Duties
WHAT IS THE TAXPAYER ADVOCATE SERVICE (TAS) DIVISION?
An independent organization within the IRS, the Taxpayer Advocate Service helps taxpayers resolve problems and recommends changes that will prevent them. You'll assist taxpayers who are experiencing economic harm. These taxpayers are seeking help to either resolve tax problems that have not been resolved through normal channels or require help to resolve issues with IRS systems or procedures. The service is free, confidential, and tailored to meet the taxpayers' needs. Available for businesses as well as individuals, you'll be there to listen to problems, help taxpayers understand what needs to be done, and work with them until the problem is resolved. TAS mission is to assist taxpayers in resolving their problems with the IRS (Case Advocacy), and to identify and propose administrative and legislative solutions to mitigate those problems (Systemic Advocacy).
Vacancies will be filled in the following specialty areas:
Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS), Systemic Advocacy, Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP)
WHAT DOES A VOLUNTEER TAXPAYER ADVOCACY PANEL MEMBER DO?
Taxpayer Advocacy Panel members are strictly volunteers and will not receive a salary. You have a unique opportunity to contribute to improving your tax administration system by becoming a member of the IRS Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP). The mission of the TAP is to listen to taxpayers, identify taxpayers' issues, and make recommendations for improving IRS service and customer satisfaction. The TAP serves as an advisory body to the Secretary of the Treasury, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, the National Taxpayer Advocate, and IRS Division Commissioners to improve IRS service and customer satisfaction. Panel members serve a three-year appointment.
TAP offers its members a unique opportunity to participate in the improvement of both the American tax administration system and the organization of the IRS. TAP members make progress on local, pressing tax issues by working directly with the IRS. Members serve as listening posts to their community and provide local input on tax-related issues. TAP members have the unique opportunity to work directly with taxpayers and the IRS to help change the IRS.
As a Volunteer Taxpayer Advocacy Panel member, you will:
- Serve in an advisory capacity to the IRS through meetings and focus groups;
- Solicit taxpayer input on specific issues and channel the feedback to the agency;
- Identify, prioritize, and elevate as necessary, taxpayer issues to the IR;
- Participate in taxpayer outreach opportunities by speaking to individuals and groups about the Panel;
- Annually report and publish, as a team, the results of your team's work.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - May involve infrequent overnight travel to attend multi-day meetings/events? (Note: Panel members will be reimbursed by the IRS for authorized travel expenses.)
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- Must be a U.S. Citizen or National and provide proof of U.S. Citizenship. (Birth certificate showing birth in the U.S; Unexpired U.S. Passport; Certificate of Citizenship or Naturalization; or Report of Birth Abroad of a U.S. Citizen (Form FS-240))
- Undergo a review of prior performance/conduct and an income tax verification. Refer to "Get Your Tax Record" at http://www.irs.gov/(https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript) to check the status of your account, balance owed, payment history, make a payment, or review answers to tax questions. If you are not in compliance, you will be determined unsuitable for employment with IRS.
- 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).
- Must successfully complete a background investigation, including a FBI criminal history record check (fingerprint check).
- Office of Professional Responsibility Check, if in practice before the IRS
- Federal Lobbyist Check
Qualifications
Qualifications:
You must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
Volunteer TAP Members Must:
- Be willing to commit approximately 200 to 300 volunteer hours per year to the Panel;
- Be current with all Federal tax obligations;
- Pass an FBI criminal background check;
- Not be a federally registered lobbyist;
- Not be a current Treasury or IRS employee or have worked for the Treasury or IRS within the past three years; and
- Not be a current volunteer TAP member or have served as a volunteer TAP member within the last three years.
- Individuals who practice before the IRS must be in good standing with the IRS.
For the volunteer Taxpayer Advocacy Panel to be most effective, the members of the Panel must possess good interpersonal communication skills, organizational skills, and have access to a computer. Members should also have the ability to problem solve within a group of other civic-minded professionals.
Outreach to the public is vitally important to the success of the TAP. As a member you will be expected to identify and participate in various outreach activities to solicit input from taxpayers about IRS products and services. Members should have good listening skills and the ability to interact with groups and individuals to solicit feedback from the public. Ideal candidates should be able to separate their personal views from TAP/IRS issues.
TAP includes members from all segments of the population with varying backgrounds and experiences; they represent the view of the average American taxpayer. There is no specialized tax experience required to serve on the TAP. Members will be provided the information needed to effectively contribute to the panel.
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: 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 for Foreign Education Credentialing instructions.
Benefits
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Review our benefits
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Your application includes your resume and responses to the online questions. Please be sure that your resume includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this program; failure to provide sufficient evidence in your resume may result in a "not qualified" determination. Applicants who disqualify themselves will not be evaluated further.
Rating: Your application will be evaluated on the competencies of the program in the following areas: Teamwork, Interpersonal Skills, Oral and Written Communications, Problem Solving, Computer Skills, Project Management, Influencing/Negotiating, and Volunteerism. Your application will also be rated and ranked among others, based on your responses to the online questions, regarding your experience, education, and training relevant to the duties of this program.
Referral: If you are among the top candidates, your application may be referred for consideration. We will not reimburse costs related to the interview such as travel to and from the interview site. The most qualified candidates will be interviewed by a team comprised of IRS staff and a current TAP member. The Department of the Treasury will review the recommended candidates and make final selections.
How to Apply
The following instructions outline our application process. You must complete this application process and submit any required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on 11/14/2024 and/or cut-off dates in this announcement. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. ET, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, please contact us by noon ET on 11/14/2024.
To preview the Application Questionnaire, please click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12588041
- To begin the application process, click the "Apply Online" button.
- You will be re-directed to USA STAFFING to complete your application process; answer the online questions and submit all required documents. (To submit supporting documents, import documents from USAJOBS to the appropriate document types. If the document you need was not imported from USAJOBS, you may upload it directly into this application. To protect your privacy, we suggest you first remove your SSN).
- To complete, you must click the "Submit Application" button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on 11/14/2024.
To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account (
https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login). There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Update Application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.
To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account:
https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login . All of your applications will appear on the
Welcome page. The application record in your USAJOBS account provides an
Additional Application Information page that provides information regarding the documentation you submitted and any correspondence we have sent related to this application. The
Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each
Application Status means, visit:
https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.
Are you unsure how to write your federal resume? We are here to help. The Treasury Recruitment Service regularly offers Writing Your Federal Resume training sessions, and other career-related information sessions, to assist you in your career search journey. To register for a session, click here to go to our Career Information Sessions webpage.
Next steps
Treasury believes in a working environment that supports inclusion; to review reasonable accommodation policies and procedures please visit https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/disability-employment/reasonable-accommodations/. We provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact us if you require this for any part of the application and hiring process.
Once your application package and online questionnaire is received you will receive an acknowledgement email. You are responsible for checking status updates and notifications in USAJOBS. Hard copy notifications will not be sent to you. You may check the status of your application for this position at any time by logging onto the USAJOBS "My Account" tab and clicking on "Application Status." For a more detailed update of your application status, you may click on "more information." Please notify us if your contact information changes after the closing date of the announcement. If your email mailbox is full or blocked (SPAM) you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.