With nearly 1,700 attorneys, IRS Chief Counsel is the largest tax law firm nationwide. Our attorneys are among top tax law practitioners and some of the very best legal minds found anywhere. Together with the IRS, we serve the public by applying the tax code with fairness and integrity. After pausing hiring in 2025, we now seek new law graduates and experienced attorneys to join us. Click to learn more: IRS Office of Chief Counsel Careers Site Meet Our People Learn about our Legal Divisions
Duties
The IRS Office of Chief Counsel's Honors Program is a highly competitive program available to graduating or recently graduated Law students who have been admitted to a State Bar. The program offers entry level positions that provide the opportunity to acquire significant training and experience in tax law. The positions are open to individuals each year who have superior academic qualifications or relevant experience to the work of the Office of Chief Counsel. Appointments will be made to a General Attorney (Tax) at the GS-12/13 with promotion potential to the GS-14. In some circumstances, qualifications may be reviewed before start date for possible appointment to a higher grade. Participants must be admitted and in Good Standing with a State Bar. As an Attorney with the Office of Chief Counsel, you will work for one of several major Counsel organizations, based on your particular interest, qualifications, and the staffing needs of the Office. Whether you are in a field office or National Office position, you will receive substantial training and responsibility. The following link describes our legal divisions Legal Divisions | IRS Careers We are recruiting for both our National Office and our Field Office Divisions throughout the country. Current Openings are detailed below: National Office: National Office Divisions located only in Washington, D.C. include Corporate (CORP), Employee Benefits, Exempt Orgs, Employment Taxes (EEE), Energy, Credits, and Excise Tax (ECE), Financial Institutions & Products (FIP), Income Tax & Accounting (ITA), International (INTL), Passthroughs, Trusts, and Estates (PTE), and Procedure & Administration (P&A). We are currently recruiting for our Division Counsel (Litigation & Advisory) in the following cities: Atlanta, GA; Austin, TX; Baltimore, MD; Birmingham, AL; Boston, MA; Buffalo, NY; Chicago, IL; Cincinnati, OH; Cleveland, OH; Denver, CO; Detroit, MI; East Hartford, CT; Farmers Branch (Dallas), TX; Greensboro, NC; Honolulu, HI; Houston, TX; Indianapolis, IN; Jacksonville, FL; Kansas City, MO; Lake Forest (Laguna Niguel), CA; Las Vegas, NV; Los Angeles, CA; Louisville, KY; Miami, FL; Milwaukee, WI; Nashville, TN; Newark, NJ; New Orleans, LA; New York (Manhattan), NY; Oklahoma City, OK; Philadelphia, PA; Phoenix, AZ; Pittsburgh, PA; Plantation, FL; Portland, OR; Richmond, VA; Sacramento, CA; Salt Lake City, UT; San Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; San Jose, CA; Seattle, WA; St. Louis, MO; St. Paul, MN; St. Petersburg, FL; Washington, DC; Westbury (Long Island), NY. We are currently recruiting for our Office of the Division Counsel/Associate Chief Counsel (Criminal Tax) in the following cities: Baltimore, MD; Chicago, IL; Cincinnati, OH; Houston, TX; Indianapolis, IN; Jacksonville, FL; Los Angeles, CA; Nashville, TN; Newark, NJ; New Orleans, LA; Portland, OR; Richmond, VA; Salt Lake City, UT; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; St, Louis, MO; St. Paul, MN; Washington, DC; Westbury (Long Island), NY. We are currently recruiting for our Office of the Division Counsel (Tax Exempt & Government Entities Division Counsel) in the following cities: Chicago, IL; Denver, CO; Farmers Branch (Dallas), TX; Jacksonville, FL; Los Angeles, CA; New York (Manhattan), NY; Seattle, WA; Washington, DC; Westbury (Long Island), NY. Target Start Date: August-September 2026
Salary
Qualifications
Who May Apply: Law School Students or Recent Law School Graduates who are eligible for participation in the IRS Chief Counsel Honors Program AND who have been admitted to a State Bar: Students pursuing a Tax LL.M. who will graduate from an ABA accredited law school by the Graduation Requirement Date: September 30, 2026 OR Recent Law School Graduates from an ABA accredited law school who within 9 months of graduating law school began participating in eligibility preserving activities. Law school graduates who received their J.D. prior to October 1, 2022, are ineligible. Eligibility Preserving Activities are defined as: Full-time activities starting after law school graduation that can preserve a law school graduate's eligibility for the Honors Program. The following are eligibility preserving activities: judicial clerkships, tax or accounting-related graduate programs (including Tax LL.M. programs) or qualifying legal fellowships. Qualifying legal fellowships must have a formal sponsor (e.g., a public service organization, a foundation, a bar association, a corporation, a law school, etc.), an established legal mission (e.g., purpose, type of work), and be publicly advertised as a fellowship at the time the candidate applied to the fellowship. Breaks between consecutive eligibility preserving activities cannot exceed 120 days. Participation in the eligibility preserving activity must be active through at least December 1 of the program year (may run later). To qualify for this position of Honors General Attorney (Tax), you must meet the qualification requirements listed below by the closing of this announcement: Basic Requirements for Honors General Attorney (Tax): Possess at least the first professional law degree (J.D.) from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association; AND Applicants must be an active member in good standing of the bar of a State, U.S. Commonwealth, U.S. territory, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. To qualify for the Honors General Attorney (Tax) at the GS-12 grade level, you must be a J.D. graduate with one year of legal experience OR a LL.M. candidate/graduate. In addition, you must meet one of the following by the closing date of the announcement: A class ranking in the top 25% of J.D. program AND/OR a J.D. cumulative GPA of 3.35 or higher OR A class ranking in the top 25% of your class in the LL.M. program AND/OR a LL.M. cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher OR If neither J.D. nor LL.M. program has class rank or GPA, a minimum LSAT of 160 is required. To qualify for the Honors General Attorney (Tax) at the GS-13 grade level, you must be a J.D. graduate with two years of legal experience OR a LL.M. candidate/graduate with one year of legal experience. In addition, you must meet one of the following by the closing date of the announcement: A class ranking in the top 25% of J.D. program AND/OR a J.D. cumulative GPA of 3.35 or higher. A class ranking in the top 25% of your class in the LL.M. program AND/OR a LL.M. cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher. If neither J.D. nor LL.M. program has class rank or GPA, a minimum LSAT of 160 is required. Legal Experience is defined as judicial clerkships or qualifying legal fellowships. Qualifying legal fellowships must have a formal sponsor (e.g., a public service organization, a foundation, a bar association, a corporation, a law school, etc.), an established legal mission (e.g., purpose, type of work), and be publicly advertised as a fellowship at the time the candidate applied to the fellowship. At least one year of this experience must be equivalent to the work performed at the next lower grade/level in the federal service for the position in which you are applying. Note: Only experience gained after Bar Admission may be credited as Legal Experience. Education Substitution: A LL.M. degree in the field of the position (tax or P&A- FOIA/Disclosure related field) may be substituted for the one year of the general legal experience listed above. Attributes of an Ideal Candidate are: Special high-level recognition for academic excellence in law school, such as selection to Order of the Coif or receipt of the American Jurisprudence Award in related courses; or top grades in tax or related course work (e.g., "A" grades in tax courses); Evidence of background or experience in the position to be filled, such as taking relevant law school classes (e.g., tax law, bankruptcy/debtor creditor law, administrative law) or relevant legal or tax experience (e.g., tax legal experience) or relevant tax volunteer experience (e.g., VITA, Tax Clinic); Work or achievement in the law school's law review or other recognized law journal; Winning a moot court or mock trial competition or membership on a moot court or mock trial team Applicants Not Admitted to a State Bar: Applicants who have not been accepted into a State Bar are not eligible to apply to the General Attorney (Tax) Program and may apply to the following Honors Program (Law Clerk) announcement for consideration: GS-11 Law Clerk - CCCM-26-12870084-HON-SR GS-12 Law Clerk - CCCM-26-12870095-HON-SR
Education
All applicants must be attending or graduated from an ABA-accredited law school. 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: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. If you are qualifying based on foreign education, you must submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. For further information, visit: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov).
Required Documents
A complete application includes: A resume Vacancy question responses An official or unofficial transcript from your law school (an official copy will be required if you are selected) Certificate of Good Standing from the Bar (an official copy from the state will be required if you are selected) An unedited writing sample (5-10 pages in length) Supporting documentation as applicable All applicants are required to submit a resume either by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one of their own choosing. (Cover letters are optional.) Please limit your resume to two-pages. Applicants with resumes exceeding two-pages will be removed from consideration. To receive full credit for relevant experience, please list the month/year and number of hours worked for experience listed on your resume. We suggest that you preview the online questions, as you may need to customize your resume to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions. Please view Resume Tips. EDUCATION DOCUMENTATION: If you are using your GPA, class ranking or LSAT Scores to qualify, you must include supporting documentation that confirms your GPA & Class Rank (for example, a transcript, test scores, etc.). VETERANS' PREFERENCE DOCUMENTATION: If you are claiming veterans' preference, you 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 actual or expected dates of service dates of service and type of discharge. Ten-point preference eligibles must also submit an Application for 10-point Veteran Preference, SF-15, along with the required documentation listed on the back of the SF-15 form. For more information on veterans' preference view FedsHireVets. Please ensure your application includes supporting qualification documentation for this position, failure to do so may result in an "incomplete application" determination.
How to Apply
The following instructions outline our application process. You must complete this application process and submit any required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on 02/17/2026 and/or cut-off dates in this announcement. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00am-4:00pm. ET, Monday - Friday) ET, Monday - Friday). To preview the Application Questionnaire, please click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12878356 If you require a reasonable accommodation for a disability or medical condition during any part of the application and hiring process, please contact Kimberly Johnson, Reasonable Accommodation Coordinator, HR Labor & Employee Relations Division, by phone at 503-265-3841 or by email at Kimberly.F.Johnson@irscounsel.treas.gov. The IRS - Office of Chief Counsel provides reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. You must contact us by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on the announcement's closing date to request accommodation. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services. To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application. Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. Please limit your resume to two-pages. Applicants with resumes exceeding two-pages will be removed from consideration. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process. You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete. It is your responsibility to verify that your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan. Additional information on how to complete the online application process and submit your online application may be found on the USA Staffing Applicant Resource Center.
