We sleep easier knowing that we support our employees well into retirement through a comprehensive retirement plan.

Federal Retirement

Although retirement may be in your distant future, our retirement plan will provide you with benefits you’ll want and need when you retire. The Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) is comprised of three components:

1. a basic annuity,
2. Social Security Retirement Benefits, and
3. a tax-deferred retirement savings and investment plan called the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP).

This three-tiered plan provides benefits for:

• Retirement
• Disability
• Survivors

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) administers the basic annuity portion of FERS. The Social Security Administration administers Social Security benefits and the Federal Thrift Investment Board administers the TSP. When you retire, you will receive benefits from all three of these agencies.

You can get all the latest information at the OPM web site, just go to http://www.opm.gov/retire/retire_jobseekers.asp.

Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)

The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), is similar to the 401(k) savings and tax benefits plans available in the private sector. Here’s how you can build your “nest egg”:

• We’ll set up and automatically contribute 1% of your basic pay toward your Thrift Savings Plan account, whether you contribute to it or not.
• If you do contribute to the TSP, we’ll match your contributions dollar for dollar up to 3%, and 50 cents on the dollar for the next 2%.
• All of your contributions will be made from pre-tax dollars, and your investments and earnings will be tax deferred until you withdraw them.
• Various Thrift Savings Plan investment funds are available for you to choose from.
• You may transfer money from other eligible retirement savings plans into your Thrift Savings Plan account.
• In some cases, you can borrow against your Thrift Savings Plan.
• If you change federal employment, your Thrift Savings Plan will go with you.

For more information on the Thrift Savings Plan visit the TSP website at http://www.tsp.gov/.

We offer outstanding benefits, making your health and wellbeing a primary consideration. In addition to health and life insurance, we offer dental and vision plans, and other flexibilities to fit the needs of you and your family.

Health Benefits

The IRS participates in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB), one of the best health care insurance programs in the world. What’s more, the IRS pays approximately 2/3 of your health insurance premium. You can choose from a variety of health care plans and options, and your IRS health benefits cover you and your family members at reasonable rates. This program offers:

• One of the widest selections of plans in the country
• Annual open season
• Coverage that continues into retirement, at the same rate
• Pre-tax options
• No waiting periods. You can use your benefits as soon as your coverage becomes effective. There are no pre-existing condition limitations even if you change plans.
• A choice of coverage. You can choose self-only coverage for you, or self and family coverage for you, your spouse, and unmarried dependent children under age 26. Under certain circumstances, your FEHB enrollment may cover your disabled child 26 years old or older who is incapable of self-support.
• A choice of plans and options:
  • Fee-for-Service (FFS) plans
  • Plans offering a Point of Service (POS) product
  • Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO)
• A Government contribution. The Government pays 72 percent of the average premium toward the total cost of the premium, but not more than 75 percent of the total premium for any plan.
• Salary deduction. Your share of the premium is deducted from your bi-weekly paycheck and you have the choice of doing so using pretax dollars.

If you are in an eligible position, you have 60 days from your entry on duty date to sign-up for a health insurance plan. Otherwise, you may enroll during the Federal Benefits Open Season which is held each year beginning the second Monday in November through the second Monday in December. You can also enroll or make changes outside of Open Season if you have a qualifying life event (QLE) such as the birth of a child, divorce, or other qualifying event.

If you don't make an election within 60 days from becoming eligible, you are considered to have declined coverage, and you must wait until the next open season or QLE to enroll. Except for open season, most enrollments are effective the first day of the first pay period after the agency receives your SF-2809, Health Benefits Election form. The enrollment must follow a pay period during any part of which you’re in pay status.

You can get all the latest information at the OPM web site, just go to http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/index.asp.

Dental and Vision Benefits

The Federal Employees’ Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP) is available to eligible federal employees, retirees, and their eligible family members on an enrollee-pay-all basis. Employee must be eligible for FEHB in order to be eligible to enroll in FEDVIP. This Program allows dental and vision insurance to be purchased on a group basis which means competitive premiums and no pre-existing condition limitations. Premiums for enrolled federal employees are withheld from your salary on a pre-tax basis.

