2026 REIT Head of Tax Compensation (Part 1 of 10 Part Series)

Posted on by Kat J
REIT Head of Tax Compensation Report

What The REIT Head of Tax Compensation Report Addresses

It’s important to understand the research and investigation that went into this report on REIT Head of Tax Compensation. The genesis of this report originated after multiple discussions with lead tax executives about their annual compensation. During private compensation discussions with tax executives regarding a Head of Tax for a one-billion-dollar company, I continued to hear privately from tax executives that the Head of Tax salary offered was too low for the tax executive to even consider the tax executive opportunity.

There are several factors contributing to tax executive compensation today including pay transparency laws that we will discuss in this report. Moreover, it is important to address why highly qualified tax executives are turning away from Head of Tax opportunities due to compensation being offered by some REITs. As a result, we sought answers from REIT tax executives willing to speak with us directly.

In 1960, Congress created REITS to make investments in large-scale income producing real estate accessible to average investors through the purchase of equity. In the same way shareholders benefit by owning stocks of other corporations, the stockholders of a REIT earn a pro-rata share of the economic benefits that are derived from the production of income through real estate investment. (Source: https://www.reit.com/what-reit/frequently-asked-questions-about-reits).

In this report, we will share with you how to properly compensate your Head of Tax in REIT according to current market trends. We will also share with you how informed corporate leaders are bringing back millions to the company’s balance sheet while improving the stock value for all investors. These are the benefits you gain only from access to a lead tax executive compensation report where we have spoken to all participants directly.

The ET Search 2026 Head of Tax Compensation Report began after recognizing the gap between what we discovered a REIT lead tax executives is making and what is being published on surveys distributed throughout the REIT tax executive profession. We identified a stunning discovery when we realized not one lead tax executive we spoke to privately has ever been contacted directly by anyone publishing a tax salary survey for a REIT Head of Tax. This fact surprised us and led to the importance of discovering the truth from lead tax executives interviewed privately.

After contacting more than 258 REIT lead tax executives’ multiple times (6-7 times) during February, March, April, May and June 2026 only 55 REIT lead tax executives were willing to communicate with me privately about their annual compensation. The response was good as it crossed a wide section of REITS located throughout the United States. Obviously, I would like to have all REIT lead tax executives’ salary information, but some REITS outsource to Partners in public accounting firms who make more in an annual wage. No public accounting Partner compensation is included in this study even though they make more based on conversations with them. I am very happy with all the data and information collected directly from REIT tax executives because this information provides a strong heartbeat about what is happening in the REIT tax executive compensation.

However, what I am currently unable to figure out is how REIT lead executive tax salary information was even collected since the 55 REIT lead tax executives who spoke with me privately had never ever spoken to anyone (prior to their conversation with me) about their annual Base, Salary, Bonuses and incentives.

What are the odds that every Head of Tax we spoke to directly during our 2026 REIT Head of Tax Compensation survey were not previously contacted by anyone other survey? It is an interesting question that continues to make the information collected and analyzed more valuable than any other REIT Head of Tax survey published. All the data provided in this survey was obtained directly from Head of Tax participants. Can other publishers of tax executive compensation surveys say the same?  That is the question you need to ask yourself as I have not found one yet.

What sets this REIT tax executive compensation study apart from others is in the data and information we obtained, we spoke with every tax executive survey participant directly.

Want a copy of the full report? Contact ki***@******ch.com or text 858.232.4415

CFOs Need To Know This Information Before Hiring Head of Tax

Posted on by Kat J
CFOs Need To Know This When Hiring A Head of Tax

This post is about the importance of a CFO building a close relationship with their in-house Head of Tax. When a corporate Head of Tax is reporting directly to the CFO, the company has valuable profit advantages. A strong working relationship between the two executives creates the greatest profit for the company through tax savings strategies and implementation of them. I have been educated about the proof many times over the years as these two executives work together to build an in-house profit center for the corporation. CFOs who have great respect for their Head of Tax, and include them in all business transactions, yield extraordinary tax savings resulting in increased company profitability. This close relationship is always a win for investors because the extra profit ensures there is more money brought back to the company to grow the business. CFOs who have the Head of Tax reporting directly to them have an advantage over the CFOs who do not have the Head of Tax reporting directly to them.

