Legal Administrative Specialist (Estate and Gift Tax) - Estate Tax Legal Specialist

Position(s) are to be filled in the following area(s): SB/SE Examination Deputy Operations Specialty Examination, Estate & Gift/Excise Tax Exam 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 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.

Salary

• $74,678 - $145,468/year

Conditions of Employment

• Probationary Period - All newly appointed employees to the competitive (or excepted) service are subject to a probationary (or trial) period. During this time, your performance, conduct, and suitability for continued employment will be evaluated. You will not automatically convert to permanent status at the end of the probationary (or trial) period. Your supervisor must affirmatively determine that continued employment is in the best interest of the Federal service. If no certification is made before the probationary (or trial) period ends, your appointment will be terminated. You are encouraged to actively engage with your supervisor, seek feedback, and understand role expectations. Additional guidance and support will be provided during onboarding.
• Government Credit Card - Obtain and use a Government-issued charge card for business-related travel.

Key Eligibility Requirements:

• U.S Citizenship - Must be a U.S. Citizen or National and provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
• Selective Service Registration - Males born after December 31, 1959, are required to be registered with the Selective Service System or prove they are exempt from having to do so.
• Personal Identity Verification (PIV) - Must provide 2 forms of identification from the Form I-9. Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S. These documents must be unexpired original or certified copies.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS SHOWN IN QUALIFICATIONS OR ADDTIONAL INFORMATION SECTIONS

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.

BASIC QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: All GRADES -- SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR: To be eligible for this position, at any grade level, applicants must demonstrate the following: Knowledge of Legal Industry, including legal practices, federal codes and regulations, and application of complex legal principles to facts.

This knowledge may be met through experience and/or education. To meet this requirement, the applicant must demonstrate the following:

• Substantive knowledge of state and federal laws, judicial decisions and precedents, legal codes, court procedures, legal practices, legal instruments and documents, government regulations, executive orders, and agency rules specific to tax administration and compliance.

• Exceptional skill in researching, interpreting, examining, analyzing and applying relevant state and federal laws, regulations, related statutes, and sub-regulatory guidance, sufficient to produce written reports, relevant forms, instructions, explanatory publications, legal memoranda, proposed legislation, and other materials, sufficient to address taxpayer rights and responsibilities, propose tax legislation or regulation, and issue opinions and/or decisions specific to tax administration or compliance.

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:

• Experience working in a legal environment whereby you provided technical advice on legal requirements, conducted legal research and analysis, drafted/authored written opinions, decisions, and/or proposals on matters involving federal tax laws, rules, regulations, and practices.
• Experience must be sufficient to demonstrate knowledge of Federal tax laws, various State and foreign laws, judicial decisions, and precedents.
• Organizing, analyzing, and managing voluminous case information.
• Researching and evaluating complex legal questions involving state and federal laws.
• Reach a determination and take appropriate action to impact compliance with federal laws.

OR Three (3) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education in Law from an Accredited College or University
OR a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree education in Law from an Accredited College or University
OR an LL.M from a full course of study in a School of Law accredited by the American Bar Association
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:

• Experience working in a legal environment whereby you provided technical advice and guidance on Federal tax law requirements.
• Experience conducting legal research and analysis on complex Federal and State tax laws.
• Experience authoring legal opinions, decisions, determinations, or proposals on matters involving federal tax laws, rules, and/or regulations.
• Experience working with Federal, Gift, and Generation-Skipping Transfer tax laws, including Internal Revenue Code, Tax Regulations, IRS Revenue rulings and procedures and precedent decisions.
• Experience analyzing and adjudicating 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). Other Information Suitability Requirements: Prior IRS Employment - Former employees will be subject to a screening of their prior conduct with the Service. The Taxpayer First Act of 2019, 26 U.S. Code 7804, prohibits the IRS from rehiring certain former employees who were removed from service. Tax Check - Must undergo a review of income tax verification. To check the status of your tax record go to: (https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript). If you are not in compliance, you will be determined unsuitable for employment with IRS. Fingerprint/Criminal History Check - This position requires that the successful candidate undergo personnel vetting, which includes a background investigation and enrollment upon onboarding into "Continuous Vetting." Enrollment in Continuous Vetting will result in automated record checks being conducted throughout one's employment with Treasury. The successful candidate will also be enrolled into FBI's Rap Back service, which will allow Treasury to receive notification from the FBI of criminal matters (e.g., arrests, charges, convictions) involving enrolled individuals in near real-time. For more information regarding your rights refer to Noncriminal Justice Applicant's Privacy Rights - FBI, FD-258 Privacy Act Statement - FBI, and SEAD-3-Reporting-U.pdf (dni.gov). Additional Information: 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. 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
… Your resume should:

• Be limited to two (2) pages. Applicants with resumes exceeding two-pages will be removed from consideration. We recommend utilizing 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 for the main text, and 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. If you update your application, only the most recent resume received (uploaded under the "Resume" document type) will be considered to determine qualifications.
• Include 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.
• Include pay plan, series, and grade (e.g., GS-0301-09) for all federal service jobs.
• Not include photographs, classified or sensitive information, SSN, encrypted/digitally signed documents, or other inappropriate content. Resumes containing prohibited information will be deemed ineligible.
• Not include embedded links as they will not be opened or considered when determining qualifications.
• Not include personal information such as age, sex, religion, race, or disability.
• Not include specialized experience copied from the announcement or position description, as this is not a demonstration of your experience.

2. Education (if applicable) - Refer to Qualification and Education sections above for requirements

• For positions with an education requirement, or if you are qualifying for this position based on education or training, submit a copy of your transcript(s) or equivalent. An official transcript(s) will be required if you are selected.

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) Selection priority program for displaced or surplus federal employees:

• Review and submit the required documentation as oulined 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 07/09/2026.

1. To begin the application process, click the "Apply Online" button.
2. 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/12978815.
   • 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.)
3. Click the Submit Application button.
4. 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.