – 100% of team deadlines met.
• Quarterly (Leading) – Returns delivered to the client within 28 days from start to finish.
• Quarterly (Lagging) – Net Promoter Score average of 85 or higher.
• Annual (Lagging) – Client retention rate of 85% or higher.

Growth Path

We're hiring with the long term in mind. For the right person, here's where this can go.

• Senior Tax Manager – You own a larger book and team, lead our most complex client engagements, and take ownership of firm-wide review and quality standards.
• Director of Tax – You run the tax department. You manage all workflow across the team, own the department budget, and serve as the point person for everything tax-related across the firm.
• Partner – You're focused on growing the department and the firm. That's the whole job.

Advancement here is earned by performance, not tenure. The path is real and the firm is growing.

Application Process

• Quick Chat. 15 minutes with our Director of Operations.
• Attribute and Aptitude Tests. A few short online assessments, about 10 minutes each.
• Team Interview. A conversation with our CEO, Director of Operations, and Tax Manager.
• Case Study. A practical exercise so we can see how you think and how you lead.
• 1-on-1 Interview. A follow-up conversation with our CEO.
• Offer. If it's a fit, we move quickly.

If this sounds like the right opportunity for you, we'd love to hear from you.

(We respect your privacy - everything stays confidential.)