As an internationally recognized expert in tax executive search, and a track record with more than one thousand successful tax executive searches completed over thirty-three years, we are fortunate to learn these success stories from the multinational organizations we serve. We learn what happens behind the scenes when the CFO and the Head of Tax work closely together. The result of a strong partnership increases profits that would otherwise be millions (billions) of tax dollars lost to international, federal, state and local tax revenue authorities. The reporting relationship is important because it demonstrates the level of interest and respect a CFO has for their tax leader in working  together to increase profitability.

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BEWARE: Tax Executive Compensation Posted Online Is Understated

Posted on by Kat J

Although no tax executives are talking about it openly, I am going to educate you about tax executive compensation discussions that are happening privately. Corporate tax executives are talking about compensation behind the scenes and telling them the salaries posted are too low for them to come forward with interest in open tax jobs. This is creating a big problem attracting the top of the tax profession. Many tax executives are disinterested in the tax executive jobs posted online due to the tax job ads posting tax salary ranges which are lower than what they are currently being paid. It is an important issue to address and explain what is happening, so you have a better understanding of the matter. A.I. is simply scooping up compensation disinformation and feeding it into the market. A.I.is littered with A.I. errors.

As an example of proof, I took notice of an article posted on LinkedIn where Deloitte admits to A.I. errors. Deloitte must now issue a partial refund to the government after admitting that artificial intelligence had been used in the creation of a report they paid for was littered with A.I. errors.  Using AI in gathering tax salary information is simply spreading salary disinformation. A.I. gathering tax salary information from job boards is garbage in and garbage out.

One of the most important aspects of my job is educating the CFOs who retain me to conduct a high-quality tax executive search is understanding tax executive compensation. If the CFO wants a diamond performer in the Head of Tax role, saving their company millions per year in tax savings, they should not offer them peanuts. We conducted a tax compensation study in the 4th quarter of 2024 and were stunned by the discrepancies in salaries, in fact as much as $250,000- $300,000 in base salaries and anywhere from 25% to 50% (a couple even more at 60% and 75%) as a paid bonus incentive.  It was done talking privately to software company tax executives primarily located in California in the 1B to 20B range. We know for a fact that companies with less than 1B annual revenue typically pay less to tax executives and are challenged to attract the top of the tax talent pool.

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How To Find A New Tax Job

Posted on by Kat J
Find A New Tax Job

How do you approach a search for a new tax job? There are two kinds of approaches you can take in your tax search. The approach you take will greatly affect your success! You can wait for recruiters to call you with tax opportunities; you can look at job boards and submit your resume hoping to hear back from a human who will speak with you; or you can take a very proactive approach and retain an expert tax recruiter to get you through the search process. This post explains what an experienced tax recruiter does to get you through the search process. I can tell you exactly what needs to be done because working with a team, we have been responsible for more than one thousand tax executive search placements. We are proven experts in connecting tax executives with new tax opportunities. If you are struggling to find that perfect role, we specialize in helping senior level management tax executives find a new tax role.

Here is an overview of how the process works. My first consultation in your job search involves setting your vision of what you want to accomplish in your job search. What location do you want to stay in? Do you understand the extensive research required to identify potential employers? What industries are you open to? Who is the person this role reports to? How do you reach this person by email? How do you reach this person by phone? Are you comfortable calling this person and pitching your skills to them or do you prefer someone represent you like  a sports athlete is represented to organizations? Do you know how to properly represent yourself as a tax athlete with skills and expertise? The bottom line is the process involves a lot of work which requires expert guidance and direction. We will do this for you!

If you are feeling lost in your search for a new tax opportunity, please reply to ki***@******ch.com for a complimentary consultation and expert advice on your tax job search. www.etsearch.com or text me at 858.232.4415.  We are here to make the process easier for you.

 

You Are A Recently Retired Tax Partner: Learn How To Get Hired

Posted on by Kat J
Tax Partners

There are amazingly gifted Tax Partners who want to remain active in the profession. What do you do now? We know you have your continued tax career dreams, and we offer a smart strategy to help you reach your continued tax career goals. Given our track record of placing more than one thousand tax executives over thirty years, we have the skills and knowledge to help you find your next role.  If you want to continue to work in the tax profession, please contact me for a private consultation at ki***@******ch.com. Please reply with the best time and number to reach you for a complimentary consultation.

 

You Want To Find A Head Of Tax Role: What Do You Do?

Posted on by Kat J

What most people do not realize is there is a hidden population of tax executives unable to make the connections they need to be hired into a Head of Tax role. With a track record of more than one thousand tax executive placements over thirty years, we have developed a program that ensures the tax executives with the requisite technical and interpersonal skills have access to these top tax jobs. We have developed a tax executive search strategy to ensure connections for tax executives occur.

