Individual Taxpayer Advisory Specialist

Summary

WHAT IS TAXPAYER SERVICES?
A description of the business units can be found at: https://www.jobs.irs.gov/about/who/business-divisions

• Position(s) are to be filled in following area(s):
  • TS - CARE-Customer Assistance, Relationship and Education - Field Assistance

Duties

The following are the duties of this position at the full working level. If this vacancy includes more than one grade and you are selected at a lower grade level, you will have the opportunity to learn to perform these duties and receive training to help you grow in this position.

• Conducts interviews with taxpayers to determine their tax situation, provide advice, and explains probable consequences of various courses of action open to taxpayers for the current and other tax years.
• Discusses tax law impact with tax practitioners and accountants, review books and records to gain understanding of taxpayer's financial status (cash/accrual basis).
• Confers with taxpayers and/or their representatives to explain issues involving the applicability of tax law, regulations, notices and account adjustments.
• Assists taxpayers in preparing tax returns and explains the consequences of courses of action. Explains to taxpayers the collection and examination processes.
• Prepares tax returns that include referring to required documentation, such as information reporting documents and limited schedules.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

• Probationary Period - A person who is required to go through a probationary period and then is transferred, promoted, demoted, or reassigned before he or she completes such period is required to complete the remainder of the probationary period in the new position.
• Government Credit Card - Obtain and use a Government-issued charge card for business-related travel.

Qualifications

Federal experience is not required. Experience may have been gained in the public sector, private sector or through Volunteer Service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-timework is considered on a prorated basis. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/day/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week, on your resume.
QUALIFICATION REQUIRMENTS:
GENERAL EXPERIENCE/EDUCATION FOR GS-05: You must have three years of general experience, one year of which was at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-04 in the Federal Service. General experience for this position includes: Analyzing problems to identify significant factors; Gathering pertinent data and recognizing solutions; Planning and organizing work; Communicating effectively both orally and in writing. Such experience may have been gained in administrative, professional, technical, investigative, or other responsible work.
OR
You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows: 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE/EDUCATION FOR GS-07: You must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position includes: Experience with business practices, basic accounting principles, and Federal tax laws and regulations; Analyzing systems and bookkeeping, using fact-finding techniques, and developing interpersonal skills; Using web-based computer applications, software, and communications needed to provide tax filing assistance to the taxpayer; Utilizing interviewing techniques and conducting interviews to convey information and elicit facts while maintaining a professional demeanor;
OR
You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows: 1 year of graduate education in a field of study such as: business administration, finance, accounting, auditing, taxation, or other related fields.
OR
Superior Academic Achievement may be met by having a Bachelor's degree, with one of the following: A GPA of 2.95 or higher on a 4.0 scale for all completed undergraduate courses or those completed in the last 2 years of study, or a GPA of 3.45 or higher on a 4.0 scale for all courses in the major field of study or those courses in the major completed in the last 2 years of study, or rank in the upper one third of the class in the college, university, or major subdivision, or membership in a national honor society recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies. In order to be creditable under this provision, superior academic achievement must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled.
OR
A combination of qualifying graduate education and experience equivalent to that described above.
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE/EDUCATION FOR GS-09: You must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position includes: Understanding of the regulations and administrative procedures related to the full range of personal, business, and other tax-related issues Interpreting and applying rules and regulations; Interviewing others to elicit facts to identify and resolve problems; Communicating with others to elicit facts to identify and resolve complex problems; Analyzing financial documents, such as financial accounts, tax returns, financial statements, etc., to reconcile factual differences or to reconstruct missing facts, and; Deciding whether actions are in compliance with statutory provisions and/or procedural and policy requirements.
OR
You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows: a master's or equivalent graduate degree in a field of study such as: accounting, finance, or business administration.
OR
Two full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a graduate degree in a field of study such as: accounting, finance, business administration or public administration.
OR
LL.B. or J.D., if related.
AND
You must also meet the following requirement(s):

• TIME AFTER COMPETITIVE APPOINTMENT (TACA): By the closing date (or if this is an open continuous announcement, by the cut-off date) specified in this job announcement, current civilian employees must have completed at least 90 days of federal civilian service since their latest non-temporary appointment from a competitive referral certificate, known as time after competitive appointment. For this requirement, a competitive appointment is one where you applied to and were appointed from an announcement open to "All US Citizens"
• TIME IN GRADE (TIG): For positions above the GS-05,applicants must meet applicable time-in-­grade requirements to be considered eligible. One year (52 weeks) at the next lower grade level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the grade you are applying for. For positions at the GS-05, you cannot advance to the GS-05 if you have held a GS-02 in the past 52 weeks. There is no TIG restriction for GS-02, 03 or 04 positions.

For more information on qualifications please refer to OPM's Qualifications Standards.

Education

A college or university degree generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools which meet these criteria, please refer to Department of Education Accreditation page.
FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. You must show proof the education credentials have been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education program. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. Click here (Section 3, Explanation of Terms) or here for Foreign Education Credentialing instructions.
We recommend choosing an evaluator from a member organization of one of the following national associations of credential evaluation services: National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) or Association of International Credentials Evaluators (AICE).

Additional information

• Consider each location carefully when applying. If you are selected for a location, that location will become your official post of duty.
• In the event that a building is closed due to rent management, new hires may be placed in a local commuting location.
• Additional jobs may be filled from this announcement or any other source to fill these vacancies.
• Alternative work schedule, staggered work hours may be available.
• Salary: General Schedule (GS) Locality Pay tables may be found under Salaries & Wages.
• Formal Development Plan - If this position is covered by a formal development plan, pay retention will be offered where applicable based on law and regulation.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

As a current employee, you know the great benefits we offer. Should you have any questions about benefits, please contact the Employee Resource Center (ERC) at 1-866-743-5748 option #1 for ERC.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.