Tax Compliance Analyst

The Tax Compliance Integrity Team is responsible for validating that all compliance changes implemented by the Execution and Development teams perform correctly, accurately, and completely before those changes are submitted to the independent QA team for final production sign-off. The team serves as the compliance quality gate for the change lifecycle, ensuring that every update meets the requirements and acceptance criteria established by upstream Compliance teams and that no compliance gaps, calculation errors, or edge cases have been overlooked.

The Tax Compliance Integrity Analyst plays a foundational role within the team. This individual is responsible for designing and executing test scenarios based on acceptance criteria from upstream Compliance teams, with a deliberate focus on identifying edge cases, boundary conditions, and jurisdiction-specific scenarios, in addition to standard happy-path testing. While the Integrity Analyst does not implement system changes, they play a key role in ensuring that every compliance change performs correctly and completely before release — collaborating actively with other Compliance and Development teams when defects are found to determine root cause and support resolution through to closure.

This role demands a strong command of payroll tax concepts, a methodical and skeptical approach to testing, and the ability to communicate findings clearly and constructively to peers across the other Compliance teams. Success in this role depends on asking the right questions before testing begins, uncovering issues that others might miss, and working collaboratively and constructively with other Compliance teams to ensure every compliance change is accurate, complete, and ready for release.

The Analyst role is the entry point in the Integrity Team’s career progression (Analyst → Senior Analyst → Lead → Manager). At this level, the focus is on testing standard, well-defined compliance changes with clear acceptance criteria, with guidance and review available from senior team members. More complex testing scenarios involving multi-jurisdictional interactions, novel compliance situations, or higher-risk changes requiring deeper judgment are handled at the Senior Analyst level and above.

Test Planning & Scenario Development

• Thoroughly review requirements documents and acceptance criteria for routine and straightforward compliance changes from upstream Compliance teams prior to developing test plans, ensuring a complete understanding of what is being tested and why
• Develop comprehensive test scenarios and test cases derived from the acceptance criteria, covering positive cases (expected behavior), negative cases (invalid inputs, error conditions), boundary conditions, and jurisdiction-specific edge cases for assigned compliance changes
• Identify scenarios that may not be explicitly addressed in the acceptance criteria but represent realistic compliance risks, and raise these with upstream Compliance teams for consideration before testing begins
• Maintain organized test documentation for all assigned compliance changes according to team protocols, including test plans, test cases, test data, and expected results, as well as a library of test scenarios organized by jurisdiction and change type to support testing efficiency and consistent coverage of previously validated functionality

Test Execution

• Execute test scenarios against implemented changes in the designated test environment, validating that each acceptance criterion is met and that outputs — including tax calculations, report data, payment details, and form layouts — are accurate and compliant
• Document test results clearly in an approved format, recording pass/fail status for assigned test cases along with sufficient detail for upstream Compliance teams or the Development team to investigate and reproduce any failures
• Provide a formal go/no-go testing certification for assigned compliance changes, confirming that all acceptance criteria have been tested and all defects have been resolved prior to submission to the independent QA team for production sign-off

Defect Management & Resolution

• Classify defects by type, track through to resolution, and retest corrected implementations to confirm defects are fully resolved before submission to the independent QA team
• Collaborate with other Compliance teams and the Development Team when defects are identified, providing clear reproduction steps and expected vs. actual results, and routing to the appropriate team based on root cause
• Participate in requirements review sessions with upstream Compliance teams and the Development Team prior to implementation, reviewing acceptance criteria for testability and completeness, and raising gaps before work begins
• Escalate unresolved defects, testing blockers, or go/no-go concerns to a senior member of the team in accordance with team protocols

Process Improvement & Team Support

• Contribute to team testing standards, test documentation templates, and quality improvement initiatives
• Support continuous improvement efforts related to testing strategy, documentation practices, and workflow efficiency

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Accounting, Information Systems, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
• 2+ years of experience in payroll tax compliance
• Solid working knowledge of federal, state, and local payroll tax regulations, filing requirements, payment rules, and reporting standards
• Demonstrated experience testing, validating, or auditing payroll tax calculations, forms, or system configurations
• Ability to read and interpret system requirements documents and acceptance criteria and translate them into executable test scenarios
• Strong analytical and investigative mindset, with the ability to identify edge cases, boundary conditions, and compliance risks beyond the obvious happy path
• Clear and precise written communication skills, particularly in documenting defects, test results, and compliance findings
• Proven ability to collaborate constructively across cross-functional teams, including in situations involving defects or disputed findings
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to accuracy and completeness
• Ability to manage multiple testing assignments across multiple jurisdictions in a deadline-driven environment
• Comfortable working under direct supervision in a remote setting, with guidance and review available from senior team members

• Experience with payroll tax software, SaaS platforms, or ERP systems, particularly business rules engines, tax calculation logic, or custom report outputs
• Experience with formal test case management tools or structured testing methodologies
• Understanding of electronic filing formats and data structures (e.g., XML, EFW2, fixed-width, CSV) at a conceptual level, without requiring coding ability
• Experience writing business requirements, user stories, or functional specifications
• Familiarity with Agile methodologies and project/ticket management tools (e.g., Jira, Azure DevOps)
• Proficiency with Excel and other Microsoft 365 products
• Active membership or participation in industry organizations such as the American Payroll Association (APA) or National Association of Computerized Tax Processors (NACTP)
• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) or Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC) designation, or progress toward certification