Vishakha Davey on the Joy of Tax

Part of our Joy of Tax series, where we sit down with the tax professionals of Gelt to talk about what makes this work matter.

Vishakha Davey didn't set out to fall in love with taxes. "It happened to me very naturally," she says. Fresh out of college in 2013, looking for a job, she knew one thing: numbers and accounts were her strong point. "This job just happened to me, and I thought, okay, I should give it a shot." Thirteen years later, she's still here.

What's kept her is the one thing people assume tax can't be. "What I like about taxes is that it still hasn't gotten mundane, even after thirteen years. Every year I'm learning something new. Things change so much that it's like a new job. I have to train myself again. That's what makes it exciting."

Watch the clip below for the Joy of Tax in her own words, then read on.

Solving the puzzle

Tell people you do taxes and you get a predictable reaction. "Their eyes pop out and they say, oh my god, that's intense, that must be really hard, all the negative connotations that go with tax," Vishakha says.

She sees it completely differently. "For me, it feels like I'm solving a puzzle for every tax return I do, whatever the form of the return is. It's a new challenge almost every year with the tax laws changing so much. If people understood that, they'd think, wow, tax, that's such a great job to do."

The puzzles she likes best are the state returns. "You might know federal taxes and follow certain rules, but when it comes to the states, especially more than one, the nitty-gritties of it, well it's allowed here but this state doesn't allow it." Take a new rule, like electric vehicle credits. "Each state has their own way of doing things. That's a puzzle I'm always excited to solve."

The people who speak tax

Ask Vishakha what makes the job genuinely good, and she doesn't talk about returns. She talks about the people.

"The part that really makes me happy is the people I get to meet over the years, clients or peers, sharing that tax knowledge, the love for tax," she says. "You think you know something, but when you have a conversation with somebody who understands tax the way you do, it's like, really, is that how it works? You're learning something new every day."

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Why Gelt is different

Vishakha has switched firms more than a few times in her career, so the comparison means something. "This is the very first firm in my twelve-year journey where I feel the platform we use is built in house, and we, being within the firm, also feel like customers to the firm."

That two-way relationship is what she finds exciting. "I can give constant feedback. Hey, can you add this feature, or it would be great to use this feature that way. It makes it really exciting to be a client as well as the person doing the tax return for your client."

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are multi-state tax returns so complicated?
Because each state makes its own rules. Something allowed on your federal return, or in one state, may be treated completely differently in another. New rules like electric vehicle credits vary state by state, which is exactly the kind of puzzle Vishakha enjoys solving.

What makes Gelt's approach different?
The platform is built in house, and the people doing the work can shape it. Tax professionals give constant feedback on features, so the tools keep improving for the clients they serve.

Have a multi-state tax situation? Talk to a Gelt pro.