Legal Administrative Specialist (Estate and Gift Tax) - Estate Tax Legal Specialist
Internal Revenue Service ‚Ä¢ Montgomery, Alabama ‚Ä¢ Full Time ‚Ä¢ $74,678–$74,678 / year
Posted on Mon, Jul 13, 2026
Summary
Position(s) are to be filled in the following area(s): SB/SE Examination Deputy Operations Specialty Examination, Estate & Gift/Excise Tax Exam
WHAT IS THE SMALL BUSINESS/SELF-EMPLOYED (SB/SE), OPERATING DIVISION?
A description of the business units can be found at: https://www.jobs.irs.gov/about/who/business-divisions
REVIEW THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BELOW FOR FURTHER DETAILS
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 independent examinations of the most complex estate and gift returns with a considerable number of complex and unusual issues requiring extensive tax law research, state law knowledge, investigation, and analysis.
- Determines the issues and audit techniques needed to resolve issues.
- Researches various complex Federal, state and foreign laws that may be without precedent or involve conflicting precedents to arrive at a determination of the federal estate and gift tax implications of the transactions.
- Determines the nature of included assets, analyzes transactions, investigates underlying facts, evaluates the fair market value of real estate, business interests, and other type of financial and investment assets for assigned returns.
- Conducts extensive legal research and analyzes the taxpayer's legal documents to identify the transferred interest.
Visit the IRS SPD Library to access the position descriptions.
Requirements
Conditions of employment
- Probationary Period - All newly appointed employees to the competitive (or excepted) service are subject to a probationary (or trial) period. During this time, your performance, conduct, and suitability for continued employment will be evaluated. You will not automatically convert to permanent status at the end of the probationary (or trial) period. Your supervisor must affirmatively determine that continued employment is in the best interest of the Federal service. If no certification is made before the probationary (or trial) period ends, your appointment will be terminated. You are encouraged to actively engage with your supervisor, seek feedback, and understand role expectations. Additional guidance and support will be provided during onboarding.
- Government Credit Card - Obtain and use a Government-issued charge card for business-related travel.
- U.S Citizenship - Must be a U.S. Citizen or National and provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
- Selective Service Registration - Males born after December 31, 1959, are required to be registered with the Selective Service System or prove they are exempt from having to do so.
- Personal Identity Verification (PIV) - Must provide 2 forms of identification from the Form I-9. Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S. These documents must be unexpired original or certified copies.
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.
You must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
BASIC QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: All GRADES -- SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR: To be eligible for this position, at any grade level, applicants must demonstrate the following: Knowledge of Legal Industry, including legal practices, federal codes and regulations, and application of complex legal principles to facts.
This knowledge may be met through experience and/or education. To meet this requirement, the applicant must demonstrate the following:
- Substantive knowledge of state and federal laws, judicial decisions and precedents, legal codes, court procedures, legal practices, legal instruments and documents, government regulations, executive orders, and agency rules specific to tax administration and compliance.
- Exceptional skill in researching, interpreting, examining, analyzing and applying relevant state and federal laws, regulations, related statutes, and sub-regulatory guidance, sufficient to produce written reports, relevant forms, instructions, explanatory publications, legal memoranda, proposed legislation, and other materials, sufficient to address taxpayer rights and responsibilities, propose tax legislation or regulation, and issue opinions and/or decisions specific to tax administration or compliance.
You must have 1 year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position includes:
- Experience working in a legal environment whereby you provided technical advice on legal requirements, conducted legal research and analysis, drafted/authored written opinions, decisions, and/or proposals on matters involving federal tax laws, rules, regulations, and practices.
- Experience must be sufficient to demonstrate knowledge of Federal tax laws, various State and foreign laws, judicial decisions, and precedents.
- Organizing, analyzing, and managing voluminous case information.
- Researching and evaluating complex legal questions involving state and federal laws.
- Reach a determination and take appropriate action to impact compliance with federal laws.
OR a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree education in Law from an Accredited College or University
OR an LL.M from a full course of study in a School of Law accredited by the American Bar Association
OR A combination of education and experience as described above.
Specialized Experience GS-12:
You must have 1 year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position must include:
- Experience working in a legal environment whereby you provided technical advice and guidance on Federal tax law requirements.
- Experience conducting legal research and analysis on complex Federal and State tax laws.
- Experience authoring legal opinions, decisions, determinations, or proposals on matters involving federal tax laws, rules, and/or regulations.
- Experience working with Federal, Gift, and Generation-Skipping Transfer tax laws, including Internal Revenue Code, Tax Regulations, IRS Revenue rulings and procedures and precedent decisions.
- Experience analyzing and adjudicating tax matters, appeals, settlement offers, or similar work related to Federal tax operations.
AND
You must also meet the following requirements:
- MINIMUM AGE REQUIREMENT: Minimum age for federal employment is 18 years old, or at least 16 years old and have:
- Graduated from high school or been awarded a certificate equivalent to graduating from high school; or
- Completed a formal vocational training program; or
- Received a statement from school authorities agreeing with your preference for employment rather than continuing your education.
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
Suitability Requirements:
- Prior IRS Employment - Former employees will be subject to a screening of their prior conduct with the Service. The Taxpayer First Act of 2019, 26 U.S. Code 7804, prohibits the IRS from rehiring certain former employees who were removed from service.
- Tax Check - Must undergo a review of income tax verification. To check the status of your tax record go to: (https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript). If you are not in compliance, you will be determined unsuitable for employment with IRS.
- Fingerprint/Criminal History Check - This position requires that the successful candidate undergo personnel vetting, which includes a background investigation and enrollment upon onboarding into "Continuous Vetting." Enrollment in Continuous Vetting will result in automated record checks being conducted throughout one's employment with Treasury. The successful candidate will also be enrolled into FBI's Rap Back service, which will allow Treasury to receive notification from the FBI of criminal matters (e.g., arrests, charges, convictions) involving enrolled individuals in near real-time. For more information regarding your rights refer to Noncriminal Justice Applicant's Privacy Rights - FBI, FD-258 Privacy Act Statement - FBI, and SEAD-3-Reporting-U.pdf (dni.gov).
- 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.
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.
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.