Over the years, we have encountered tax executives whose lives have changed dramatically due to a retiring CFO who they shared a great relationship with and now a new CFO has arrived who has a different view of the tax function. Their view is to reorganize the tax function further from the CFO and have tax report to someone else. This type of change always frustrates a Head of Tax because they need to be close to what the business is doing, so they can create more tax savings for the company. In all honesty, it is often the less experienced CFO who calls and realizes by not involving the Head of Tax in the transaction upfront results in loss of tax savings. The lesson to learn here is that the relationship between the Head of Tax and the CFO is critically important in an organization. When the CFO and the Head of Tax work closely together on complex corporate business transactions the magic happens. There is always a greater cost to an organization who does not have tax reporting to the CFO.

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How To Proactively And Privately Secure A Head Of Tax Role

Posted on by Kat J

For those who may not know my reputation, I have been in tax executive search profession for over three decades. My team and I have successfully placed more than one thousand tax professionals within multinational corporations around the world. This record of tax executive placements was accomplished with the support of a top-notch team focused on introducing management level tax executives to corporations. The focus of this post is to help tax executives find and connect with the tax role of their dreams. When I tell you how this happens for tax executives, I know what I am talking about after surpassing the 1000 executive placements level of accomplishment. Listen when I tell you the executive search experience has changed over the years. This article is about sharing with you how to actively pursue the tax role of your dreams.

The secret to success is to be proactive and have an expert that knows what they are doing to represent you and make certain they are doing the work for you. Tax executives are like athletes (they are highly motivated individuals with the primary goal of improving their performances) who have invested a lot of time and money to grow professionally. There are three ways one can approach their tax career…actively, reactively, or proactively. Let me explain the ways and you can decide for yourself which category you are in right now.

Actively: You are a tax executive quietly communicating with a few recruiters with no loyalty to any person. You just tell the recruiter to keep me informed if you hear about a HOT role. Likewise, the tax recruiter is not loyal to you as they have access to thousands of HOT tax executive candidates to introduce to clients.

Reactively: Something just changed in your company reporting relationship where a new boss replaces your former boss. Your new boss has decided to reorganize the tax function, and your role is now reporting to a  Controller or CAO with little understanding of tax and how it is important to be part of business strategy while working closely with the CFO.

Proactively: You behave like an athlete and take a proactive approach to secure a corporate Head of Tax role by working with a dedicated agent working only for you. This involves loyalty from each party, and you have access to all the work being done on your behalf. Remember all great sports have Agents representing them and proactive tax athletes have one, too! Contact ki***@*****ch.com for information how this program works.

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TAX EXECUTIVES: Your CFO Reorganized Your Tax Role. What Do You Do?

Posted on by Kat J

Behind the scenes, I have had private conversations with many Lead Tax Executives who have shared with me the tax organization has just been reorganized and will no longer report to the CFO. Why these situations occur is uncertain to me. What is certain to me is that any CFO who decides to reorganize the lead tax role reporting to anyone other than the CFO, will ultimately create turnover in this role. The Head of Tax of any organization prefers to work directly with the CFO on business strategy. When the CFO and Head of Tax work closely together they can turn tax into a profit center and not a cost center.

The extraordinary tax executives we have worked with over three decades love their job because they love to increase the company’s profit. By working together, they save their company money that would otherwise be lost to international, federal, state and local tax revenue authorities worldwide. Lead tax executives are serious about saving the company money. The way to build a tax department into a profit center is when a CFO and the Head of Tax (HOT) are strategically working together to improve profits. Why would a company structure the HOT reporting relationship to anyone other than the CFO? Just asking?

If you are a Head of Tax who has found yourself in this situation, please contact me for a complimentary consultation at ki***@******ch.com so I can advise you. You can also reach me at 858.232.4415 to set up a time to speak privately. View www.etsearch.com

If you are a CFO who has recently lost your Head of Tax due to a reorganization, please email me at ki***@******ch.com and I will help you in your search.

ALERT: Learn How Tax Executives Are Searching For A New Tax Job…Privately 

Posted on by Kat J

With over thirty years of experience and more than one thousand tax executive placements conducted, I have a deep understanding of what tax executives face when searching for a new head of tax role. This post is intended to educate you that the process of securing a head of tax role has changed over the years and knowing this information will give you a huge advantage.  I will share with you my deep expertise in helping you in the process. You are going to learn what really happens behind the scenes on a job search. There is knowledge most tax executives do not have about a tax executive search, and it is important that you know this information to protect yourself.

