Did you know the Internal Revenue Service has a unit dedicated to helping taxpayers resolve problems? If you’re like many of us, you never think about the IRS except at tax time…but if you have an interest in tax law, enjoy working with people and want a unique opportunity to help others; the Taxpayer Advocate Service is the place for you.

The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) is an independent organization within the IRS whose employees assist taxpayers who are experiencing financial difficulties, who are seeking help in resolving tax problems that have not been resolved through normal channels, or who believe an IRS system or procedure isn’t working as it should. Each state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have at least one Local Taxpayer Advocate, who is independent of the local IRS office and reports directly to the National Taxpayer Advocate.

Our Mission

We are the taxpayer’s voice at the IRS.  We offer free service, tailored to the needs of any person (or business) whose situation meets our criteria.  We protect the rights of every taxpayer who comes to us, and advocate on behalf of all taxpayers by working to simplify and reduce the burden of the tax code.

We make a difference in people's lives

TAS employees help taxpayers every day.  Almost 300,000 people came to us for assistance in fiscal year 2010.  We guide taxpayers through the often-confusing process of resolving tax problems that they haven’t been able to solve on their own. 

We have a variety of positions:

• Administrative and Clerical
• Intake Advocate
• Case Advocate
• Managerial (Local Taxpayer Advocate)

Visit our website for more information about us.

The American system of taxation is based on the premise that all income is taxable (which includes illegally earned income). In many instances, proving that a taxpayer willfully attempted to hide income from the Federal Government is an integral part of proving other criminal activity including fraud, money laundering or Bank Secrecy Act violations. Criminal Investigation continues to fulfill the important role of helping to ensure the integrity and fairness of our nations' tax system.

How do they do it?

The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division conducts criminal investigations regarding alleged violations of the Internal Revenue Code, the Bank Secrecy Act and various money laundering statutes. The findings of these investigations are referred to the Department of Justice for recommended prosecution.

Learn more

To learn more about careers in Law Enforcement, please visit the Criminal Investigation Special Agent page.

In addition to the Special Agent, Criminal Investigation careers also include Administrative, Investigatory, Information Technology (IT), and Forensic positions. To learn more about these careers, click here.

For social media updates, follow us on our IRS Twitter and LinkedIn pages.

Our Human Resources Specialists impact every employee of the IRS on every step of their career path. Our HR professionals are dedicated to our employees. They contribute in many ways to the progressive changes that define today's IRS. And because they are so critical to the effective performance of our organization, our HR professionals are also among the most competitively compensated in their profession. Start here and your career can move you through virtually every area of the IRS. 

In addition to our general Human Resources Specialists who provide front-line service throughout the organization, we employ a wide variety of HR technical professionals in the GS 0201 job series. Don’t be surprised if there is something here that interests you.

Human Resources Specialists

HR Information Systems Specialists work on technology projects that impact how the IRS hires, manages, and develops its workforce.

Classification Specialists manage our huge inventory position descriptions, making sure that the jobs are properly described and that they are consistent with our organization design.

Compensation Specialists make sure that our pay systems conform to government-wide standards and that are able to take advantage of pay flexibilities to help recruit, manage, and retain employees.

Recruitment Specialists manage employment marketing programs and advise management on how to identify, attract and retain a high-quality and diverse workforce that is capable of accomplishing the organization’s mission.

Placement Specialists manage the selection and placement of new employees, conduct job analysis studies and participate in workforce planning projects.

Employee Benefits Specialists provide guidance and consultation to IRS management, employees, former employees, annuitants, survivors, and eligible family members regarding retirement, insurance, health benefits, and injury compensation.

HR Development Specialists plan, administer and evaluate training programs designed to develop employees and manage learning throughout the IRS.

Performance Management Specialists assist managers and supervisors to establish and maintain programs that monitor, evaluate and reward employee performance.

Employee Relations Specialists provide advice and assistance to employees and managers in matters related to conduct, job performance, attendance, and dispute resolution.

