Tax Specialist (Tax Compliance Officer)
Internal Revenue Service See More Job Openings by This EmployerWHAT IS THE LARGE BUSINESS & INTERNATIONAL 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 following area(s): LBI - Director Withholding Exchange/International Individual Compliance -Withholding Exchange and International Individual Compliance (WEIIC), International Individual Compliance, Territory 5 REVIEW THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BELOW FOR FURTHER DETAILS
DutiesThe 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.
- Plans and conducts independent examinations and related investigations of a variety of individual and business taxpayers involving complex tax issues and accounting records. Such examinations may include business issues such as taxpayer's methods of accounting (cash and/or accrual basis), depreciation, inventory valuation, cost of goods sold, prepaid assets and expenses, and E-commerce.
- For Specialty Programs, such activities include investigations of strategic or special emphasis programs such as claims, nonfilers, worker classification, tip reporting, and fringe benefits and other issues.
- Conducts examinations both independently and as part of an audit team.
- Specializes in the areas of Income Tax Withholding, Federal Insurance Contributions Act, and Federal Unemployment Tax Act.
- Advises taxpayers of their rights as defined in the examination and appeal guidelines; examination procedures; current tax and reporting responsibilities; and the importance and benefit of meeting future responsibilities.
Visit the IRS SPD Library to access the position descriptions. Salary
- $74,678 - $121,371/year
- 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.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS SHOWN IN QUALIFICATIONS SECTION 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.
SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR (SPF):
ACCOUNTING KNOWLEDGE: Applicants must demonstrate their knowledge of Principles of Accounting and Intermediate Accounting. Candidates can demonstrate this knowledge either through successful completion of 12 semester hours / 18 quarter hours of college level accounting (with at least 6 semester / 9 quarter hours at the intermediate level) and/or experience. Applicants qualifying based on education must submit transcripts with their application.
AND
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE/EDUCATION GS-11: In addition to the basic requirements, to be eligible for this position, you must have one (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 that demonstrated a substantive knowledge of business practices, basic accounting principles, and Federal tax laws and regulations; and that required the ability to audit tax records, analyze systems and bookkeeping, use fact-finding techniques, and develop interpersonal skills.
Examples of qualifying experience may include: (This list is not all inclusive)
- Experience working in a business environment where primary responsibilities included applying accounting principles, auditing tax records, and interpreting and applying Federal tax laws and regulations.
- Experience auditing various types of tax returns, determining tax liability of individual taxpayers, businesses, or corporations; Interpreting and applying Federal tax laws and regulations; and making determinations on Federal tax liability.
- Experience investigating alleged criminal violations of Federal tax statutes and making recommendations for criminal prosecution and assertion of civil penalties; or collecting delinquent Federal taxes, including canvassing for unreported taxes due, and securing delinquent returns.
- Experience applying business practices, accounting principles, and Federal tax laws and regulations to audit tax returns, identify discrepancies, analyze accounting systems and bookkeeping records, recommend corrective actions, and prepare compliance documentation.
- Experience auditing various types of tax returns to determine the correct tax liability for individual taxpayers, businesses, or corporations by applying the Internal Revenue Code, Federal tax regulations, and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) policies and procedures. Experience conducting analytical examinations, applying fact-finding techniques, making tax liability determinations and redeterminations, and auditing Form 1040-NR, Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (OVDI) cases, treaty cases, and embassy cases.
- Experience conducting program evaluations, internal audits, or administrative activities involving the assessment and collection of Federal taxes, investigating potential violations of Federal tax laws, recommending appropriate corrective actions, and collecting delinquent Federal taxes, including securing delinquent tax returns.
EDUCATION: You may substitute education with specialized experience as follows:
A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree with a major study in accounting, auditing, taxation, business administration, law, or other related fields.
OR
Three (3) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree with a major study in accounting, auditing, taxation, business administration, law, or other related fields.
OR
An LL.M., if related.
OR
COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: A combination of qualifying graduate education and experience equivalent to the amount required.
You must also meet the following requirements:
- TIME AFTER COMPETITIVE APPOINTMENT (TACA): 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.
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
- Requirements (Failure to provide the following information, may result in not being considered):
- Limited 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.
- Includes your name and contact information.
- Include relevant work experience - Employer Name, Job Title, Employment dates (start to end date or present), number of hours worked per week, and a brief description of duties that clearly demonstrate your qualifications.
- To receive full credit for work experience, you must include specific MM/DD/YYYY start and end dates for every position.
- Pay plan, series, and grade (e.g., GS-0301-09) for all federal service jobs.
- Don't Include on Resume:
- Photographs, classified or sensitive information, SSN, encrypted/digitally signed documents, or other inappropriate content. Resumes containing prohibited information will be deemed ineligible.
- Embedded links as they will not be opened or considered when determining qualifications.
- Personal information such as age, sex, religion, race, or disability.
- Specialized experience copied from the announcement or position description, as this is not a demonstration of your experience.
- 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.
4. Performance Appraisal/Awards (strongly encouraged)
- Submit the most recent completed annual performance appraisal.
- Submit copies of any incentive/performance awards received that may have an impact on the qualifications for the position to be filled.
- Submit the required documentation as outined under CTAP
- Submit your RPP Notice and most recent performance appraisal.
- Appraisal must reflect Fully successful or higher overall rating.
- If you met the 52-week time-in-grade (TIG) requirement at another agency, provide such documentation. (e.g., Promotion SF-50(s) (Notification of Personnel Action) (or equivalent) with an effective date more than one (1) year old, Within-Grade-Increase at the highest grade held). Failure to provide documentation may result in an ineligible determination.
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 09/02/2026.
- 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/13032876.
- 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 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 view the job status or your application status: Visit USAJOBS - How to View Application/Job Status. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application. 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.