Skip to main content
U.S. flag
 

Legal Administrative Specialist (Estate and Gift Tax) - Estate Tax Legal Specialist

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Small Business/Self-Employed

Summary

Position(s) are to be filled in the following area(s): SB/SE Examination Deputy Operations Specialty Examination, Estate & Gift/Excise Tax Exam

WHAT IS THE SMALL BUSINESS/SELF-EMPLOYED (SB/SE), OPERATING DIVISION?
A description of the business units can be found at: https://www.jobs.irs.gov/about/who/business-divisions

REVIEW THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BELOW FOR FURTHER DETAILS

Overview

Help
Accepting applications
Posted today · Apply by 07/09/26
Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on July 9, 2026
Location
8 vacancies in the following locations:
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy. Telework eligible positions do not guarantee telework.
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$74,678 - $145,468 per year

The range reflects the minimum locality to maximum locality for locations listed in this announcement. Salary will be based on selected duty location.

Pay scale & grade
GS 11 - 12
Promotion potential
13
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time - Tour of Duty: Day Shift, Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm, 40 hours per week.
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
No
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
Yes
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
26-12978815P-SBX-0901-11/12
Control number
874174900

Duties

Help

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.

  • Conducts independent examinations of the most complex estate and gift returns with a considerable number of complex and unusual issues requiring extensive tax law research, state law knowledge, investigation, and analysis.
  • Determines the issues and audit techniques needed to resolve issues.
  • Researches various complex Federal, state and foreign laws that may be without precedent or involve conflicting precedents to arrive at a determination of the federal estate and gift tax implications of the transactions.
  • Determines the nature of included assets, analyzes transactions, investigates underlying facts, evaluates the fair market value of real estate, business interests, and other type of financial and investment assets for assigned returns.
  • Conducts extensive legal research and analyzes the taxpayer's legal documents to identify the transferred interest.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • Probationary Period - All newly appointed employees to the competitive (or excepted) service are subject to a probationary (or trial) period. During this time, your performance, conduct, and suitability for continued employment will be evaluated. You will not automatically convert to permanent status at the end of the probationary (or trial) period. Your supervisor must affirmatively determine that continued employment is in the best interest of the Federal service. If no certification is made before the probationary (or trial) period ends, your appointment will be terminated. You are encouraged to actively engage with your supervisor, seek feedback, and understand role expectations. Additional guidance and support will be provided during onboarding.
  • Government Credit Card - Obtain and use a Government-issued charge card for business-related travel.
Key Eligibility Requirements:
  • U.S Citizenship - Must be a U.S. Citizen or National and provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
  • Selective Service Registration - Males born after December 31, 1959, are required to be registered with the Selective Service System or prove they are exempt from having to do so.
  • Personal Identity Verification (PIV) - Must provide 2 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. These documents must be unexpired original or certified copies.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS SHOWN IN QUALIFICATIONS OR ADDTIONAL INFORMATION SECTIONS

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.

BASIC QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: All GRADES -- SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR: To be eligible for this position, at any grade level, applicants must demonstrate the following: Knowledge of Legal Industry, including legal practices, federal codes and regulations, and application of complex legal principles to facts.

This knowledge may be met through experience and/or education.
To meet this requirement, the applicant must demonstrate the following:

  • Substantive knowledge of state and federal laws, judicial decisions and precedents, legal codes, court procedures, legal practices, legal instruments and documents, government regulations, executive orders, and agency rules specific to tax administration and compliance.
  • Exceptional skill in researching, interpreting, examining, analyzing and applying relevant state and federal laws, regulations, related statutes, and sub-regulatory guidance, sufficient to produce written reports, relevant forms, instructions, explanatory publications, legal memoranda, proposed legislation, and other materials, sufficient to address taxpayer rights and responsibilities, propose tax legislation or regulation, and issue opinions and/or decisions specific to tax administration or compliance.
Specialized Experience GS-11:
You must have 1 year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position includes:
  • Experience working in a legal environment whereby you provided technical advice on legal requirements, conducted legal research and analysis, drafted/authored written opinions, decisions, and/or proposals on matters involving federal tax laws, rules, regulations, and practices.
  • Experience must be sufficient to demonstrate knowledge of Federal tax laws, various State and foreign laws, judicial decisions, and precedents.
  • Organizing, analyzing, and managing voluminous case information.
  • Researching and evaluating complex legal questions involving state and federal laws.
  • Reach a determination and take appropriate action to impact compliance with federal laws.
OR Three (3) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education in Law from an Accredited College or University
OR a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree education in Law from an Accredited College or University
OR an LL.M from a full course of study in a School of Law accredited by the American Bar Association
OR A combination of education and experience as described above.

