Summary Office of Chief Counsel, IRS, seeks enthusiastic individuals to serve taxpayers fairly and with integrity by providing correct and impartial interpretation of the internal revenue laws and the highest quality legal advice and representation for the IRS. Please click "Learn more about this agency" to find out more about Chief Counsel's various offices, to view some of the workplace attributes that Chief Counsel's workforce rates most favorably, and to hear from employees themselves. Responsibilities The Associate Chief Counsel (Employee Benefits, Exempt Organizations, and Employment Taxes) provides published guidance, field support and taxpayer advice on tax matters involving employee plans, exempt organizations, employment taxes, executive compensation, health and welfare benefits, and certain federal, state, local and Indian tribal government issues to a wide variety of internal and external customers. As a General Attorney (Tax), you will: Consider suggestions for changes in the Internal Revenue laws and other Federal laws relating to the issues under the jurisdiction of the Associate Chief Counsel. Analyze the effects of the proposed changes and either prepare well-reasoned recommendations as to the advisability of the changes, or, as assigned, prepare drafts of the legislative suggestions in the proper form. Analyze Internal Revenue laws and other Federal laws relating to issues under the jurisdiction of the Associate Chief Counsel. Identify regulatory and tax administration issues raised by those laws and develop and draft Treasury regulations interpreting or implementing those laws. Prepare memoranda justifying and supporting the regulations, participate in the review and perfection of drafts, participate in public hearings concerning those regulations, and address concerns raised in public comments about the regulations under the Administrative Procedure Act. As assigned, consider inquiries from members of Congress, the IRS, Treasury officials, or the public, concerning Internal Revenue laws, relating to matters under the jurisdiction of the Associate Chief Counsel, and, as appropriate, prepare replies thereto. Respond to requests for legal opinions on the application or interpretation of the Internal Revenue laws and other Federal and state laws relating to matters under the jurisdiction of the Associate Chief Counsel. Analyze requests for advisory opinions, private letter rulings, closing agreements, Chief Counsel Advice and technical advice. Develop private letter rulings, technical advice, and Chief Counsel Advice on complex issues. Also, develop revenue rulings, revenue procedures, notices, announcements and other technical materials for publication. Perform extensive legal research analyzing the law involved, the facts, analogous prior decisions, ruling precedents, etc. Determine the proper position to be taken consistent with the law, stating the decision reached, the reasoning used in arriving at the decision, and the arguments supporting the decision. Prepare an appropriate response which may be a memorandum, a private letter ruling, Chief Counsel Advice, technical advice memorandum, a publication item, or another written product, as directed. As appropriate and necessary, confer with officials of the IRS, Treasury, or other government agencies, and taxpayers and their representatives, to obtain their viewpoint on the issues or to obtain additional information. This is not an all-inclusive list. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements detailed below by the closing date of this announcement. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualified based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. To qualify for this position of General Attorney (Tax) you must meet the qualification requirements listed below by the closing of this announcement: Basic Requirements for General Attorney (Tax): Possess at least the first professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.) from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association; AND Applicants must be an active member in good standing of the bar of a State, U.S. Commonwealth, U.S. territory, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. GS-11 Experience Requirements: 1 year of general professional legal experience from any area of expertise; or An LL.M. degree; or Possess an LL.B. or J.D. degree plus superior law student work or activities. Superior law student work or activities is defined as: Academic standing in the upper third of the law school graduating class; Work or achievement of significance on law reviews or journals; Special high-level honors for academic excellence in law school ( e.g., election to the Order of the Coif, winning of a moot court competition, or membership on the moot court team that represents the attorney's law school in competition with other law schools); Full-time or continuous participation in a legal aid program (as opposed to one-time, intermittent, or casual participation); Significant summer law office clerk experience; or Other evidence of clearly superior accomplishment or achievement. Professional Legal Experience is defined as: knowledge and expertise gained while in an attorney position of the following Internal Revenue Code sections: 79 - group term life insurance; 104 - compensation for injuries and sickness (except 104(a)(2)); 105 - accident and health plans; 106 -employer provided coverage under accident or health plans; 125 - cafeteria plans; 129 -dependent care assistance programs; 223 - health savings accounts; 419 and 419A - funded welfare benefit plans; 501(c)(9) - voluntary employees' beneficiary associations (VEBAs); 4980B - continuation coverage requirements of group health plans (COBRA); 4980H - employer shared responsibility provisions; 9801 through 9833 -HIPAA and related health care benefit provisions. At least one year of this experience must be equivalent to the work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-09). Note: Only experience gained after Bar Admission may be credited as Professional Legal Experience. Education Substitution: An LL.M. degree in the field of the position (tax) may be substituted for the one year of the general legal experience listed above. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week, on your resume. Education For positions with an education requirement, or if you are qualifying for this position by substituting education or training for experience, submit a copy of your transcripts or equivalent. An official transcript will be required if you are selected. 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: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. If you are qualifying based on foreign education, you must submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. For further information, visit: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov) Additional Information We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies. Relocation expenses are not authorized. This is a bargaining unit position. We offer opportunities for telework. We offer opportunities for flexible work schedules. Conditions of Employment Continued: Subject to a 1-year trial period (unless already completed). Subject to a Tenure Commitment of up to 3 years. Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency. If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so. Have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer. Go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form I-9. Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S. Obtain and use a Government-issued charge card for business-related travel. Undergo an income tax verification. The employment of any candidate, including a current employee or a new hire, selected for this position may be conditional upon classification and/or audit of federal tax returns. This audit may include up to 2 years of returns. This position requires that the successful candidate undergo personnel vetting, which includes a background investigation and enrollment upon onboarding into "Continuous Vetting." Enrollment in Continuous Vetting will result in automated record checks being conducted throughout one's employment with Treasury. The successful candidate will also be enrolled into FBI's Rap Back service, which will allow Treasury to receive notification from the FBI of criminal matters (e.g., arrests, charges, convictions) involving enrolled individuals in near real-time. There are three key documents that contain important information about your rights and obligations. Please read and retain these documents: Noncriminal Justice Applicant's Privacy Rights, for those who undergo an FBI fingerprint-based criminal history record check for personnel vetting, which includes Rap Back, FD-258 Privacy Act Statement - FBI (this is the same statement used when your fingerprints are submitted as part of your background investigation), and SEAD-3-Reporting-U.pdf (dni.gov), (applicable to those who hold a sensitive position or have eligibility for access to classified information)