Transparent and conducting thin films of Ta-doped $SnO_2$ were fabricated on a glass substrate by a pulse laser deposition(PLD) method. The structural, optical, and electrical properties of these films were investigated as a function of doping level, oxygen partial pressure, substrate temperature, and film thickness. XRD results revealed that all the deposited films were polycrystalline and the intensity of the (211) plane of $SnO_2$ decreased with an increase of Ta content. However, the orientation of the films changed from (211) to (110) with an increase in oxygen partial pressure (40 to 100 mTorr) and substrate temperature. The crystallinity of the films also increased with the substrate temperature. The electrical resistivity measurements showed that the resistivity of the films decreased with an increase in Ta doping, which exhibited the lowest resistivity (${ ho}{sim}1.1{ imes}10^{-3}{Omega}{cdot}cm$) for 10 wt% Ta-doped $SnO_2$ film, and then increased further. However, the resistivity continuously decreased with the oxygen partial pressure and substrate temperature. The optical bandgap of the 10 wt% Ta-doped $SnO_2$ film increased (3.67 to 3.78 eV) with an increase in film thickness from 100-700 nm, and the figure of merit revealed an increasing trend with the film thickness.