Labor Relations Specialists establish and maintain effective relationships – including the use of non-traditional collaborative approaches – with labor organizations that represent Federal employees. They negotiate and administer labor agreements, and provide guidance and consultation to management on a variety of labor relations matters.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR LAW STUDENTS & ENTRY LEVEL ATTORNEYS

Honors Program for Entry-Level Attorneys
The Office of Chief Counsel’s Honors Program is a competitive, centralized recruitment program that is the only way for new attorneys (i.e., third-year law students and students who enter judicial clerkships, graduate law programs, or qualifying fellowships within 9 months of law school graduation) to join organization in an attorney position.

Summer Legal Program
The Office of Chief Counsel’s Summer Legal Program is a competitive, centralized recruitment program for compensated summer internships law student positions.  The majority of summer internship hires are second year law students who work at Chief Counsel the summer between their second and third years of law school.  The summer legal program is also open to recent graduates between graduation and the start of a judicial clerkship or full-time qualifying legal fellowship.

Volunteer Legal Externships
Each year, hundreds of law students serve as volunteers with the Office of Chief Counsel for an  unparalleled opportunity to work alongside attorneys in one our many offices to gain practical work experience.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR EXPERIENCED ATTORNEYS

The Office of Chief Counsel offers a broad range of opportunities for experienced attorneys to work on many significant and complex tax issues.   As a general rule, an attorney who is an active member of the bar of any U.S. jurisdiction and has at least one year post-J.D. legal or other relevant experience is eligible for an experienced attorney position. Nevertheless, some attorney positions have additional specialized experience requirements and additional eligibility criteria.
Opportunities for Experienced Attorneys

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Job Locations
Legal Divisions
Benefit Programs
Meet Our Attorneys
Chief Counsel Ambassadors
Attorney and Non-Attorney Jobs
Chief Counsel Recruitment Flyer
Attorney Interview about Tax Careers at the Office of Chief Counsel
CC/DOJ Panel Discussion on Federal Career Opportunities in Tax Law

Legal Careers Contact: The Office of Chief Counsel, IRS, Attn: Attorney Recruitment
(CC:FM:HR:ARRP), 1111 Constitution Ave, NW, Room 6422, Washington, DC 20224

Please contact attorney.recruitment@irscounsel.treas.gov if you have any questions.

Join a team of talented professionals who share your passion for Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and more! Whether you are interested in a career as General Engineers, Computer Engineers, Actuaries, Statisticians, Data Scientists, or any number of other STEM related positions – we’ve got you covered!

Actuaries

As an Actuary, you will work on complex Federal income tax examinations, projects, studies, and proposals. You will serve as an actuarial expert and advisor for examination personnel, appeals officers, and IRS legal counsel. Duties will vary and may include drawing on your expertise with regulations, procedures, and accounting.

Appraisers

As an Appraiser, you will perform unique and precedent setting appraisals of real and personal property where the appraisal will have significant tax impact, affect large segments of taxpayers, and will involve intense public scrutiny, with potential to affect legislative change. You will provide expertise to government attorneys on cases with probable litigation potential and serve as expert witness in U.S. Tax Court or U.S. District Court.

Computer Engineers

As a Computer Engineer, you will perform complex assignments to modernize and enhance the software systems that perform tax administration. Your responsibilities will include the analysis, planning, design, implementation, and documentation of the structural framework to align IT strategy, plans, and systems with the mission, goals, structure, and processes of the IRS.

General Engineers

As a General Engineer, you will conduct field investigations of real and personal property, utilizing generally accepted valuation principles, including market data, income, and cost approaches to valuation. You will coordinate efforts and actions on issues and cases involving multiple engineering experts, including specialists in valuation, mining, petroleum, and general engineering, and effecting or facilitating the settlement of major tax cases that have engineering and valuation issues. 

Statisticians

As a Statistician, you will explore novel methods of retrieving data and develop innovative recommendations to leadership as a means for making data driven decisions such as modification of processes and policies. You will review, evaluate, validate, and document the results of the findings and use your knowledge of programming/coding language (i.e., SQL, SAS, SPSS, RStudio) to develop scripts or applications.