Internal Revenue Agent

Use your bachelor’s degree or higher in accounting or your Certificate as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and your experience to qualify for an Internal Revenue Agent (Examiner) employment opportunity. Nationwide opportunities exist.

As a Revenue Agent (Examiner) at the GS-13 grade level, you will independently examine and investigate complex income tax returns filed by individuals or organizations. Revenue Agents (Examiners) are known for their ability to accomplish comprehensive analytical examinations of tax returns to determine tax liability and violations of Federal tax statutes and to make fair and impartial recommendations for criminal prosecution and civil penalties. You’ll use your skills and knowledge to perform professional accounting work, as well as provide accounting and financial management advice and assistance to higher levels of management. You’ll examine accounting and financial information systems that reflect a variety of the most complex financial operations.

As an IRS employee, you’ll enjoy all the rights and benefits of federal employment. At the same time, you’ll have that sense of public service, knowing that your accounting and auditing responsibilities contribute to everything from funding domestic programs to the defense of our nation.

Duties:

• Individually, or as a team member, plans and conducts examinations using extensive and specialized knowledge of accounting techniques, practices, and investigative audit techniques to examine and resolve various tax issues of individuals and business organizations that may include extensive subsidiaries with operations of national and/or international scope.
• Evaluates the priority issues identified as part of the central classification process and provides feedback regarding issues throughout the examination process. Based on the feedback discussions, adjusts the scope of the examination by expanding or contracting the issues. May serve as a member of a classification team responsible for the identification of priority issues for examination.
• Works in partnership with the Senior Revenue Agent (Examiner) in developing significant tax compliance issues, by collaborating with appropriate practice areas, examiners, Counsel, Appeals, and other specialists to leverage and expand complex issue expertise and ensure consistent application and interpretation of tax law.
• Conducts independent examinations and related investigations of the most complex income tax returns filed by individuals, small businesses, organizations, and other entities. May include those with diversified activities, multiple partners, and operations of national scope. Assignments require an integrated analysis of intricate and complex accounting systems, business activities, and financing.
• Conducts examinations of complex individual and business taxpayers involved in activities or transactions designed or structured to hide or conceal income such as offshore activities, multiple related entities, and other means using a wide range of financial and other investigative skills.
• Conducts package audits to determine that other required returns such as information, excise, or specialty returns are filed and conducts concurrent examinations of these and other returns when warranted.
• Conducts independent examinations of the largest and most complex exempt organizations including private foundations, cooperatives, and relevant business entities. May also make quasi-legal determinations on an as need basis concerning the entitlement of the largest and most complex exempt organization to initial or continued exempt status with respect to taxes.
• Determines the most effective avenue for investigation and review of operations, which normally requires adapting audit and investigative procedures to unique and special situations. Cases involve issues that are without precedent or subject to conflicting precedents.
• Prepares the audit plan and acts as team leader in examinations of exempt organizations requiring team audit approach. Exercises alertness in detecting subtle indications of fraud during examination.
• Either as a team member or in support of a Team Case Leader, works the most complex and complicated accounting, auditing, computational, and procedural issues within Appeals. Works with corporate taxpayer representatives to resolve issues such as complex depreciation, investment tax credit, restricted interest, net rate interest, future interests, adjustments to capital structure, valuation, and cost analysis, and change of the accounting methods.
• Reviews and analyzes Revenue Agent (Examiner), Appeals Officer, and Counsel Attorney instructions, reports, case files, and support statements and interprets tax law court decisions and legal opinions to determine and prepare accurate computations for the most demanding and complex Appeals cases. Cases may involve precedent setting determinations and invariably demand considerable judgment and knowledge to interpret case documents and apply the tax law.
• Prepares statutory Notices of Deficiency for the most complex un-agreed cases. This necessitates the detailed analysis of case materials prepared by the Revenue Agents (Examiners) and Appeals Officers, the review and application of the Internal Revenue Code, regulations and court rulings, and the provision of all pertinent computations and written explanations to state the tax adjustments and their basis. Notices as formal legal instruments must accurately and comprehensively state each adjustment so that the taxpayer may prepare allegations of error while permitting the government all possible defenses.

Qualifications:

Federal experience is not required. Your experience may have been gained in the public sector, private sector, or Volunteer Service.

Basic Educational Requirement: A Certificate as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or a bachelor's or higher degree in accounting that included at least 30 semester hours in accounting or 24 semester hours in accounting and an additional 6 semester hours in related subjects such as business law, economics, statistical/quantitative methods, computerized accounting or financial systems, financial management, or finance.

OR

A bachelor's or higher degree in a field other than accounting or a combination of education and experience equivalent to 4 years that included at least 30 semester hours in accounting or 24 semester hours in accounting and 6 semester hours in related subjects as described above.

In addition to meeting the basic educational requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the Specialized Experience requirement listed below:

Specialized Experience: You must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the work performed at the GS-12 level. This is defined as progressively responsible and diversified professional accounting or auditing work that required:

• Experience applying professional accounting principles, theory, and practices to analyze and interpret accounting books, records, or systems to determine their effect on Federal tax liabilities and their adequacy for recording transactions affecting tax liabilities.
• Experience interpreting and applying Federal tax law for individuals, business and/or exempt organizations, partnerships, and corporations.
• Experience with business and trade practices to develop tax issues based on analysis and evaluation of overall business operations and financial condition.
• Experience with corporate financial transactions, financial management principles and practices, and effective interactions with a broad range of individuals, as well as experience negotiating with specialists in accounting, legal, tax, and other similar business-related professions.

Salary and Benefits:

This position’s starting salary varies depending upon grade level and location. Please see the “How to Apply” section below to access the official Job Opportunity Announcement and salary information. Employees receive the full package of federal employment benefits, which includes health and insurance plans, a generous annual and sick leave program, and participation in the Thrift Savings Plan, which is a retirement plan similar to a traditional 401(k).

A monetary recruitment incentive has been authorized for eligible, highly qualified individuals.

How to Apply:

Click this site’s APPLY link to access the official Revenue Agent (Examiner) GS-13 Job Opportunity Announcement (JOA) on irs.usajobs.gov, which is the federal government’s official employment site. You will learn exactly how to submit your application package, including your resume, an online assessment questionnaire, and possibly other documents. You will also learn about duty locations, telework eligibility, U.S. citizenship, maximum entry age, medical, and other requirements that should be reflected in the information you provide in your resume.

Interested in other career opportunities with IRS? Visit irs.usajobs.gov to search for other IRS opportunities, such as Revenue Officer (which includes no accounting/business experience requirement) and Criminal Investigator (Special Agent) positions. To learn about upcoming IRS hiring events and career fairs, visit jobs.irs.gov.