If eligible, you can enroll in a dental plan and/or a vision plan. You may enroll in a plan for self-only, self plus one, or self and family coverage. Eligible family members include an enrollee's spouse and unmarried dependent children under the age of 22, or if age 22 or older, incapable of self-support. The rules for family members' eligibility are the same as they are for the FEHB Program.

Enrollment will take place during the annual Federal Benefits Open Season in November and December. New and newly eligible employees can enroll within the 60 days after they become eligible.

You can get all the latest information at the OPM web site, just go to http://www.opm.gov/insure/dental/index.asp, for dental plans, or go to http://www.opm.gov/insure/vision/index.asp for vision plans.

Life Insurance

At the IRS, not only do we pay for 1/3 of your basic premium, but basic coverage allows you to elect and pay for optional coverage for yourself or certain family members.

The Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance Program (FEGLI) offers Basic Life Insurance that is equal to your annual basic pay, rounded to the next higher $1,000, plus $2,000. For example, if your annual salary is $48,108, your insurance would first be rounded to $49,000, then have $2,000 added, making your basic life insurance coverage $51,000.

You can also get three types of optional insurance:

• Option A, Standard — in the amount of an additional $10,000 of coverage.
• Option B, Additional — in an amount from one to five times your annual basic pay (after rounding up to the next $1,000).
• Option C, Family — provides coverage for your spouse and eligible dependent children in multiples from one to five. Each multiple is equal to $5,000 for your spouse and $2,500 for each eligible child.

If you're in a FEGLI-eligible position, you're automatically enrolled in Basic Life Insurance, which is effective on the first day you enter in a pay and duty status UNLESS you waive this coverage before the end of your first pay period. You do NOT get any optional insurance automatically – you must complete an SF-2817, Life Insurance Election form to enroll in the coverage.

You have 60 days from your entry date to sign up for any Optional life insurance. If you do not make an election, you are considered to have waived optional insurance.

No proof of insurability is required for the Basic insurance you get upon being hired, or any optional insurance you sign-up for during the first 60 days. Proof of insurability may be required for insurance changes after that time.

The cost of Basic insurance is shared between you and the Government. You pay 2/3 of the total cost and the Government pays 1/3. Your age does not affect the cost of Basic insurance. You pay the full cost of Optional insurance, and the cost depends on your age.

You can get all the latest information at the OPM web site, just go to http://www.opm.gov/insure/life/index.asp.

As part of your federal employee compensation package, we are pleased to offer a significant amount of paid time off. In addition to annual, sick, and holiday leave, we have other types of paid leave that you may be qualified to take. This ensures you have the time you need to take care of yourself and stave off burnout.

Annual Leave

During each pay period, you’ll accrue your Annual Leave (paid time off) according to the number of years of government service.

• For up to 3 years of service, you’ll earn four hours per pay period.
• For 3 to 15 years of service, you’ll earn six hours per pay period.
• For more than 15 years of service, you’ll earn eight hours per pay period.

You may carry forward up to 240 hours of annual leave to the next leave year.

Sick Leave

Similar to annual leave, four hours of sick leave is accrued per pay period. There is no limit to the amount of sick leave you may accumulate during your federal career.

Holiday Leave

There are several days you can count on having off automatically each year - Federal holidays! The following 11 paid federal holidays are yours to enjoy each year:

• New Year’s Day
• Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday
• Washington’s Birthday
• Memorial Day
• Juneteenth
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Columbus Day
• Veterans Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Day

Leave-Sharing Programs

Sometimes, situations come up that may require you to take some extra time off. Or you may find that you don’t need all the time off you’ve accrued. To help ensure that our employees have the time off that they need, we offer two voluntary programs:

• IRS Leave Bank: Open enrollment for this program is conducted twice a year. To enroll, you must donate the annual leave amount you earn in a pay period. Once enrolled, if you have a medical emergency, such as an illness or you need to care for a sick family member, you can use the IRS Leave Bank, even when you have exhausted your available leave.
• Government-Wide Leave Transfer Program: Through this program, you may donate your annual leave to federal employees in other agencies. To qualify to receive leave, your application indicating a personal or family medical emergency, including maternity situations, must be officially approved. Membership in the IRS Leave Bank program is not required.

