Tax Law Specialist

Summary

WHAT IS THE INDEPENDENT OFFICE OF APPEALS (AP)? 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): Appeals - Collection Appeals This job (or announcement) is open to current permanent IRS competitive service employees in Appeals business units. 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. Analyzes developments resulting from litigation, legislative action, regulations, and departmental policy and initiates changes in areas where necessary. Advises the Division Commissioner or Division Director/Director, Technical Guidance, or Director ACA on issues pertaining to uniform interpretation and application of laws involving ACA or organizations exempt from income tax, and procedural and administrative provisions with respect to such organizations. Reviews proposed legislation and regulations and proposed revenue rulings for adequacy and accuracy, and advises Division Commissioner or Division Director/Director, Technical Guidance or Director ACA on potential areas of controversy or conflict and overall technical soundness of proposals, and evaluates the effect of legislation and court decisions on programs. Coordinates, on behalf of the Division Commissioner or Division Director/Director, Technical Guidance, or Director ACA with the Office of the Chief Counsel, Health Care Counsel, other Operation Divisions and/or Justice Department in providing technical advice and assistance in connection with ACA, employee plans, exempt organizations, or government entity or appeals matters in litigation or preparing to go to litigation. STANDARD POSITION DESCRIPTIONS (SPD): PD92385 Visit the IRS SPD Library to access the position descriptions.

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-15: You must have one (1) year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-14 grade level in the Federal service. Legal, tax accounting, or other experience that required knowledge of Federal tax laws, regulations, precedent decisions, or other areas related to the position to be filled. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: Preparing, reviewing, or applying rulings, advisory letters, memoranda, etc. related to Federal taxation. Analyzing and adjudicating tax claims, appeals, settlement offers, or similar work related to Federal tax operations. Work as an attorney that required legal research, analysis, and preparation of briefs or similar documents interpreting laws and regulations. Work as an accountant, auditor, or investigator that required application of Federal tax accounting principles and/or the Internal Revenue Code and related laws. AND You must have one (1) year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-14 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position must include: Applying disclosure and privacy rules as they relate to tax law and organizational policies. Justifying or resolving administrative and/or policy matters with stakeholders of conflicting interests Researching tax laws, regulations, procedures and policies and applying them across a multi-level organization. Determining the impact of laws and proposed rulings on organizational procedures, operations, and current regulations. Identifying and implementing alternative courses of action and making decisions that arise from unforeseen circumstances. Coordinating with the Chief Counsel's Office and relevant Congressional Committees to smooth the implementation of decisions, proposals, and/or recommendations. Analyzing the impact of federal court decisions and initiating policy or rule changes with Chief Counsel and other stakeholders as needed. Responding to and participating in program audits with external stakeholders. Developing and presenting position papers on legal or technical issues to executive staff to inform decision makers and provide recommendations and options. Drafting, editing, finalizing responses to inquiries from executive or legislative branch correspondence. AND You must also meet the following requirement(s): 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-5, 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. For more information on qualifications please refer to OPM's Qualifications Standards.

Requirements

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

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).

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 09/21/2026. 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/13054462. 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. 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.