How to get hired
US tax work done from India sits in three kinds of teams: individual and business returns for US accounting firms, "global mobility" teams that handle the taxes of employees posted abroad, and corporate tax teams inside multinationals. All three hire people who can show they understand US rules, and the Enrolled Agent (EA) credential is the cheapest proof.
The Enrolled Agent route
An EA is licensed by the IRS to represent taxpayers before it. The steps, per the IRS:
- Get a PTIN (preparer tax identification number) online from the IRS. It has to be renewed every year.
- Pass the Special Enrollment Examination (SEE), three parts covering individuals, businesses, and representation, practices and procedures. You must pass all three within three years. From 1 March 2026 the exam is run by PSI Services instead of Prometric; check PSI's candidate bulletin for current test centres outside the US and the fee.
- Apply for enrollment on Form 23 and pay the enrollment fee.
- Clear the IRS suitability check, which looks at your own tax compliance and criminal record.
After that, you renew every three years and complete 72 hours of continuing education per three-year cycle. No US degree is needed, which is why Indian graduates take this route.
Getting the first seat
Big 4 offices serving US clients and US mid-tier firms' Indian offices (Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune and Gurugram all have them) hire freshers and early-career staff as "Tax Associate" or "Analyst – US Tax" and train them. You don't need the EA to start, but it puts you ahead in the shortlist and in the first appraisal. Interviews test basic US concepts (filing status, standard vs itemised deductions, what a W-2 and a 1099 are, how a partnership passes income to partners), plus a written English test, because you will write notes to US reviewers.
Moving across from Indian tax
If you already file Indian ITRs or GST returns, your strengths carry over: reading documents carefully, working to deadlines, using tax software. Learn the US vocabulary, take the SEE parts in order, and apply to teams doing the kind of returns you want (individual, partnership, corporate or non-profit).
What US tax teams in India work on
- Individual returns (Form 1040), including expatriates and their foreign income.
- Partnerships (Form 1065) and the K-1s that go to each partner; S corporations and C corporations (Forms 1120-S and 1120).
- Exempt organisations (Form 990), a niche with its own teams.
- State and local tax ("SALT"), where each US state has its own rules.
- Global mobility (titles like "Senior Associate – US GMS" or "Manager – Global Employer Services"): employees on foreign assignments, their tax equalisation and returns in two countries.
Software matters: CCH and OneSource are names you will see in job posts. Mention any tax package you have used, even an Indian one, and how many returns you prepared on it.
What the work is like
Busy season is real. Individual and most business returns are due in March and April, with extended returns due in September and October, so January to mid-April and the weeks before the extension deadlines mean long days and weekend work, often on shifted hours to overlap with the US. May to July is quieter and is when firms train and appraise. The ladder runs Associate, Senior, Assistant Manager, Manager, Senior Manager; reviewers (seniors and above) earn noticeably more than preparers, so learn to review early.