Other Leave

In addition to your annual and sick leave, we also offer many other types of leave that you can utilize if needed:

• Family and Medical Leave: Take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for serious medical issues for you or if you need to care for a seriously ill immediate family member.
• Paid Parental Leave: In the 12 months following the birth of a child or placement of an adopted or foster child, an eligible parent can take up to 12 weeks of paid leave, taken on a continual or intermittent basis.
• Disabled Veterans Leave: This type of sick leave was granted as part of the Wounded Warriors Federal Leave Act of 2015 and is a one-time entitlement for veteran employees with a qualifying service-connected disability rating of 30% or more. Those eligible can take up to 104 hours during a 12-month period.
• Court Leave: This leave is available so you can fulfill your civic obligation of jury duty or to perform as a witness in a court proceeding where one of the parties is a government entity.
• Organ and Bone Marrow Donation: If you donate an organ, you’ll receive up to 30 days paid leave, or 7 days paid leave for a bone marrow donation.
• Voting: When the voting polls are not open at least three hours before or after your regular work hours, you are able to take time off to vote.
• Blood Donation: You may take up to 4 hours of paid leave off to donate blood.

Along with our other benefits, your pay is part of your federal employee compensation package. It is important to understand the pay in your desired work location, as it relates to the various grade levels offered for the position(s) you are interested in.

The General Schedule (GS) Pay System

For most of our positions, we offer competitive pay primarily based on the standardized General Schedule or GS system. Salaries are set based on the grade level and the geographic location of the position. Agencies establish (classify) the grade of each job based on the level of difficulty, responsibility, and qualifications required. Many positions are limited to what grade you can be paid at and are predetermined based on the required experience and/or education needed to qualify. Your pay is also determined by where you work in the US. Each locality adds a different percentage to your base pay and is paid to accommodate that locality’s higher cost of living. For example, employees working in Washington, DC receive a higher locality pay than employees who work in Denver, CO. You can count on your salary reflecting the relative cost of labor where you work and across the country.

The GS and Locality Pay Tables can be found at here at: Office of Personnel Management (OPM.gov).

Salary Tables for Internal Revenue (IR) Managers

The IRS Payband System is different from the General Schedule (GS) pay system. Paybands have a range of rates and do not have steps like the GS pay system. The range of rates for each payband correspond to Step 1 (minimum) and Step 10 (maximum) of a GS grade. Each January, managers are eligible for a performance based increase (PBI) which replaces the GS increase, within grade step and quality step increases.

Commonly known as performance-based pay or pay for performance, this is the pay system for IRS managers (excluding Executives). Each year managers can receive both a performance-based increase (PBI) and a performance bonus (often referred to as an award), based on their performance rating. Managers also receive locality pay applicable for their post of duty. 

Each January, managers are eligible for a performance-based increase (PBI) which replaces the GS increase, within grade step and quality step increases. The IRS Payband System has 3 levels of manager positions covered by the following paybands:

• The Senior Manager (SM) - This payband covers second-level managerial positions formerly classified at GS-14 or 15, or first-level managerial positions formerly classified at GS-14 or 15 that report directly to a member of the Senior Executive Service

• The Department Manager (DM) - This payband covers second-level managerial positions, formerly classified as GS-11, 12, or 13 grade levels.

• The Frontline Manager (FM) - This payband covers supervisory/managerial positions, formerly classified at the GS-5 through 15 grade levels, that are not covered under the SM or DM paybands.

IR Manager Payband Salary Tables are listed by locality and effective the first day of the first pay period beginning on or after January 1'st. The IR Salary and locality tables can be found here: 2024 IR Salary Tables.

Pay Increases

As a federal employee, in addition to a great starting salary, you may receive pay increases in the form of:

• Step increases
• Performance bonuses
• Annual across-the-board pay increases determined by Executive Order.

Recognition & Awards

IRS employees are among the most recognized and rewarded individuals in government. We’re proud to recognize our employees, monetarily, Based on merit, for commendable job performance, special acts or services, or other notable contributions.