Payroll Tax Specialist (Hybrid)

Homebase•Houston, TX

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

We're building something new at Homebase: a dedicated Payroll Tax function that sits inside the Payroll Care Team and owns the most technically complex, trust-critical layer of our payroll product. Right now, when a customer receives a tax notice, there's no in-house expert to triage it, investigate the root cause, or coordinate a resolution with our embedded payroll partners. That gap costs us customers — and it costs small business owners peace of mind they can't afford to lose. You'll change that. As our first Payroll Tax Specialist, you'll be Homebase's resident payroll tax authority — the person who turns an overwhelming notice queue into a structured, resolved, documented operation. You'll work directly with customers, partner closely with our payroll operations team, and flag patterns that help Product and Engineering build a smarter product. Your work won't just resolve tax notices — you'll uncover the patterns that help us build a smarter payroll product powered by automation and AI. This is a builder's seat. You'll be defining the playbook as you go — and your work will directly shape how we scale this function.

Requirements

3–5 years of payroll tax experience in a multi-state environment — ideally at a payroll provider or payroll SaaS company
Deep working knowledge of federal, state, and local payroll taxes: withholding, FUTA/SUI, quarterly and annual filings, W-2/W-2C corrections, and tax registrations
Hands-on experience managing and resolving tax notices from state and federal agencies — this is the core of the role
Familiarity with TPA/POA processes and agency-specific filing requirements across multiple jurisdictions
Strong written and verbal communication skills — you can translate complex compliance situations into clear, confident updates for small business owners who aren't tax experts
Comfortable working directly with customers in both high-stakes and routine interactions
Organized and methodical — you can carry a queue of open issues across multiple accounts and agencies without things slipping
Demonstrated ability to identify systemic issues and recommend scalable process improvements
Advanced Excel skills; experience with payroll systems and reporting tools

Nice To Haves

CPP (Certified Payroll Professional) or FPC designation preferred, or meaningful progress toward certification
SQL or scripting experience a plus for report automation

Responsibilities

Own Tax Notice Resolution — Primary Focus: Serve as the first line of defense on all incoming payroll tax notices: triage, investigate, and deliver clear initial responses to customers that build trust fast.
Cross-reference each notice against the customer's tax profile, payroll history, and filing records to identify root cause before escalating anything.
Coordinate with internal payroll operations partners to drive resolution — and follow through until issues are closed.
Track open notices in the ticketing system, maintain resolution timelines, and identify patterns that point to systemic issues worth escalating to Product.
Request penalty abatements, draft agency correspondence, and manage the documentation trail for each case.
Build scalable documentation, playbooks, and operational standards for Homebase's Payroll Tax function as it grows.
Quarterly and Year-End Proactive Support: Prepare customers for their first filing quarter — walk them through the filing lifecycle, explain draft filings, and resolve blockers (missing IDs, TPA/POA gaps, agency mismatches) before the deadline hits.
Conduct quarterly account hygiene reviews: verify TPA/POA is in place for all active filing states, confirm agency IDs and rates are current, and surface any at-risk accounts before they generate notices.
Monitor for year-end risk factors — owner/shareholder changes, 2% shareholder benefits, compensation adjustments — and surface them proactively.
Support customers through quarter-end variance questions and help reconcile payroll updates with tax filings.
Registration and Compliance Guidance: Serve as an internal SME for customers expanding into new jurisdictions — providing agency-sourced guidance on registration requirements, deadlines, and filing frequencies.
Maintain a running tracker of agency-specific requirements: filing rates, TPA/POA requirements, "Applied For" ID timelines, and agency quirks. Keep it current.
Support compliance calendar maintenance and ensure customers have what they need to meet their obligations — without crossing into advice or completing registrations on their behalf.
Proactive Customer Account Health: Review accounts for early warning signs: blocked accounts, taxes held by the client, outdated rates, unresolved prior-quarter filing failures.
Surface risk to the right owners before a customer feels the impact.
Partner with the broader Payroll Care Team to close the loop on patterns across the portfolio.
Leverage AI to accelerate investigations, improve documentation quality, draft customer communications, and continuously improve operational workflows.
Identify and build repeatable, AI-enabled workflows and templates that reduce resolution time and scale this function over time.
Measure and share AI-enabled workflow improvements that reduce resolution time or improve customer outcomes.
Approach AI as a force multiplier — not a replacement for deep tax judgment.