A revenue agent is an accountant who is in charge of ensuring that business tax returns are accurate. He or she can work for the federal, regional, or local government of his or her country. A revenue agent’s responsibilities vary depending on the government agency for which he or she works, as well as their level of experience and specialization.
Individuals and businesses of all sizes are required to file annual income tax returns with the federal and local governments, detailing their earnings and expenses. Individual income tax returns are usually reviewed a tax examiner, whereas business tax returns are reviewed and audited a revenue agent. An agent who works for the federal government is usually employed his or her country’s official revenue agency, such as the Internal Revenue Service of the United States, the Canada Revenue Agency, or the French Revenue Agency, and is responsible for verifying the accuracy of federal business tax returns.
To ensure that business tax returns are properly filled out and processed, a federal revenue agent must keep up with constantly changing tax laws. He or she is in charge of detecting any fraudulent income reporting or withholding on tax returns. In order for a federal agent to be on the lookout for suspicious business returns, computer databases track research and trends of tax offenders. Once a federal tax return has been audited and determined to be accurate, it is used regional and local government agents.
Small business tax returns are typically audited entry-level federal agents. An agent’s job usually progresses to working with the tax returns of large corporations as his or her career progresses. Some agents specialize in auditing specific industries’ tax returns, such as retail, construction, or real estate.
A revenue agent in a state or regional government is in charge of auditing the tax returns of businesses and corporations operating in that state or region. To determine the accuracy of tax returns filed businesses in the area, an agent uses information compiled a federal government revenue agent, as well as his or her specific state or region’s income and sales tax laws and requirements. Individual income tax returns may be audited a local agent as well.
A local government revenue agent’s responsibilities may differ from those of federal, regional, or state revenue agents. He or she analyzes data from federal and regional tax returns to see if local businesses are complying with city tax laws such as utility and school taxes. A local agent may also conduct an audit of local businesses’ financial records to ensure that all income is properly recorded.