Director of Tax

Scope of the Role

The Opportunity:
LegalShield (PPLSI) is a pioneering provider of subscription-based legal and identity theft protection plans to individuals families and businesses in North America. Operating through two brands LegalShield and IDShield the company serves 1.8 million active members through a network of nearly 40 law firms across the US and Canada. Founded in 1972 LegalShield is dedicated to the belief that everyone deserves a secure life and equal treatment under the law. Backed by Stone Point Capital the company is investing in growth technology modernization and operational excellence.

We are seeking a Director of Tax to own the full tax function for a complex multi-entity multi-jurisdiction organization. This role encompasses federal and state income tax international tax (Canada) indirect taxes (sales gross receipts premium property) payroll tax compliance tax provision and tax planning. Reporting directly to the CFO you will be the companys senior tax authority setting tax strategy managing external compliance advisors leading audits calculating provisions and ensuring every filing is accurate and timely.

The current operating model relies on external advisors for the majority of compliance preparation with the Director providing internal oversight provision work estimated payments and strategic judgment. You will be expected to evaluate this model with fresh eyes optimizing the balance between internal execution and external advisory managing advisor spend for value and ensuring the company has the right tax infrastructure for its growth trajectory. This is a hands-on leadership role in a PE-backed environment where precision speed and proactive planning are expected.


The Scope:
The Director of Tax is the single point of accountability for all tax compliance provision and planning activities across the PPLSI family of entities. The role covers a broad tax surface: a consolidated federal return a Canadian federal return multi-state income and franchise taxes premium taxes (insurance-regulated entities) sales and use taxes gross receipts and B&O taxes property taxes payroll taxes and various local jurisdiction filings.

The companys external tax advisors currently handle the majority of return preparation and compliance filing ($130K annual spend) focused exclusively on compliance. The Director owns the provision estimated tax payments and all tax planning internally. The Director will manage the external advisor relationship end-to-end scoping engagements negotiating fees setting quality and timeline expectations reviewing deliverables and continuously evaluating whether the current in-house vs. outsourced mix is optimal.

The Director will manage one direct report (Tax Analyst) and work closely with the Controller on matters that intersect financial reporting including deferred tax assets/liabilities book-to-tax differences on intangible assets and equity compensation and statutory basis reporting for regulated entities. As a direct report to the CFO the Director will also be expected to contribute to strategic tax planning for M&A entity structuring and sponsor-level reporting.

Performance Outcomes

External Advisor & Vendor Management

• Own the end-to-end relationship with external tax compliance advisors: scope of work engagement terms fee negotiation timeline management quality review and performance evaluation.

• Review all externally prepared returns and filings for accuracy completeness and optimization of filing positions before submission.

• Manage the annual tax advisory budget; track spend against scope and challenge fees where deliverablesdontjustify cost.

• Continuously evaluate the in-house vs. outsourced compliance model identifyopportunities to bring high-value workinternalor to restructure advisor engagements for better economics.

• When specialized advisory is needed beyond the compliance advisor (e.g. transfer pricing R&D credits state incentive programs M&A structuring)identify engage and manage those relationships independently.

• Maintaina competitive awareness of alternative advisory firms to ensure the company has access to best-in-class tax advice and is not over-reliant on a single provider.

Income Tax Compliance Oversight

• Oversee preparation of theconsolidatedfederal income tax return and all related schedules by external advisors; perform detailed review and approve final filing.

• Manage the Canadian federal tax return and ensure compliance with cross-border reporting requirements.

• Oversee preparation and review of all state and local income/franchise tax returns across applicablejurisdictions.

• Ensure all filing positions are defensible well-documented and aligned with the companysrisktolerance.

Indirect & Specialty Tax Compliance

• Manage sales and use tax filings across all applicable states.

• Oversee premium tax return preparation and filing for insurance-regulated entities.

• Prepare or supervise gross receipts B&O and other transaction-based tax filings.

• Manage property tax filings and assessments; evaluate and challenge valuations whereappropriate.

• Ensuretimelycompletion of various local tax returns and specialty filings.

Tax Provision & Financial Reporting

• Calculate the monthly income tax provision (current and deferred) and prepare all related journal entries. This work is performed in-house and is not outsourced.

• Manage federal and state estimated tax payment calculations and ensuretimelyremittance.

• Maintaindeferred tax asset/liability schedules; track and reconcile all significant book-to-tax differences.

• Own the tax footnote disclosures for the annual audited financial statements; support the external audit on all tax-related matters.

• Maintainbook/tax difference tracking for intangible asset amortization in coordination with the Controller.

• Coordinate with the Controller on deferred tax calculations related to equity compensation and goodwill/intangible amortization differences using the Controllersoptionamortization worksheet and valuation schedules as the source for monthly inputs.

Payroll & Employment Tax

• Review the annual reconciliation between quarterly 941 filings and W-2s to ensure accuracy and compliance.

• Review and advise on the taxability of deductions supplemental pay and new compensation additions as they arise ensuring proper withholding treatment.

• Advise onemployment tax matters involving threshold-based withholding requirements (e.g. mandatory supplemental withholding rates for earnings exceeding $1 million).

• Provide updated payroll tax rates and percentages to FP&A for use in the planning and forecasting platform.

• Monitorchanges in federal and state payroll tax requirements and communicate implications to Payroll and the Controller.

Equity Compensation & Intangible Asset Tax Matters

• Coordinate with Payroll on the tax treatment of stock option exercises terminations and W-2 inclusions including review of year-to-date earnings to ensure correct withholding rates are applied.

• Maintaintax-basis amortization schedules for intangible assets and ensure alignment with valuation reports.

Tax Planning Audits & Strategic Advisory

• Lead all tax audits (federal state and local); manage information requests negotiate with authorities and drive matters to resolution.

