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General Attorney (Tax) - Qualified Plans Branch

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Office of Chief Counsel, IRS, the largest tax law firm in the country, is looking for enthusiastic individuals to join our team and gain valuable experience in a legal environment. Our mission is to serve America's 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. It is a great place to work with an excellent benefits package and family-friendly atmosphere.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
04/22/2019 to 05/06/2019
Salary
$99,172 to - $152,352 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13 - 14
Location
Few vacancies in the following location:
Washington, DC
Few vacancies
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Some travel may be Required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent - Permanent.
Work schedule
Full-time - Full-Time Excepted Service Appointment
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
14
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Announcement number
CCEF-19-70
Control number
531352600

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

U.S. citizens and U.S. Nationals

Duties

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Chief Counsel attorneys provide top quality legal advice and representation to the IRS in the administration of the nation's tax laws.  With the Internal Revenue Service as its client and 1500 attorneys on staff, the Office of Chief Counsel is the preeminent employer for tax attorneys in the country.  Our attorneys are valued assets and the legal experience provided by Chief Counsel is unlike any other. Associate Chief Counsel (Employee Benefits, Exempt Organizations and Employment Taxes) provides legal advice and litigation support services on tax matters involving employee retirement plans, exempt organizations, employment tax, 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 and clients.  We are seeking to fill one or more positions in the Employee Benefits, Exempt Organizations and Employment Taxes (EEE) business unit who have experience with qualified retirement plans, and an interest in the federal tax issues related to qualified retirement plans.

The following are the duties of this position at theGS-14 level. If you are selected at a lower grade level, you will have the opportunity to learn to perform all these duties, and will receive training to help you grow in this position. You will handle all aspects related to professional legal work involving one or more of the following areas:

Qualified Retirement Plans - §§ 401-436 - qualification rules for qualified retirement plans; § 403(b) - certain employee annuity plans; §§ 408 and 408A – individual retirement arrangements (IRAs) and Roth IRAs; § 457(b) – certain eligible deferred compensation plans; § 414(d) – governmental plans; § 414(e) - church plans; § 501(a) - exemption from tax for qualified retirement plan trusts; § 72 – taxation of distributions from qualified retirement plans; § 3405 – withholding and rollover rules for distributions from qualified retirement plans; §§ 4971, 4972, 4980, 4980F – penalties and excise taxes related to qualified retirement plan failures.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Please refer to "Conditions of Employment".
  • Click "Print Preview" to review the entire announcement before applying.
  • Must be U.S. Citizens or U.S. Nationals.

Your application must include your resume, responses to the online questions, and required supporting documents. Please be sure that your resume includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this position; failure to provide sufficient evidence in your resume may result in a “not qualified” determination.

Qualifications

You must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement:

For GS-13:

Possess a J.D. and 1 year of general legal experience, plus 1 year of legal tax experience (1 year of legal tax experience must have been comparable to the GS-12 level) Or an LL.M. plus 1 year of legal tax experience (1 year of legal tax experience must have been comparable to the GS-12 level).

Specialized Experience: In addition, the legal tax experience must have included experience working with federal taxation of qualified retirement plans to include research and evaluation of legal questions.


For GS-14:

Possess a J.D. and 1 year of general legal experience, plus 2 years of legal tax experience (1 year of legal tax experience must have been comparable to the GS-13 level) Or an LL.M. plus 2 years of legal tax experience (1 year of legal tax experience must have been comparable to the GS-13 level).

Specialized Experience: In addition, the legal tax experience must have included experience working on the basic concepts underlying the federal taxation of qualified retirement plans (including familiarity with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)). The professional tax experience must include handling of sophisticated legal issues and interpretations related to qualified retirement plans.


PLEASE NOTE: The J.D. and/or the LL.M must be from an ABA-accredited law school.

  • Candidates must be admitted to practice law before the highest court of a state or territory of the United States; the District of Columbia; or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and be an active member by the closing date of the announcement.
  • The professional legal experience may have been gained in the public sector or private sector.
  • One year of experience refers to full-time work after admittance to the Bar; 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

You must have graduated with a J.D. and/or the LL.M from an ABA-accredited law school.

Additional information

  • We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.      
  • Relocation expenses: No
  • This is a bargaining unit position.
  • We offer opportunities for telework.
  • We offer opportunities for flexible work schedules.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

  • A one-year trial period is required.
  • Must successfully complete a background investigation.
  • 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.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Rating: Your application will be evaluated using the experience/education defined under the requirement section.

Referral: Professional Order will be used to refer and select eligible candidates.  Veterans' preference is applied after applicants are assessed. Preference-eligibles will be listed at the top of the certificate in alphabetical order and considered before non-preference-eligibles. All other candidates will be listed in alphabetical order and be listed below those with preference. If you are among the top qualified candidates, you may be required to participate in a selection interview. We will not reimburse costs related to the interview such as travel to and from the interview site.

Bargaining Unit (BU) Chief Counsel (CC) Employees will be given first consideration.  To receive first consideration, BU CC employees seeking reassignment must be on the Master First Consideration List.  The Master First Consideration List in regard to this announcement is for reassignments only for employees currently occupying BU positions. If you are applying for a promotion, please apply to the announcement.


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