Tax

Tax is a fact of life, but nobody wants to pay too much. Many businesses and large organisations have tax bills that can run into the millions. Our work here helps organisations and individuals maximise their tax efficiency and minimise their tax risks.

We have over 500 tax experts around Ireland. They could be working on projects ranging from preparing tax numbers for the annual accounts, to restructuring multi-million-euro property portfolios, to buying a business, to advising rock stars on the tax implications of their worldwide tours. The diversity of our clients makes for some very interesting projects.

Your precise job will vary depending on the area of our Tax practice you join. In all cases you'll divide your time between working in the office, working at client sites and studying for professional qualifications.

Right from the start there'll be live client projects and the challenge and complexity of your work will grow as you develop and qualify. Some critical tasks you can expect to get involved in early on are:

• Helping provide bespoke tax advice to your clients
• Making sure the tax compliance process runs smoothly
• Planning, researching and tailoring ideas to clients' needs
• Dealing with issues that crop up in other countries where co-ordination with our overseas network is crucial
• Keeping up to date with, and researching, business issues impacting your clients

Study for your professional qualification(s) will also take up a great deal of your time. It will be hard work, but you will be studying with a great peer group and have support tailored to the exams you are sitting each year.

Valuable experience in specific areas of Tax. The chance to learn from the best. The opportunity to specialise. Swift progress - and more.

Loads. Here are just a few:

• Research and analysis skills
• The ability to think beyond the numbers
• How to think creatively, as all professional tax specialists here do, applying your technical skills smartly
• Communication and team-working skills
• Project management skills
• Strong industry knowledge
• Client management and business development

It takes a lot of hard work to succeed in Tax at PwC. But you'll soon realise that if you need the help or advice of someone more experienced, it's always there.

As a graduate you'll join one of our main business areas.

Corporate Tax
Our Corporate tax teams work with a wide variety of businesses - multinationals, indigenous companies, privately-owned organisations, entrepreneurs, family businesses, trusts, partnerships and the private individuals who own the businesses.

We meet our client’s diverse needs by putting them at the heart of everything we do and helping them to find effective solutions by combining industry insight with technical expertise.

Our Corporate Tax area is divided into three groups:

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) 
Companies investing in Ireland need to consider a wide range of matters to ensure the smooth, efficient establishment of operations. Understanding the impact of tax changes on investors’ business operations and the transactions they undertake between countries is vital to their success.

By clearly understanding their business objectives, we work with investors to ensure that all of the relevant Irish and foreign taxation, regulatory, accounting and legal considerations are addressed upfront and factored into the design and implementation of an optimal corporate structure and business model for them.

Whether we are advising an international software company that’s looking to invest in Ireland or, a large pharmaceutical company exploiting its intellectual property from Ireland, our work in FDI has an international focus. Every investor and investment is different and, accordingly, our approach is tailored to each particular case.

Domestic and International Outbound (DIO) 
In DIO we provide advice to Irish plcs, major multinational corporations, Semi-State organisations and a variety of privately owned Irish companies and not-for-profit bodies. Working in DIO, the kind of projects you could be involved with include advising on mergers and acquisitions, management buy-outs, group reorganisations – and much more. Our clients operate in diverse industries, from Energy to Engineering and from Food to Retail.

We also provide tailored business solutions to owner managed businesses, their shareholders and executives. Our team consists of specialists in all areas of taxation, including income, corporate and capital taxes. We advise clients on issues such as the structuring of investments, the passing of wealth to the next generation and the acquisition or disposal of a business.

Financial Services (FS) 
FS specialises in the core areas of Banking & Capital Markets, Asset Management and Insurance. Our clients include many of the leading domestic and multinational financial institutions. This means you can expect to work on complex cross border transactions giving you experience in both Irish and international tax. Financial Services is a highly regulated and dynamic industry sector and our challenge is to develop tax solutions for our clients in areas such as leasing, treasury operations and funds to fit with their commercial aims.

Human Resource Services (HRS)
The HRS group, one of the fastest growing in PwC, helps some of the world’s leading employers make the most of their best asset – their people. It’s tremendously varied – and not always all about tax. What’s more, thanks to globalisation and, of course, the downturn, it’s more high profile than ever.

You’ll work on everything from employee incentives and international pensions to workforce reshaping, executive recruitment, employment law and tax compliance. And whether you’re helping companies deal with the impact of mergers or developing strategies for managing an internationally mobile workforce, you’ll show them how to reduce the tax risks and costs to do with employment.

Because we assist organisations deal with the strategic challenges associated with human resources to align their HR strategy and business performance, often across borders, our work here is tremendously varied.