• Monitorand track all outstanding tax matters;maintaina tax contingency inventory and assess exposure.

• Identifytax planning opportunities and engageappropriate advisoryresources for structuring credits incentives and rate optimization strategies.

• Evaluate tax implicationsofnew business initiatives product structures entity formations and potential M&A transactions. Provide tax structuring recommendations directly to the CFO.

• Monitorlegislative and regulatory developments that couldimpactthe company; communicate implications and recommended actions to the CFO and Controller.

• Ensure compliance with casualty statutory basis reporting requirements and other state regulatory filings with tax implications.

• Contribute to sponsor-level reporting and Board presentations on tax matters as needed.

• Make Canadian subsidiary dividend recommendations to the CFO based on tax implications.

Process Improvement & Technology

• Evaluate the current tax compliance workflow both internal and external for automation opportunities in filing preparation data extraction reconciliation and calendar management.

• Identifyand implement tax technology tools (provision software indirect tax engines filing automation) to improve accuracy and reduce cycle time.

• Maintainand update the comprehensive tax compliance calendar with clear ownership deadlines and escalation protocols across internal and external resources.

• Develop standardized workpapers and documentation practices that support both audit readiness and institutional knowledge transfer.

Key Relationships:

As a direct report to the CFO this roleoperatesas a peer to the VP & Controller and the VP of FP&A. You will work closely with the Controller on all matters where tax intersects financial reporting close and compliance including the monthly provision deferred tax schedules equity compensation entries and statutory filings. The Controller owns the books; you own the tax.

You will collaborate with FP&A on tax-impacted forecasting and cash flow projections including supplying updated payroll tax rates for the planning platform. You will work directly with HR/Payroll on employment tax matters taxability determinations and withholding compliance. You will also coordinate with Legal on entity structuring and regulatory filings. Externally you will manage the companys tax compliance advisors engage specialized advisory firms as needed and represent LegalShield in tax authority audits and examinations.

Education Knowledge and Experience

Required

• CPArequired; MST (Master of Science in Taxation) or JD/LLM in Taxationstronglypreferred.

• 10 years of progressive tax experience including a mix of public accounting (Big 4 or national firm) and industry roles.

• Deepexpertisein corporate income tax compliance multi-state taxation and ASC 740 tax provision.

• Hands-on experience managing indirect taxes (sales/use gross receipts property tax) across multiplejurisdictions.

• Proventrack recordof managing external tax advisors scoping work controlling spend holding firms accountableonquality and deadlines and knowing when to bring work in-house vs. keep it outsourced.

• Experience leading tax audits and managing tax authority relationships.

• Strong ERP fluency; ability to extract manipulate and reconcile tax data from complex general ledger environments (Workday preferred).

• Comfortoperatingin a PE-backed environment with sponsor-level reporting expectations and a bias for precision and speed.

Preferred

• Cross-border tax experience (US/Canada).

• Familiarity with tax technology platforms (OneSource Vertex AvalaraCorptax or comparable).

• Subscription or membership-based business model experience.

• Experience with tax aspects of M&A transactions (due diligencestructuring integration).

• Exposure to equity compensation tax treatment (ISOs NSOs profits interests).

• Experience managing and developing junior tax professionals.

• Experience with insurance or premium tax compliance (regulated entity experience) is a plus though this is a limitedportionof the current workload given ongoing state deregulation.

What Success Looks Like in the First 12 Months

• Completed a comprehensive inventory of all tax obligations filing deadlines external advisor scope andspend with no surprises.

• Maintainedand updated the existing tax compliance calendar ensuring clear ownership for every filing and distinguishing internal vs. externally prepared items.

• Deliveredaccurate well-documented monthly tax provisions that the Controller and auditors can rely on without rework.

• Evaluated the current external advisor model and delivered a recommendation to the CFO on theoptimalin-house vs. outsourced mix including cost quality and risk tradeoffs.

• Establishedyourself as the senior tax authority in the organization proactive technically deep and trusted by the CFO Controller and external advisors.

• Completed a review of current filing positions andidentifiedplanning opportunities worth pursuing.

• Identifiedat least two process automation or technology initiatives to reduce manual effort in tax compliance workflows.

Compensation & Location
Competitive base salary annual bonus and equity participationcommensuratewith experience. This is a location-flexible role (Hybrid in Denver CO or Remote in Dallas TX). The accounting team is based in Ada Oklahoma and periodic travel (1015% of the time) to Ada and other company locations will berequired with a heavierinitialcadence during onboarding and transition.

FLSA Status

Exempt

Physical Requirements/ Work Environment

The workenvironmentcharacteristics and physical demands described here are representative ofthese anemployee encounters whileperformingthe essential functions of this job. Reasonableaccommodationsmay be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer

• Frequent use of hands and fingers tooperatea computer keyboard mouse and telephone

• Occasional standing walking bending or reaching within the office environment

• Ability to lift and/or move up to 1015 pounds (e.g. files office supplies equipment)

• Travel up to 10-15% of the time

Compensation for this position is $190000 annually based on experience and qualifications with eligibility for a performance-based bonus opportunity.

#LI-Remote

Denver Office

9221 Accounting

Full time

Commitment to Equal Opportunity

PPLSI conforms to all the laws statutes and regulations concerning equal employment opportunities. We strongly encourage women minorities individuals with disabilities and veterans to apply to all of our job openings. We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age race color religion sex sexual orientation gender identity national origin status as a protected veteran and basis of disability or any other federal state or local protected class. We prohibit retaliation against individuals who bring forth any concerns orally or in writing to the employer or the government or against any individuals who assist or participate in the investigation of any concerns or otherwise oppose discrimination.

If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process please contact Human Resources at:.