Kathy Pickering, The Tax Institute

Kathy Pickering is the chief tax officer at H&R Block. In this role, Pickering leads the relationship-management strategy with the IRS and state taxing agencies and is responsible for the strategic direction and management for a team of the nation’s top experts on tax issues. She oversees the enrolled agents, CPAs and attorneys who make up The Tax Institute and provide information and analysis on the real-world implications of tax policy and tax proposals.

Pickering serves on the boards of multiple tax industry associations, including serving as chair of the Council for Electronic Revenue Communication Advancement (CERCA) and co-chair of the Identity Theft Tax Refund Fraud – Information Sharing and Analysis Center (IDTTRF-ISAC). She represents H&R Block on the Security Summit, the public-private partnership of the IRS, the states and the tax industry, and is a member of the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC). Through these organizations, she leads the way towards improving tax administration through industry and agency collaboration.

Pickering has more than 20 years of experience in tax operations. Prior to joining H&R Block, she was in information technology and worked with Sprint PCS, Olsten Health Services, Leprino Foods and various consulting firms where she focused on implementing large scale accounting and financial systems.

Pickering speaks about taxes and tax administration policy issues to policymakers, journalists, tax policy experts and tax preparers. She has appeared in broadcast and print news from FOX News, CNN, CNBC, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, HuffPost, the Los Angeles Times and more.

Pickering received her bachelor’s degree from The Catholic University of America and became an enrolled agent in 2017.