Specialized Experience GS-12:
You must have 1 year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position must include:
  • Experience working in a legal environment whereby you provided technical advice and guidance on Federal tax law requirements.
  • Experience conducting legal research and analysis on complex Federal and State tax laws.
  • Experience authoring legal opinions, decisions, determinations, or proposals on matters involving federal tax laws, rules, and/or regulations.
  • Experience working with Federal, Gift, and Generation-Skipping Transfer tax laws, including Internal Revenue Code, Tax Regulations, IRS Revenue rulings and procedures and precedent decisions.
  • Experience analyzing and adjudicating tax matters, appeals, settlement offers, or similar work related to Federal tax operations.

AND

You must also meet the following requirements:

  • MINIMUM AGE REQUIREMENT: Minimum age for federal employment is 18 years old, or at least 16 years old and have:
    • Graduated from high school or been awarded a certificate equivalent to graduating from high school; or
    • Completed a formal vocational training program; or
    • Received a statement from school authorities agreeing with your preference for employment rather than continuing your education.

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).

Additional information

Suitability Requirements:

  • Prior IRS Employment - Former employees will be subject to a screening of their prior conduct with the Service. The Taxpayer First Act of 2019, 26 U.S. Code 7804, prohibits the IRS from rehiring certain former employees who were removed from service.
  • Tax Check - Must undergo a review of income tax verification. To check the status of your tax record go to: (https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript). If you are not in compliance, you will be determined unsuitable for employment with IRS.
  • Fingerprint/Criminal History Check - 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. For more information regarding your rights refer to Noncriminal Justice Applicant's Privacy Rights - FBI, FD-258 Privacy Act Statement - FBI, and SEAD-3-Reporting-U.pdf (dni.gov).
Additional Information:
  • 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.
  • Alternative work schedule, staggered work hours may be available.
  • Salary: General Schedule (GS) Locality Pay tables may be found under Salaries & Wages.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

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

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):
  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork


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: Category rating will be used to rank and select eligible candidates. If qualified, you will be assigned to one of three quality level categories, CAT A, CAT B or CAT C.

Referral: Eligible applicants rated in the highest category 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 category group order. We will not reimburse costs related to the interview such as travel to and from the interview site

Veterans' preference is applied after applicants are assessed. Qualified preference eligibles who have a compensable service-connected disability of 10 percent or more (CPS, CP) are placed at the top of the highest category on the referral list (except for scientific or professional positions at the GS-9 level or higher). Remaining preference eligibles are placed above non-preference eligibles within their assigned category.

If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee (eligible for the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP), you must receive a rating of category CAT B to be rated as "well qualified" to receive special selection priority.

If you are selected, you will be subject to all requirements listed in the Requirements, Qualifications, and Additional Information sections of this announcement which includes, Prior Employment/Tax Checks, Fingerprint/Criminal History checks.

Internal Revenue Service

WHY IS THE IRS A GREAT PLACE TO WORK? As an IRS employee, you will feel proud knowing you helped make America stronger while working at one of the world's biggest financial institutions. You will be part of an organization that collects over $2 trillion in revenue and processes over 200 million tax returns annually. We are proud of how we apply the tax law with integrity and fairness to all. The IRS hires talented and dedicated individuals from many backgrounds, including accounting, business, finance, law enforcement and information technology. You will be challenged & supported on a daily basis. Whether you are just starting out or looking for a new opportunity, consider an IRS career.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has a distinguished history dating back to the founding of our nation. As the steward of U.S. economic and financial systems, Treasury is a major and influential leader in today's global economy. We have over 100,000 employees across the country and around the world. Come Join the Department of the Treasury and Invest in Tomorrow.

WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OTHER IRS CAREERS? Visit us on the web at www.jobs.irs.gov

Agency contact information

(ERC) Employee Resource Center
Phone
866-743-5748
Email
Hco.phl.int@irs.gov
Website
https://irsgov.sharepoint.com/sites/EmployeeResources/SitePages/ERC-Help-Desk.aspx
Address
SBSE EXAM - Examination Deputy Operations
1111 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20224
US

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.