Tax Law 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- Media and Publications Tax Forms & Publications

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.

• Reviews proposed and final drafts of tax forms, instructions, schedules, public use forms, form letters, taxpayer information publications, training materials, and other technical tax material to insure technical accuracy, readability, and consistency with other forms, technical publications, and programs conducted by other IRS functions.
• Coordinates with Tax Forms and Publications branches, IRS operating divisions, the Office of Chief Counsel, Treasury, and other personnel to ensure technical content is accurate, reflects current tax law, and does not create inconsistencies or duplications within the division.
• Provides expert technical and procedural assistance to technical and managerial personnel of the Division on matters about which she or he has particular expertise and serves as an advisor to lower graded technicians in the treatment of issues assigned to them. Briefs the key officials on technical problems. Prepares or coordinates background information documents relating to the cause of problems and suggests possible solutions to problems.
• Serves as consultant and technical advisor to the Section Chief, and, as appropriate, to the branch chief on the most important technical policy matters.
• Researches and analyzes proposed and current legislation for technical content, feasibility of incorporation into taxpayer information publications, and administratability of conversion into forms and instructions. Researches other material, including tax treaties, judicial and administrative decisions, revenue rulings and revenue procedures, and requests by professional and special interest groups. Develops or reviews, as appropriate, implementation plans and complexity analyses.

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. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS SHOWN IN QUALIFICATIONS SECTION

• 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.
You must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: GS-14 Level: You must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position must include:
Experience with Legal, tax accounting, or other experience that required knowledge of Federal tax laws, regulations, precedent decisions, or other areas related to the position to be filled.
Examples of qualifying specialized experience include:
Preparing, reviewing, or applying rulings, advisory letters, memoranda, etc. related to Federal taxation. Analyzing and adjudicating tax claims, appeals, settlement offers, or similar work related to Federal tax operations.
Work as an attorney that required legal research, analysis, and preparation of briefs or similar documents interpreting laws and regulations.
Work as an accountant, auditor, or investigator that required application of Federal tax accounting principles and/or the Internal Revenue Code and related laws.
In addition, you must have at least one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service.
Specialized experience for this position must include:
Experience with federal tax law, including the Internal Revenue Code, Treasury Regulations, revenue rulings, revenue procedures, notices, court decisions, legislative history, and related authorities sufficient to research, interpret, analyze, and apply complex and interrelated tax provisions involving significant tax administration, compliance, reporting, and implementation implications;
Experience with accounting principles, tax accounting methods, financial reporting concepts, and related practices sufficient to analyze the impact of tax law provisions on taxpayer reporting requirements, information reporting, income recognition, deductions, credits, basis calculations, and other tax administration matters;
Experience with tax law research methodologies and the ability to conduct extensive legal and technical research using authoritative tax research resources, including Westlaw, Lexis, Bloomberg Tax, and other sources, to identify, analyze, and reconcile statutory, regulatory, judicial, and administrative authorities;
Experience writing using proper grammar, syntax, punctuation, usage, and specialized tax, accounting, legal, financial, and business terminology. Experience in learning theory and cognitive thinking, as they apply to the writing, design, and presentation of materials;
Experience with printing and design techniques, computer specifications and programming requirements of Standard Generalized Mark-up Language (SGML) or other designated electronic composition and publishing system to develop and implement improvements;
Using technical writing, editing, and communication to ensure complex legal and tax concepts are accurately translated into understandable and actionable guidance.
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.
• Cost-of-Living Allowances (COLA): Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico includes COLA. See COLA Rates 2026.

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.