Did you ever find yourself sending resumes into companies resume portals and never hearing back from them except for the standard letter?… “We will review your qualifications and get back to you if we have any interest.” What happens is that your resume goes into what we know as the big unknown hole…the resume portal.  You never hear back from anyone about your qualifications for the open tax job. Believe me, A.I. is not offering any better results in connecting you to the companies. Your resume is just more data for the company to have and hold or the outside party service provider to manage and hold. The problem is companies are collecting all your personal resume data, and you ultimately lose your privacy. If they collect your data from you, they own it. Are you aware that these online platforms are selling your data to make money? Yes, you are the product they are selling. My biggest concern is these sites are selling your online activity and engagement to your employers. In other words, your employers can buy what activity you are engaged in online because these companies may sell it. They can find out how much time you are spending throughout your workday on the site,  and they can tell what you are looking at on these mega sites. Your activity is tracked to sell to buyers of your data and engagement activity. What you may think is a free service promoting your professional profile is not free at all. The cost is that your data is sold as a commodity to anyone who will pay for it. The collection of your data and activity is how these mega sites make money. My biggest concern, and should be your concern, too, is let’s say your employer decides to do a major layoff throughout the company so they go to buy their employees activity on their sites. Therefore, if they check on your online activity and see you spend a couple of hours a day looking at tax jobs; what would they think about that as they contemplate a layoff? My advice to clients is to use a spouse or partners email when you go looking for a new tax job, so a tax executive job search is never traced back to you. You can also contact me at ki***@******ch.com and request our private placement services where we thoroughly research the market for you which maintains your privacy.

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Hiring A Head of Tax: Learn Why Multinationals Struggle To Hire Tax Leaders

Posted on by Kat J

As a highly experienced tax recruiter with over thirty-three years in the tax executive search profession, I have information to share if you want to know how to attract leaders in the tax profession. As many tax leadership roles unfold due to baby boomer retirements,  multinational corporations are increasingly losing access to the most technically sophisticated tax executives throughout the market. There is an elite pool of underground tax executive talent only accessible through a channel of trusted connectors. While people are distracted by the advances of AI, few people realize the negative impact AI is having on the ability to attract the hidden pool of talented tax professionals. This post addresses important factors affecting a search for a corporate tax executive today.

Understand my views are based upon thirty-three years’ experience communicating with highly educated leaders in the tax profession nationally and internationally. When you spend your professional life communicating  with tax executives with multinational corporations for decades, you learn how identify and reach the very best of the tax profession. They are now increasingly hidden and underground due to the need for greater  privacy. I have been fortunate to meet the most technically sophisticated tax executives around the world who are saving corporations millions, and in some cases billions, in tax dollars. There are CFOs who retain me to help build their tax team as a profit center; and there are CFOs who view their tax organization as a cost center. You learn there is a big difference in how a CFO treats their tax organization. You learn the most technically sophisticated tax executives want to report to the CFO; you learn tax executives want to report directly to the CFO. Companies who have the head of tax reporting to anyone other than the CFO will never be able to access the top tax executive talent. You learn when companies reorganize management and remove the tax executive from reporting to the CFO, they lose access to talented tax executives. There is higher turnover in a lead tax executive role when it does not report directly to the CFO. Most lead tax executives approached by recruiters on a search for Head of Tax will not even consider interviewing with the company if the role is not reporting to the CFO. This prevents extraordinary talent from even considering the lead tax executive role.

When you have a corporate CFO and lead tax executive working together as business partners, you have a corporation that increases income and value of the organization. Happy investors reap the benefits of a management team of a CFO and Head of Tax working together. These extraordinary teams are built. These top management teams do not happen by someone randomly walking in through a corporate resume portal. They do not randomly happen by a contractor recruiter with no deep network in the tax community.  Success happens when you retain an expert tax recruiter to actively pursue top tax talent for your organization. CFOs who retain an expert in tax recruitment will reap the reward working with an expert with a strong and proven tax executive network.

Proven and experienced tax recruiters communicate with technically sophisticated tax executives who understand how to legally use our tax laws to claw back millions and often billions in what would otherwise be corporate income lost forever to tax revenue authorities. Lead tax executives in multinational corporations are fending off tax revenue authorities at state and local, federal and international levels daily. Highly intelligent, technically sophisticated tax executives offer profit-making benefits to the companies who hire them.

Three Reasons Corporations Struggle To Hire A Tax Executive

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