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General Attorney (Tax) - Qualified Plans Branch

Employer
USAJobs
Location
Washington, D.C
Closing date
Aug 7, 2021
Duties

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.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

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. 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.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - Some travel may be required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
14

Requirements

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-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 comparable to the GS-13 level defined: 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 an 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.
  • A three-year tenure agreement 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.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

A complete application includes 1. A resume, 2. Vacancy question responses, and 3. Submission of any required documents. Please note that if you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, you may not be considered for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible).

All applicants are required to submit a resume either by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one of their own choosing. (Cover letters are optional.) To receive full credit for relevant experience, please list the month/year and number of hours worked for experience listed on your resume. We suggest that you preview the online questions, as you may need to customize your resume to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions. Please view resume tips .

In addition, applicants are required to submit: 1) An unofficial or official transcript(s), and 2) An 8-10 page legal writing sample.

If selected, you will be required to submit proof of bar membership.

VETERANS' PREFERENCE DOCUMENTATION: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Office of Chief Counsel considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. If you are claiming veterans' preference, you must submit a copy of your Certificate of Release or Discharge From Active Duty, DD-214 (Member 4 copy), or other official documentation from a branch of the Armed Forces or the Department of Veterans Affairs showing dates of service and type of discharge. Ten-point preference eligibles must also submit an Application for 10-point Veteran Preference, SF-15 , along with the required documentation listed on the back of the SF-15 form. For more information on veterans' preference view FedsHireVets .

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

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