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Tax Examining Technician

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

Summary

WHAT IS (SBSE) - SMALL BUSINESS SELF EMPLOYED?
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):
    • Small Business Self Employed (SBSE) - Campus Exam AUR.
  • The range reflects the minimum locality to maximum locality for locations listed in the announcement. Salary will be based on selected duty location.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Posted yesterday · Apply by 07/30/26
Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on July 30, 2026
Location
144 vacancies in the following locations:
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—Telework eligible positions do not guarantee telework.
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$40,736 - $77,306 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 5 - 7
Promotion potential
7 - This position has career progression. If selected at a lower grade level you may be promoted without further competition to the full working level as your career progression.
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time - Tour of Duty: Monday-Friday 40 hours per week. Your actual tour of duty will be defined at job offer.
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
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
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
26-13007303P-SBN-0592-5T7
Control number
877040800

Duties

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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.

  • Performs advanced analysis of complex taxpayer accounts, returns, transcripts, and case files involving multiple tax periods, interrelated issues, prior account activity, and/or conflicting information. Applies a wide range of established tax laws, regulations, and procedures, including the Internal Revenue Code (IRC}, Internal Revenue Manual (IRM}, and related
    guidance, to varied and non-routine situations.
  • Independently determines appropriate resolution strategies by interpreting and applying established guidelines in situations where direct applicability may not be clear, determining appropriate actions in situations where established guidance does not fully address the issue. Evaluates taxpayer responses, identifies discrepancies, and determines final case disposition,
    including revision, closure, or referral.
  • Identifies potential fraud, abuse, or noncompliance indicators and initiates appropriate referrals in accordance with established procedures. Performs a full range of account adjustments, such as complex computations of tax, penalties, and interest (including restricted interest} and determines the appropriate disposition of overpayments and balances due.
  • Provides technical assistance to taxpayers and authorized representatives on complex or sensitive account issues through telephone, written, and digital communication. Explains tax laws, notices, account adjustments, and enforcement actions, addressing disagreements to resolve issues and promote voluntary compliance. Secures additional information, including from third parties when appropriate, and coordinates with internal IRS functions, including the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS}, to resolve complex matters.
  • Utilizes IRS systems (e.g., Integrated Data Retrieval System (IDRS), Audit Information Management System (AIMS), Enterprise Case Management (ECM}} to research accounts, input transactions, monitor case status, and validate results. Manages a complex inventory, prioritizing work to meet production and quality standards, and maintains thorough case histories documenting actions and decisions. Provides guidance to lower-graded employees, ensures compliance with
    disclosure laws and Privacy Act requirements and performs other duties as assigned.
STANDARD POSITION DESCRIPTIONS (SPD): PD26159, PD26160, and PD26161
Visit the IRS SPD Library to access the position descriptions.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • 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.
  • May be required to travel 1-5 days per month.
  • Full Time: Tour of Duty: Day Shift and Swing Shift. If selected, your actual tour of duty will be defined at job offer.
    • Tour of Duty: Monday - Friday, Day Shift hours start time between 6:00am and end time by 6:00pm.
    • Tour of Duty: Monday - Friday, Swing Shift hours start time between 2:00 pm and end time by 1:30 a.m.

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.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE/EDUCATION FOR GS-05: You must have 1 year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-04 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position includes experience that is in or related to this position and provides you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position. Examples of qualifying experience include:

