Office of Chief Counsel, IRS, seeks enthusiastic individuals to serve taxpayers fairly and with integrity by providing correct and impartial interpretation of the internal revenue laws and the highest quality legal advice and representation for the IRS. To learn more, click the links below: IRS Office of Chief Counsel Careers Site Meet Our People Learn about our Legal Divisions
Duties
The Associate Chief Counsel, Procedure and Administration (PA) is comprised of approximately 100 attorneys and 50 support personnel. The office's responsibilities include legal issues arising out of the assessment and collection of Federal taxes, bankruptcy, ethics, abatement, credits, refund of Federal taxes, disclosure of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act matters, and judicial proceedings which include technical electronic discovery (eDiscovery) litigation support. As a General Attorney (Tax) (Senior Counsel), you will: Provide expert advice and litigation support services on the most complicated tax matters involving the procedural aspects of filing returns and paying taxes; assessment and collection of taxes (including interest and penalties); abating, crediting or refunding over assessments or overpayments of tax; disclosure, privacy and FOIA; bankruptcy practices and procedures; summonses and the gathering of information; ethics; and judicial practice and procedure. Plan, develop and complete complex legal work products without review, and provide technical guidance and review of other staff work products. Ensure such products are technically complete and adhere to office policy and exercises signatory authority on own and others' products in accordance with delegated authority. Apply a high level of sophisticated analysis and research to identify and assess approaches to make recommendations on behalf of the Office to program executives and managers. As appropriate, interact with personnel from other Counsel offices, IRS, Treasury, other Federal agencies, and/or others on behalf of PA to exchange information or coordinate actions in the handling and completion of assignments. Serve as team leader on large-scale PA guidance and publication projects that may include representatives from other Counsel Divisions or IRS offices. Direct and coordinate the work of other team members and oversee all related administrative and logistical matters. Develop procedural guidelines to assist PA attorneys in the development of complex advisory opinions, private letter rulings, technical advice memorandums, closing agreements, published guidance (revenue rulings, revenue procedures, notices, announcements and regulations), pleadings, defense letters, and Chief Counsel Advice memoranda. Research complex issues and trends affecting PA legal services and determine likely legal ramifications on PA programs. Ensure that the legal or administrative consequences of potential actions to handle these issues are fully considered and write decision papers to determine Counsel's position on these matters. Serve as a primary reviewer on proposed legislation with potential impact on PA programs and prepare final comments and recommendations on behalf of the office. Develop and draft new procedures and regulations to implement new or amended legislation to ensure that policies are consistent with the intent of the law, are administratively sound, economical in operation, and enable PA to effectively meet its mission. This is not an all-inclusive list.
Salary
Qualifications
In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements detailed below by the closing date of this announcement. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Basic Requirements for General Attorney (Tax) (Senior Counsel): Possess at least the first professional law degree (LL.B. or 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. GS-15 Experience Requirements: 1 year of general professional legal experience from any area of expertise; plus 3 year(s) of professional legal tax experience Professional Legal Tax Experience is defined as: Comprehensive knowledge of procedural tax law, as well as other areas of law and legal concepts as they affect the tax laws, and experience in one or more of the following specialization areas: The procedural aspects of filing returns and paying taxes; Circular 230; the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct; the Administrative Procedure Act; assessment and collection of taxes (including interest and penalties); abating, crediting, or refunding over assessments or overpayments of tax; matters relating to disclosure, privacy and FOIA; matters relating to bankruptcy practice and procedure; matters relating to summonses and the gathering of information; judicial practice and procedure; and electronic discovery in litigation. At least one year of this experience must be equivalent to the work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-14). Note: Only experience gained after Bar Admission may be credited as Professional Legal Experience. Education Substitution: An LL.M. degree in Taxation/Tax Law or a FOIA/Disclosure related field may be substituted for the one year of the general legal experience listed above. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week, on your resume. Time in Grade Requirement for GS-15: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent (GS-14).
Education
For positions with an education requirement, or if you are qualifying for this position by substituting education or training for experience, submit a copy of your transcripts or equivalent. An official transcript will be required if you are selected. 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 items described below. Please note that if you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, you may not be considered for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible). 1. RESUME - All applicants are required to submit a resume (max of 2 pages in length) either by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one of their own choosing. Resumes MUST contain specific information that can be used to make a qualification determination, including employment beginning and ending dates for each position (ex. MM/YY - MM/YY), whether employment is Full-time or Part-time, or average number of hours worked per week, and position titles. If the position is/was in the Federal government, you will need to detail the position series and grade level. The resume should detail relevant experience and education, as well as support the required specialized experience. Please view resume tips. Note: Resume must be presented in a font size and font style that is legible, no less than 10-point size with no less than half an inch margin all around. 2. SF-50 NOTIFICATION OF PERSONNEL ACTION: Submit a copy of your latest SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) showing your tenure, grade and step, and type of position occupied (i.e., Excepted or Competitive); or similar Notification of Personnel Action documentation. 3. ADDITIONAL REQUIRED DOCUMENTS: Applicants are required to submit the following supporting documentation if applicable: An unofficial or official transcript(s) for your J.D. degree or LL.M. degree (an official transcript is required if you are selected) Transcripts must detail degree awarded/conferred including date. Proof of Active Bar Admission A copy of your most recent, signed, completed annual performance appraisal which includes the final rating. If it is not dated within the last 12 months or if you have not received a performance appraisal, please explain why in your application. A memorandum of interest summarizing your interest in the position. A Supervisory Report regarding your suitability for the position as completed by your current supervisor. You are responsible for notifying your supervisor that this report must be received no later than five workdays after the closing date of this announcement. Education Documentation: For positions with an education requirement, or if you are qualifying for this position by substituting education or training for experience, submit a copy of your transcripts or equivalent. An official transcript will be required if you are selected. See "Education" for more details. Certificate of Good Standing: A certified original copy of your certificate of good standing from your State Bar will be required if you are selected.
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 11/17/2025 and/or cut-off dates in this announcement. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00a - 4:30p ET, Monday - Friday). To preview the Application Questionnaire, please click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12827043 If you require a reasonable accommodation for a disability or medical condition during any part of the application and hiring process, please contact HR Labor & Employee Relations Division, Reasonable Accommodation Services by email at CC.Reasonable.Accommodation.Services@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. 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.