It includes:

• tax and social security
• international mobility including immigration
• reward – executive and employee compensation and incentive plan design
• pensions
• executive recruitment
• workforce rationalisation

Indirect Tax
For organisations looking to manage and mitigate their indirect taxes (VAT and customs duties), PwC provides a range of innovative solutions developed by one of the largest indirect taxes teams in Ireland. There’s huge variety in our work.

For example, you could be advising on the correct VAT rate for new products or services, assisting clients with Revenue Audits, managing VAT compliance obligations or advising on the VAT implications of property transactions. Our Irish VAT team consists of over 30 professionals advising on all aspects of VAT legislation and through our global PwC network we assist clients with indirect tax issues arising cross-border.

Custom duties, rules and regulations can have a positive or negative impact on a client’s business. If not managed correctly, customs duties can add to costs, erode competitiveness and limit or even prevent the movement of products. As the leading provider of customs and excise experience in the Irish market, we offer unrivalled national and international experience along with the necessary legal, accounting, scientific and engineering support. Our clients include Chemical, Pharmaceutical, Healthcare and Technology Companies and as part of the team, you’ll work to help maximise the benefits from the relief schemes available to them to ensure our clients don’t incur unnecessary duties.

When you join our Tax practice, you will have a choice of entry route and professional qualification. We will support your study for a taxation qualification. Currently, this is the Irish Taxation Institute’s qualification. The Chartered Accountants of Ireland have recently launched a new tax qualification, which the firm will also consider supporting.

In Tax, we also need qualified accountants, so you’ll have the option to combine studying for your tax qualification and the Chartered Accountancy (ACA) qualification.

Route 1 – Direct Entry - Associate of the Irish Taxation Institute (AITI)
The primary qualification for graduates joining Tax is the AITI. The firm will pay all fees in respect of the AITI including:

• Registration, exemption, course and exam entry fees
• Annual subscription
• Textbooks and legislation where recommended by the Irish Taxation Institute but which aren’t included in the course fee.

Learn more about this entry route on our entry route page.

Route 2 – Direct Entry - Associate of the Chartered Accountants Ireland (ACA) & Associate of the Irish Taxation Institute (AITI)
A number of graduates may choose to undertake both the ACA and AITI qualifications while working in Tax. If you choose to do this, you must first complete your ACA qualification and then complete your study for the AITI qualification.

The firm will pay both the ACA and AITI fees (as outlined in Route 1 above) which arise during your training. The ACA fees include:

• Student registration fees
• Any exemption fees
• CAP1, CAP2 , FAE course fees (first attempt only)
• Exam fees (first attempt only)

Learn more about this entry route on our entry route page.

Route 3 - Masters of Accounting
Some of the business graduates whom we recruit will be offered sponsorship on the post graduate Masters of Accounting courses at the following locations:

• University College Dublin - Masters in Accounting
• National University of Ireland, Galway - Masters in Accounting
• National University of Ireland, Maynooth - Masters in Accounting
• University College Cork - Masters in Accounting
• Waterford Institute of Technology - Masters in Accounting
• Letterkenny Institute of Technology - Masters in Accounting & Finance
• Dublin City University - MBS in Accounting
• Dublin Institute of Technology - MSc Accounting & Finance
• University of Ulster Jordanstown- Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Accounting
• Dundalk Institute of Technology - Masters in Accounting
• Athlone Institute of Technology - Masters in Accounting

Students being sponsored on the above courses and not in receipt of a grant for course fees will receive a contribution of €7,600 towards the course fees. We provide laptops for all those undertaking any of the above courses.

The Firm will pay a book allowance of €575.

Students recruited who are currently pursuing a postgraduate course in accounting will receive an allowance of €2,500.

Learn more about this entry route on our entry route page.

Route 4 - Professional Diploma in Accounting
We recruit many students who are non business graduates. We offer sponsorship to non business graduates to study for their Professional Diploma in Accounting (PDA) before joining the firm. PwC offers sponsorship at the following colleges.

• Dublin City University – Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting
• Dublin Institute of Technology – Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting
• National University of Ireland, Maynooth - Higher Diploma in Professional Accounting
• Galway Mayo Institute of Technology – Postgraduate Diploma in Business in Accounting
• University of Ulster, Jordanstown – Graduate Diploma in Accounting

For students sponsored on a PDA course and not in receipt of a grant for course fees, we will pay the course fees in full, up to €7,600. For students being sponsored on the Professional Diploma in Accounting we will pay a book allowance of €575.

Graduates who join PwC after successfully completing the PDA should visit the CAI website for further information on exemptions from ACA examinations.

Learn more about this entry route on our entry route page.

What better way to find out more about PwC than to meet our people.