Case Advocate

Summary

WHAT IS TAXPAYER ADVOCATE SERVICE? 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): TAS - Deputy National Taxpayer Advocate - Executive Director Case Advocacy (EDCA) Consider each location carefully when applying. If you are selected for a location, that location will become your official post of duty. 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. In a developmental capacity the incumbent provides assistance to the taxpayer in technical and procedural tax cases covering the full range of cases and issues encountered in the TAS office while concentrating on those with the most complicating or specialized factors. The Case Advocate represents the office in advocating these cases involving complications and specialized issues for the taxpayer with the IRS' operating/functional divisions (OD/Fs) to resolve issues. Takes corrective action within TAS statutory and delegated authorities, including development of cases for purpose of recommending the issuance of Taxpayer Assistance Orders. Performs specialized research, analysis, and necessary computations to make adjustments to taxpayers' accounts that have specialized factors. Using highly developed institutional knowledge of internal processes, solves vexing process and procedural problems of cases. Per the TAS/IRS service level agreements, recommends adjustments as appropriate and initiates credit transfers, payment tracers, and computations to tax, penalty, and interest. Prepares manual refunds, makes abatements, and prepares and executes waivers to extend statutes within TAS statutory and delegated authorities. Confers with the taxpayer who has experienced a delay beyond normal processing time, a significant hardship, or where systemic issues have been identified and actions taken, clarifying the basis of the complicating problem and citing applicable laws as necessary. Educates taxpayers and/or their representatives regarding tax obligations, responsibilities, rights, and options, including possible adverse consequences of decisions. Fully advises taxpayer of all rights and, as applicable, secures agreement of taxpayer to final decision. Provides guidance to targeted audiences in seminars, speeches, and workshops. The incumbent may be required to work outside their tour of duty (TOD) for this work. Provides in-house training and assistance to lower-level employees as necessary. STANDARD POSITION DESCRIPTIONS (SPD): PD 26402, PD 26403, and PD 26404. Visit the IRS SPD Library to access the position descriptions. 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 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. GENERAL EXPERIENCE: GS-05 Level: You must have 3 years of general experience, 1 year of which was experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-4 grade level in the Federal service. General experience for this position must include: Analyzing problems to identify significant factors, gather pertinent data, and recognize solutions. Planning and organizing work. Communicating effectively orally and in writing. Such experience may have been gained in government, business or industry, investigative work, banking, law, accounting, or other work appropriate to the position to be filled. OR You may substitute education for general experience as follows: Four (4) year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree demonstrating the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work from an accredited college or university. OR An equivalent combination of qualifying undergraduate education and general experience. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: GS-07 Level: You must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position must include: Advising & assisting others in order to explain issues related to meeting Federal tax obligations. Applying knowledge of business practices, policies, procedures, basic accounting principles, and Federal tax laws & regulations. Interviewing individuals and reviewing tax and bookkeeping records and returns. Analyzing systems using fact-finding techniques. OR You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows: One (1) full year of graduate education demonstrating the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work such as accounting, finance, taxation, business administration or other field from an accredited college or university. OR Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) - Completed requirements for a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university, with one of the following: A GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale for all completed undergraduate courses or those completed in the last 2 years of study. OR a GPA of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale for all courses in the major field of study or those courses in the major completed in the final 2 years of the curriculum. (Grade-point averages are to be rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9.) OR by ranking in the upper one third of the class in the college, university, or subdivision. OR election to membership in a national scholastic honor society -- Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies. Any society not included in the Association of College Honor Societies listing must ensure the honor society cited by the applicant meets the minimum requirements of the Association of College Honor Societies. (Membership in a freshman honor society cannot be used to meet the requirements of this provision.) OR An equivalent combination of qualifying graduate level education and specialized experience. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: GS-09 Level: You must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position must include: Applying basic accounting principles, examination techniques & collection processes to assist taxpayers in resolving tax issues. Communicating with taxpayers & their representatives to determine the nature of assistance needed, obtaining information & determining its relevance to resolve tax issues/problems. Advising and assisting taxpayers in meeting federal tax obligations. Managing an inventory and meeting deadlines. OR You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows: A Master's or equivalent graduate degree in a field of study demonstrating the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work from an accredited college or university such as accounting, finance, taxation, business administration or another related field. OR Two (2) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree demonstrating the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work such as accounting, finance, taxation, business administration or other related field from an accredited college or university OR LL.B. or J.D., if related to an accounting, finance, taxation, business administration or other related field demonstrating the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work from an accredited college or university. OR An equivalent combination of qualifying graduate level education (in excess of that required at the next lower grade level) and specialized experience. AND You must also meet the following requirement(s): TIME AFTER COMPETITIVE APPOINTMENT (TACA): By the closing date (or if this is an open continuous announcement, by the cut-off date) specified in this job announcement, 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-05, 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.

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 You Will Be Evaluated

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. Applicants who disqualify themselves will not be evaluated further. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): Case Advocacy Techniques Conflict Management Customer Service Decision Making Interpersonal Skills Oral Communication Problem Solving Self-Management Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. Rating: Your application will be evaluated in accordance with the Service's Merit Promotion Plan. A quality group rating will be used to rank and select eligible candidates. If qualified, you will be assigned to one of three quality level groups, Superior/Best Qualified, Highly Qualified and Qualified. Referral: Eligible applicants rated in the highest quality group, may be referred to a selecting official for consideration. Candidates, if required to participate in a selection interview (telephonic and/or in person at the discretion of the Selecting Official in accordance with hiring practices), will be interviewed in quality group order. We will not reimburse costs related to the interview such as travel to and from the interview site. Performance Appraisal and Awards - Will not be used in determining your overall rating. Any performance appraisal/evaluation and award documentation you provide will be forwarded to the selecting official. The selecting official will review this documentation and give it due weight consideration during the overall selection process. IRS employees may obtain their most recent awards listing at https://persinfo.web.irs.gov/. If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee (eligible for the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), you must receive a score of Highly Qualified or better to be rated as "well qualified" to receive special selection priority. Benefits

As a current employee, you know the great benefits we offer. Should you have any questions about benefits, please contact the Employee Resource Center (ERC) at 1-866-743-5748 option #1 for ERC. Other Information

Consider each location carefully when applying. If you are selected for a location, that location will become your official post of duty. 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. Salary: General Schedule (GS) Locality Pay tables may be found under Salaries & Wages. Cost-of-Living Allowances (COLA): Alaska (AK3237) includes COLA. See COLA Rates 2026. Formal Development Plan - If this position is covered by a formal development plan, pay retention will be offered where applicable based on law and regulation. Travel may be required for in-person training.