- Position Title
- Case Advocate
- Agency
- Internal Revenue Service
- Announcement Number
- 21-11121109C-TAX-0501-5T7 Opens in new window
- Open Period
- Wednesday, May 26, 2021 to Wednesday, June 9, 2021
For preview purposes only. To apply, please return to the USAJOBS announcement and click the Apply button.
Eligibilities
1.
Do you claim Veterans' Preference?
2.
U.S. Citizen Candidate - Are you a U.S. citizen (either by birth or naturalization) or national of the United States?
Preferences
1.
Select the lowest grade you are willing to accept for this position.
2.
Employees of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) must demonstrate the highest level of ethics and integrity. Former employees will be subject to a screening of their prior performance and conduct with the Service, and all other applicants may be subject to reference checks of prior employment. Your responses to the following questions will be verified; Applicants providing false information may be made ineligible and will be subject to debarment for future employment opportunities with the IRS.
Please select the response that best describes your current or prior employment with the IRS. If you never worked for the Internal Revenue Service, you must select the last response "Not applicable."
Please select the response that best describes your current or prior employment with the IRS. If you never worked for the Internal Revenue Service, you must select the last response "Not applicable."
3.
The following question is regarding your Selective Service status. If you are a male born after December 31, 1959, and are at least 18 years of age, civil service employment law (5 U.S.C. 3328) requires that you must be registered with the Selective Service System, unless you meet certain exemptions under Selective Service law. If you are required to register but knowingly and willfully fail to do so, you are ineligible for appointment by executive agencies of the Federal Government (5 CFR 300.704). Visit http://www.sss.gov/ for additional information.
4.
If you are a current Federal employee, by what agency and organization are you employed?
5.
If you selected "Other", please enter the agency and organization.
6.
If you are a current Federal employee, what is your duty station? [City, State]
7.
If you are a Federal employee, under what type of appointment are you currently serving?
8.
If you are, or ever were a Federal civilian employee, indicate the pay plan and grade level or pay band of the highest graded position you have ever held. (Examples: GS-05, IR-02, WG-04)
9.
Are you a current or former Federal employee with reinstatement eligibility?
10.
Are you a retiree receiving a Federal annuity, either military or civilian?
Note: If you are an annuitant, your salary or annuity may be reduced upon employment.
Note: If you are an annuitant, your salary or annuity may be reduced upon employment.
11.
Have you accepted a buyout from a Federal agency within the past 5 years?
12.
Regarding the effectiveness of our recruitment strategies; how did you first hear about this job?
13.
If you answered "Posting on a job board or search agent other than USAJOBS (Monster, CareerBuilder, Indeed, LinkUp, etc." please indicate the name of the job board or search agent other than USAJOBS you saw the advertisement.
If you answered "Social Media posting (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, on-line job fairs, etc.)" please indicate the name of the Social Media platform you saw the advertisement.
If you answered "Attended a recruitment event (Job/Career Fair, Open House, Meet & Greet, Meetup, etc.)" please indicate the name and state of the recruiting event.
If you answered "School/University announcement/career counselor" please indicate the name of the school/university of the announcement where you saw the advertisement.
If you answered "Third party referral, such as diversity or community organization, or employment office (Federal, state or local)" please indicate the name of the third party referral and the state you saw the advertisement.
If you answered "Newspaper (print/online)" please indicate the name of the newspaper and the state you saw the advertisement.
If you answered "Radio" please indicate the name of the radio station and state you heard the advertisement.
If you answered "Transit/Bus Advertisement" please indicate the city and state you saw the advertisement.
If you answered "Banner Advertisement - Major News Websites" please indicate the website.
If you answered "Banner Advertisement - Movie Theater Websites" please indicate the website.
If you answered "Classified Advertisement Website (Craigslist, Angie's List, etc.)" please indicate the name of the website, city and state.
If you answered "Other" please specify.
If you answered "Social Media posting (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, on-line job fairs, etc.)" please indicate the name of the Social Media platform you saw the advertisement.
If you answered "Attended a recruitment event (Job/Career Fair, Open House, Meet & Greet, Meetup, etc.)" please indicate the name and state of the recruiting event.
