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 Position(s) are to be filled in the following area(s): SBSE EXAM - Examination Deputy Operations - Examination Deputy Operations Specialty Examination, Estate & Gift/Excise Tax Exam 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. STANDARD POSITION DESCRIPTIONS (SPD): PD21155 and PD21156 Visit the IRS SPD Library to access the position descriptions.
Salary
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-11: 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: Working in a legal environment in which you provided technical advice about legal requirements, conducted legal research and analysis, or prepared written opinions, decisions, and/or proposals on matters specific to tax administration or compliance. Applying federal tax laws, various state and foreign laws, judicial decisions, and precedents to advise parties on proper legal requirements. Researching and evaluating legal questions involving state and federal laws. Analyzing findings of fact and critically evaluating the information secured to reach determinations supported by federal, state and local laws and court decisions. OR Three (3) full years of progressively higher level graduate education in a related degree OR a Ph.D., or equivalent doctoral degree education related to the position OR an LL.M, if related 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: Working in a legal environment whereby you provided technical advice and guidance on federal tax law requirements. Conducting legal research and analysis on federal or state tax laws. Authoring legal opinions, decisions, determinations, or proposals on matters involving federal tax laws, rules, and/or regulations. Working with Federal, Gift, and Generation-Skipping Transfer tax laws, including Internal Revenue Code, Tax Regulations, IRS Revenue rulings and procedures and precedent decisions. Analyzing 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).
Required Documents
The following documents are required and must be provided with your application. All application materials, including transcripts, must be in English. Incomplete or insufficient information may result in not being considered for the position, or not receiving special consideration for which you may be eligible. Please view Application Preparation or How to write a resume for federal job. 1. Resume (Failure to follow instructions, will result in not being considered.) Do: Limit to two (2) pages. Recommend a standard 8.5x11-inch document size, a sans-serif font such as Arial or Calibri with a font size no smaller than 10-point, page margins of 0.5 inches. Applicants that attempt to circumvent the 2-page limit page limit, for example by materially reducing readability, will be deemed ineligible. Include your full name. Include relevant work experience - Employer Name, Job Title, Employment dates (start to end date or present), and a brief description of duties that clearly demonstrate your qualifications. Don't: Include photographs, classified or sensitive information, SSN, encrypted/digitally signed documents, or other inappropriate content. Resumes containing prohibited information will be deemed ineligible. Copy and paste duties or specialized experience from the job announcement, as this is not a demonstration of your experience. Additional Information: Pay plan, series, and grade (e.g., GS-0301-09) should be provided for all federal service jobs. Failure to do so could affect your qualification determination. To receive full credit for work experience, include number of hours worked per week and specific MM/DD/YYYY start and end dates for every position. Do not include personal information such as age, sex, religion, race, or disability. Do not include embedded links as they will not be opened or considered when determining qualifications. If you update and resubmit your application, only the most recent resume received will be considered to determine qualifications. 2. Education (if applicable) - Refer to Qualification and Education sections above for requirements Submit a copy of your transcript(s) or equivalent for positions with an education requirement, or if you are qualifying for this position based on education or training. An official transcript(s) will be required if you are selected. High School Diploma (or equivalent) - If you are 16 or 17 years of age, you MUST submit documentation of graduation from high school (or equivalent); OR completion of a formal vocational training program; OR statement from school authorities agreeing with your decision to pursue employment rather than continuing your education. 3. Registration/License (if applicable) - Current, active registration/license 4. Veterans' Preference (if applicable) MUST submit a copy of your DD-214 (Member 4 copy), or other official documentation from a branch of the Armed Forces or the Department of Veterans Affairs showing dates of service and type of discharge. If you are serving under active duty, provide certification from the Armed Forces that you will be discharged or released within 120 days from the date of certification. The certification must indicate your dates of service, rank and that you will be separated under honorable conditions. 10-point preference eligible - Submit an Application for 10-point Veteran Preference, SF-15, along with the required documentation listed on the back of the form if you are a 10-point preference eligible. For more information on claiming veterans' preference view here. 5. Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) (if applicable) Submit the required documentation as outlined under CTAP/ICTAP 6. Current and Former Federal Employees Documentation (if applicable) Submit a copy of your most recent SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) or equivalent personnel action form which shows your grade and competitive service status.
How to Apply
Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. ET, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, please contact us by noon ET on 10/15/2026. To begin the application process, click the "Apply Online" button. You will be re-directed to USA STAFFING to continue your application process; answer the online questions. To preview the Application Questionnaire, please click the following link:https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13066459. Upload all required documents. (To submit supporting documents, import documents from USAJOBS to the appropriate document types. If the document you need is not imported from USAJOBS, you may upload it directly into this application.) Click the Submit Application button. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability. Set aside up to 3 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources. Visit USA Hire Online Help for online assessment information, system requirements, reasonable accommodations, and what to expect next. Reasonable Accommodations (RA): We provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact us if you require this for any part of the application and hiring process. To review reasonable accommodation policies and procedures please visit https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/disability-employment/reasonable-accommodations/. USA Hire Assessment Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. (https://appsupport-usastaffing.opm.gov/hc/en-us/sections/45063131363475-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information) To update your application, including supporting documentation: Visit USAJOBS - How to Update Application during the announcement open period, make updates or add supporting documentation, then continue through the entire application process and click Submit Application to send updates to the hiring agency. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.
