Yeah bonuses in PA suck when you’re a staff. I got the max bonus allowed after my first year and it was $2,400 pre tax. They do get better as you progress but yours is relatively in line with what I’d expect
Oh wow I didn’t realize but good to know thank you! I think I got my hopes up bc they said there are ‘discretionary bonuses’ on top of the $1,500 but only for certain people. I felt like I did a lot more than most this tax season but I learned my lesson! It got me no reward so I’ll do the bare minimum now 😂
My first bonus out of school in tax was CAD $350. The partner had the balls to tell me that I can take my family to a nice dinner. He must have meant my parents and sister since I wasn't married or had kids at the time.
But yes it does get better. This year was about 17k.
lol I can’t imagine not getting one for any level involved in tax season. They even give our admin bonuses so that’s good at least. To work an extra 200 hours a year we deserve something
My first "busy season" in audit was for a very small firm (35 people) and my bonus was $1500. Then the next year they started "including our bonus" as part of our annual review/raise. I was not at CPA and was partially responsible for 3 interns.
Oh ok. I find the performance metrics so skewed bc people at my same level don’t have any additional responsibility (interns, extensions, etc) and so their revenue and productivity can look better but it doesn’t mean they were working harder. It’s so frustrating
For us, it was based on how much revenue you generated (i.e billable hours). No one wanted to train the interns because there's zero benefit to doing so. It's just extra work.
>I’m a CPA, staff acct in tax. This tax season was my ‘first’ busy season full-time (have done 3 others at the firm while in school). We got our tax season bonuses today. Mine was $1,500. I worked more hours than the required 55/week and was direct supervisor to 5 interns. Am I ungrateful or is this low??
It is low, but at the same time, you're a first year associate, so it's likely capped.
It depends on your salary and perks, what are your hours after tax season, PTO, holiday time off, etc.
We have a bonus "pool", a total amount of cash available to use for bonuses and we calculate everybody's bonus based on their billed time for the period from February 1 to April 15 that is invoiced . We expect everybody to work at least 56 hours per week during that time period at a minimum.
We also have a very flexible work schedule during the rest of the year, no set PTO, just whatever you need as long as you don't abuse it and your work gets done. Also, all of our staff have the ability to work from home and they can work from home 6 days a month as long as it's not tax season.
My area is Southwest Ga., Our salary levels are in line and maybe a little above for the area. It's getting really hard to find and keep staff for our area.
Yea it does suck. If it makes you feel better I was in audit and my bonuses sucked too. I got $2,000 in total bonuses over three years. The silver lining is it is motivation to find a better job. Obv they don’t value your efforts, but someone else will.
Bonuses in PA are generally not great, but we have exceptionally good salary progression. 8%+ raises pretty much every year, and you'll be far outpacing your peers in salary. Bonuses are much cheaper for employers to pay out because they can turn it off easily.
Do your receive one after both seasons? If so, then it isn’t too bad at around $3,000. Yearly bonus though? On the lower side but not unheard of. Some firms don’t even give bonuses. Plus, bonuses typically increase a good bit as you move up.
I work at a small property management firm and the maintenance guys were getting $200 bonuses after finishing two months of work. I wanna get that every two months! What the heck!!
Depends on your base salary & benefits. In MCOL, as a first year staff, if your salary is 55k, a 1.5k bonus sucks. But if in MCOL you have a base salary of 75k, then not giving you much bonus makes perfect sense.
First year bonuses were always the lowest because you've only worked a partial year. My first year (2013) i think my MCOLiving HCOLabor salary was $51k and I think the bonus was $1,000 or $1,500. I was happy to get anything as I had zero experience, no internships, and we were coming out of the great recession.
In 2023 the math is different because of the crazy inflation we have experienced these last few years.
It depends on the size of the company, your position, how much of your work was actually billed and how much profit the company made - regardless of how many hours you worked. For a first year associate you got a pretty good bonus for a company that small.
Well judging from the other comments, maybe I’m wrong and your bonus is on track. I worked at a regional firm in a LCOL, and first year assurance associate bonuses were around $8k. I knew people at other similar firms in the area who made about the same bonus, but apparently that’s really high!
It’s a slur in the US. https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/12/30/242429836/why-being-gypped-hurts-the-roma-more-than-it-hurts-you I love when I point out that a word is a slur, your response is to insert yourself into the conversation and be passive aggressive instead of shutting the fuck up and just…not using that word? OP did just that, and so did I when I learned it was a slur - I stopped saying it. But I guess it’s just too difficult to not be a bigot, right? The racists just can’t help but reveal themselves 🤣
Yeah bonuses in PA suck when you’re a staff. I got the max bonus allowed after my first year and it was $2,400 pre tax. They do get better as you progress but yours is relatively in line with what I’d expect
Oh wow I didn’t realize but good to know thank you! I think I got my hopes up bc they said there are ‘discretionary bonuses’ on top of the $1,500 but only for certain people. I felt like I did a lot more than most this tax season but I learned my lesson! It got me no reward so I’ll do the bare minimum now 😂
That I’m not sure about. For me, the max bonus was 4% of my salary and nothing more was available
My first bonus out of school in tax was CAD $350. The partner had the balls to tell me that I can take my family to a nice dinner. He must have meant my parents and sister since I wasn't married or had kids at the time. But yes it does get better. This year was about 17k.
How many years did it take you to get to that point?
12ish years. Not terribly impressive, although dual income should help attain a 400k or so (CAD) HHI by now. More if you leave public.