  • Performing a variety of miscellaneous tasks involving researching and processing financial documents, reviewing information, and determining corrective action on accounts.
  • Researching for missing/unclear accounting information to make appropriate adjustments.
  • Review and process taxpayer account information per organizational guidelines (e.g., Internal Revenue Code (IRC), Internal Revenue Manual (IRM), and Audit Information Management Systems (AIMS)) and maintain current knowledge of tax law and internal processing procedures.
  • Identifying account discrepancies and applying tax laws to correct account issues.
  • Providing information at the request of taxpayers, taxpayer representatives, and third parties through telephone, written, and digital communication, including automated systems to generate notices and taxpayer correspondence.
OR You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows: four (4) years of education above high school in any related field of study from an accredited college or university.
OR You may qualify by a combination of experience and education.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE FOR GS-06: You must have 1 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 includes experience that is in or related to this position and provides you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position. Examples of qualifying experience include:
  • Performing a variety of tasks involving researching and processing financial documents, reviewing information, and determining corrective action on accounts.
  • Reviewing inventory management procedures to control casework and conduct research.
  • Interpreting guidelines to advise the taxpayer and/or their representatives to meet tax obligations through collection and/or enforcement actions.
  • Review and process taxpayer account information per organizational guidelines (e.g., Internal Revenue Code (IRC), Internal Revenue Manual (IRM), and Audit Information Management Systems (AIMS), etc.) and maintain current knowledge of tax law and internal processing procedures.
  • Assisting with reconstructing account activity, including specialized case types such as AUR, Correspondence Examination, Innocent Spouse, and/or Employment Tax.
  • Assisting with adjustment documents such as credit transfers, abatements, error corrections, and/or multiple account elements.
AND
Experience must include the following:
  • Assisting with or resolving taxpayer problems involving multiple tax periods, prior account activity, and conflicting information.
  • Providing information at the request of taxpayers, taxpayer representatives, and third parties through telephone, written, and digital communication, including automated systems to generate notices and taxpayer correspondence.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE FOR GS-07: You must have 1 year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-06 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position includes experience that is in or related to this position and provides you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position. Examples of qualifying experience include:
  • Analyzing tax or accounting problems for resolution as a bookkeeper or accounting position.
  • Reviewing inventory management procedures to control casework and conduct research to identify any needed corrections.
  • Resolving conflicts via established guidelines with taxpayers, taxpayer representatives, and/or third parties to gain compliance with laws and regulations.
  • Utilizing various types of tax returns, penalty abatement, interest computations, filing requirements, corrections and/or alternations to tax modules to complete documentation.
  • Reviewing technical information updates to maintain current knowledge of tax law and internal processing procedures.
  • Recommending lien and/or levy action, including initiating supporting information for release.
  • Interacting with the public analyzing tax or accounting problems and then resolving high-conflict differences through use of established guidelines,
  • Interacting with customers in person, in writing or by telephone in a variety of situations that require solicitation of information to identify concerns and offer solutions.
Experience must include the following:
  • Resolving taxpayer problems involving multiple tax periods, prior account activity, and conflicting information.
  • Providing information at the request of taxpayers, taxpayer representatives, and third parties through telephone, written, and digital communication.
  • Utilizing statutory provisions for computing taxes, penalties, and interest (including restricted interest), and multi-period adjustments.

AND

You must also meet the following requirement(s):

  • TIME AFTER COMPETITIVE APPOINTMENT (TACA): 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-5, 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).

Additional 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.
  • Alternative work schedule, staggered work hours may be available.
  • Salary: General Schedule (GS) Locality Pay tables may be found under Salaries & Wages.
144 vacancies to be filled in the following location(s):
  • (CA7456) 1325 Broadway Plaza, Fresno, California 25 vacancies
  • (GA1016) 4800 Buford Highway, Chamblee, Georgia 13 vacancies
  • (KY3005) 300 Madison Ave, Covington, Kentucky 8 vacancies
  • (MA0137) 310 Lowell Street, Andover, Massachusetts 13 vacancies
  • (NY0376) 1040 Waverly Avenue, Holtsville, New York 15 vacancies
  • (PA0809) 2970 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania OR (TN0005) 5333 Getwell Road, Memphis, Tennessee 27
  • (TX2225) 2191 Woodward Street, Austin, Texas 22 vacancies
  • (UT1486) 2365 Lincoln Avenue, Ogden, Utah 21 vacancies

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
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork


The USA Hire Assessments includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment.

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 orbetter to be rated as "well qualified" to receive special selection priority.

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 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
Website
https://irsgov.sharepoint.com/sites/EmployeeResources/SitePages/ERC-Help-Desk.aspx
Address
SBSE CAMP EXAM
1111 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20224
US

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