Vice President, U.S Tax Operations

About Clear Street:

Clear Street is building new infrastructure for today’s financial institutions. Founded in 2018, Clear Street is an independent, non-bank prime broker replacing the legacy infrastructure used across the capital markets today. 

We started from scratch by building a completely cloud-native clearing and custody system designed for today’s complex global markets. Clear Street’s proprietary prime brokerage platform adds significant efficiency to the market, while focusing on minimizing risk and cost for clients regardless of size or revenue opportunity. Our goal is to create a single source-of-truth platform for every asset class, in every country, and in any currency.

By combining highly-skilled product and engineering talent with seasoned finance professionals, we’re building the essentials to compete in today’s fast-paced markets.

The Team
The Tax Operations team is globally responsible for ensuring compliance with Clear Street Group; U.S. information reporting and withholding, FATCA, CRS, QI/QDD and securities taxation and filing obligations. The team works closely with all Business lines including institutional brokerage, custody and retail businesses. This is an integrated team providing guidance on securities taxation obligations, managing tax risk and running tax processes globally.
Core operational responsibilities of the team include:
U.S.
● U.S. Withholding Tax Compliance (Chapters 3, 4, 61, 871(m), 1446(f), 305(c))
● Cost Basis and Wash Sale Reporting
● U.S. Tax Information Reporting (Forms 1099, 1042-S, 1042)
● U.S. Tax Information Reporting (Forms 1099, 1042-S, 1042)
● Nonresident Alien (NRA) withholding and treaty eligibility validation
● Tax documentation and W-8/W-9 validation
Europe, North America, APAC
● European, Asian, Canadian, LATAM securities taxation including Stamp, FTT, Securities Transaction Taxes
● Dividend withholding and treaty relief across relevant jurisdictions
Continuous Change
● Partnering with Legal, Compliance, Operations, and Technology on cross-functional initiatives
● Driving improvements through automation and process enhancements

The Role
The role is as an Associate Director of U.S. Tax Operations specializing in Cost Basis. The role will be responsible for all aspects of Cost Basis, working closely with third party providers, maintaining Cost Basis records day-to-day, ensuring accurate and timely preparation of client reporting and annual 1099 filing working closely with U.S. tax reporting colleagues in the Global Tax Operations team. The role will also support Canadian Cost Basis.
In this capacity the role will act as SME for continuous development of the Cost Basis platform and reporting, addressing ongoing regulatory developments and seeking continuous improvements to the external platform and related internal systems. This is a hands-on role that requires technical knowledge of U.S. information reporting and withholding obligations and practical experience applying them in a fast-paced broker-dealer,
2 custody and retail environment. The successful candidate will ensure accuracy in reporting, apply complex rules and guidance, and work directly with data and systems to deliver results.

Key Responsibilities:
● Review and cleanse Cost Basis information day-to-day.
● Prepare client-facing open lot & realized reporting.
● Prepare and file U.S. information returns 1099 Series.
● Prepare Canadian Cost Basis Reporting.
● Prepare and file U.S. information returns including 1042-S, and related IRS filings.
● Calculate, apply, and reconcile U.S. withholding under Chapter 3, Section 871(m), Section 305(c), and 1446(f).
● Review and validate tax documentation (W-8/W-9).
● Perform reconciliations of withholding and reporting data to ensure accuracy and completeness.
● Respond to and support IRS, audit, and regulatory inquiries.
● Execute test cases for Cost Basis, tax reporting and withholding system enhancements.
● Partner with Operations & Technology to resolve data issues and improve automation.
● Maintain detailed process documentation and contribute to continuous process improvements.

Requirements
● 5-10 years of hands-on experience in Cost Basis
● Experience of and U.S. information, reporting & withholding obligations
● Technical knowledge of IRS obligations under Chapter 3, Chapter 4 (FATCA), Chapter 61, §871(m), and s.1446(a) and (f).
● Practical experience with broker-dealer, prime brokerage and custodial operations
● Familiarity with IRS systems (FIRE, EFTPS & the forthcoming IRIS system) and tax documentation platforms.
● Proven ability to work with large data sets, reconcile reporting / withholding amounts, and identify discrepancies.
● Detail-oriented, with a control and risk-focused mindset.
● Strong problem-solving skills and ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment.
● Excellent communication skills to coordinate with internal stakeholders and respond to regulatory queries.
● Series 99 and/or Series 7 preferred, or willingness to obtain.

We Offer:
The Base Salary Range is $125,000 - $170,000. These ranges are representative of the starting base salaries for this role at Clear Street. Which range a candidate fits into and where a candidate falls in the range will be based on job related factors such as relevant experience, skills, and location. These ranges represent Base Salary only, which is just one element of Clear Street's total compensation. The ranges stated do not include other factors of total compensation such as bonuses or equity.

At Clear Street, we offer competitive compensation packages, company equity, 401k matching, gender neutral parental leave, and full medical, dental and vision insurance. Our belief has always been that we are better as a business when we are all together in person. We are requiring employees to be in the office 4 days per week. In-office benefits include lunch stipends, fully stocked kitchens, happy hours, a great location, and amazing views.

Our top priority is our people. We’re continuously investing in a culture that promotes collaboration. We help each other through challenges and celebrate each other's successes. We believe that modern workplaces succeed by virtue of having high-performance workforces that are diverse — in ideas, in cultures, and in experiences. We put in the effort to make such a workplace a daily reality and are proud to be an equal opportunity employer.  #LI-HYBRID