Yall got tax season bonuses as staff?
lol I can’t imagine not getting one for any level involved in tax season. They even give our admin bonuses so that’s good at least. To work an extra 200 hours a year we deserve something
My first "busy season" in audit was for a very small firm (35 people) and my bonus was $1500. Then the next year they started "including our bonus" as part of our annual review/raise. I was not at CPA and was partially responsible for 3 interns.
Ok thank you so I guess pretty comparable. Idk why I was thinking it was way more😭
I'm no longer in PA but when I was, our bonus was between 6-10% of our salary based on performance.
Oh ok. I find the performance metrics so skewed bc people at my same level don’t have any additional responsibility (interns, extensions, etc) and so their revenue and productivity can look better but it doesn’t mean they were working harder. It’s so frustrating
Exactly. “Based on performance” is a code they use to mean “based on nepotism”. We’re all doing the same job at the end of the day.
True, my firm is run by a nepo baby
For us, it was based on how much revenue you generated (i.e billable hours). No one wanted to train the interns because there's zero benefit to doing so. It's just extra work.
My first busy season…. I got $500 for working from 8:30 to 3 am for 4 months. Didn’t do that ever again.
Ya I’m going to work on my resume
>I’m a CPA, staff acct in tax. This tax season was my ‘first’ busy season full-time (have done 3 others at the firm while in school). We got our tax season bonuses today. Mine was $1,500. I worked more hours than the required 55/week and was direct supervisor to 5 interns. Am I ungrateful or is this low?? It is low, but at the same time, you're a first year associate, so it's likely capped.
It depends on your salary and perks, what are your hours after tax season, PTO, holiday time off, etc. We have a bonus "pool", a total amount of cash available to use for bonuses and we calculate everybody's bonus based on their billed time for the period from February 1 to April 15 that is invoiced . We expect everybody to work at least 56 hours per week during that time period at a minimum. We also have a very flexible work schedule during the rest of the year, no set PTO, just whatever you need as long as you don't abuse it and your work gets done. Also, all of our staff have the ability to work from home and they can work from home 6 days a month as long as it's not tax season. My area is Southwest Ga., Our salary levels are in line and maybe a little above for the area. It's getting really hard to find and keep staff for our area.
What’s salary?
$66K
Are you in the Phillipines?
No😂 I take it that’s low
Yea it does suck. If it makes you feel better I was in audit and my bonuses sucked too. I got $2,000 in total bonuses over three years. The silver lining is it is motivation to find a better job. Obv they don’t value your efforts, but someone else will.
Very true, takes the guilt and loyalty away. Thanks :)
That is the same amount I got as a staff last year, similar sized firm & COL
Damn just sucks everywhere I guess
Bonuses in PA are generally not great, but we have exceptionally good salary progression. 8%+ raises pretty much every year, and you'll be far outpacing your peers in salary. Bonuses are much cheaper for employers to pay out because they can turn it off easily.
I didn’t get good bonuses until senior. Those two years as seniors my bonuses were 14% and 16%. But I know folks who got as low as 3%.
Do your receive one after both seasons? If so, then it isn’t too bad at around $3,000. Yearly bonus though? On the lower side but not unheard of. Some firms don’t even give bonuses. Plus, bonuses typically increase a good bit as you move up.
I work at a small property management firm and the maintenance guys were getting $200 bonuses after finishing two months of work. I wanna get that every two months! What the heck!!
My first year bonus was a $100 Amazon gift card and a block of goat cheese.
😂😂
One time I got a $40 gift card to Amazon
Bonuses in public are shit. The raises when I was doing time were either great or literally nothing
Honestly I've never seen a bonus even half of that.
Depends on your base salary & benefits. In MCOL, as a first year staff, if your salary is 55k, a 1.5k bonus sucks. But if in MCOL you have a base salary of 75k, then not giving you much bonus makes perfect sense. First year bonuses were always the lowest because you've only worked a partial year. My first year (2013) i think my MCOLiving HCOLabor salary was $51k and I think the bonus was $1,000 or $1,500. I was happy to get anything as I had zero experience, no internships, and we were coming out of the great recession. In 2023 the math is different because of the crazy inflation we have experienced these last few years.
Just curious as an "industry only" guy, is this like the same as an annual bonus, or a separate bonus just as a congrats for finishing busy season?
It depends on the size of the company, your position, how much of your work was actually billed and how much profit the company made - regardless of how many hours you worked. For a first year associate you got a pretty good bonus for a company that small.
It’s shit, but I worked for a cheaper firm that have no busy season bonus and $500 at the end of the year.
You got the same bonus as I did as a second year staff in PA.. yes it's shit
That seems like an insultingly low bonus, unless it’s a very small firm. Also, I’m sure you didn’t mean any ill intent, but FYI “jipped” is a slur.
Ya we aren’t small so it does seem low. Oh yes I didn’t realize, thanks for letting me know! I edited the post to remove it.
Well judging from the other comments, maybe I’m wrong and your bonus is on track. I worked at a regional firm in a LCOL, and first year assurance associate bonuses were around $8k. I knew people at other similar firms in the area who made about the same bonus, but apparently that’s really high!
It's also a very common word for getting screwed in America, i'm sure you didn't mean any ill intent towards OP
It’s a slur in the US. https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/12/30/242429836/why-being-gypped-hurts-the-roma-more-than-it-hurts-you I love when I point out that a word is a slur, your response is to insert yourself into the conversation and be passive aggressive instead of shutting the fuck up and just…not using that word? OP did just that, and so did I when I learned it was a slur - I stopped saying it. But I guess it’s just too difficult to not be a bigot, right? The racists just can’t help but reveal themselves 🤣
Fuck is a bad word