If you answered "School/University announcement/career counselor" please indicate the name of the school/university of the announcement where you saw the advertisement.
If you answered "Third party referral, such as diversity or community organization, or employment office (Federal, state or local)" please indicate the name of the third party referral and the state you saw the advertisement.
If you answered "Newspaper (print/online)" please indicate the name of the newspaper and the state you saw the advertisement.
If you answered "Radio" please indicate the name of the radio station and state you heard the advertisement.
If you answered "Transit/Bus Advertisement" please indicate the city and state you saw the advertisement.
If you answered "Banner Advertisement - Major News Websites" please indicate the website.
If you answered "Banner Advertisement - Movie Theater Websites" please indicate the website.
If you answered "Classified Advertisement Website (Craigslist, Angie's List, etc.)" please indicate the name of the website, city and state.
If you answered "Other" please specify.
Assessment 1
Thank you for your interest in applying for this position. Your responses to the following questions supplement the information provided in your resume.
1.
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE / EDUCATION: GS-05
You must have 3 years of general experience, 1 year of which was experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-4 grade level in the Federal service. General experience for this position includes: experience that demonstrates the ability to analyze problems to identify significant factors, gather pertinent data, and recognize solutions; plan and organize work; communicate effectively orally and in writing. Such experience may have been gained in government, business or industry, investigative work, banking, law, accounting, or other work appropriate to the position to be filled.
OR
You may substitute education for general experience as follows: Four (4) year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree.
Which of the following is true about your specialized experience?
You must have 3 years of general experience, 1 year of which was experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-4 grade level in the Federal service. General experience for this position includes: experience that demonstrates the ability to analyze problems to identify significant factors, gather pertinent data, and recognize solutions; plan and organize work; communicate effectively orally and in writing. Such experience may have been gained in government, business or industry, investigative work, banking, law, accounting, or other work appropriate to the position to be filled.
OR
You may substitute education for general experience as follows: Four (4) year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree.
Which of the following is true about your specialized experience?
2.
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE / EDUCATION: GS-07
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 demonstrated experience with business practices, basic accounting principles, and Federal tax laws and regulations; and that required auditing tax records, analyze systems and bookkeeping, use fact-finding techniques, and develop interpersonal skills.
OR
You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows: One (1) full year of graduate education in a field of study such as: accounting, finance, taxation, business administration or other related fields.
OR
Superior Academic Achievement - A Bachelors degree, with one of the following: A GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale for all completed undergraduate courses or those completed in the last 2 years of study, or a GPA of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale for all courses in the major field of study or those courses in the major completed in the last 2 years of study, or rank in the upper one third of the class in the college, university, or major subdivision, or membership in a national honor society recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies.
Which of the following is true about your education and/or experience?
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 demonstrated experience with business practices, basic accounting principles, and Federal tax laws and regulations; and that required auditing tax records, analyze systems and bookkeeping, use fact-finding techniques, and develop interpersonal skills.
OR
You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows: One (1) full year of graduate education in a field of study such as: accounting, finance, taxation, business administration or other related fields.
OR
Superior Academic Achievement - A Bachelors degree, with one of the following: A GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale for all completed undergraduate courses or those completed in the last 2 years of study, or a GPA of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale for all courses in the major field of study or those courses in the major completed in the last 2 years of study, or rank in the upper one third of the class in the college, university, or major subdivision, or membership in a national honor society recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies.
Which of the following is true about your education and/or experience?
For each task in the following group, choose the statement(s) from the list below that best describes your experience and/or training.
3.
Which of the following describe your contribution to the workplace?
4.
Choose the description below that best describes your work experience.
5.
Which of the following documents do you have experience writing?
6.
Which of the following experiences have you had that demonstrate your oral communication skills?
7.
Have you identified a systemic problem and made a recommendation to management/HQ to resolve it?
8.
Which of the following best describes your experience related to managing your workload?
9.
Which of the following best describes your experience advocating on behalf of a person or an issue?
As a Case Advocate, no two days at work will be the same. The Taxpayer Advocate Service is an independent organization within the IRS. The Case Advocate is the first line of contact for taxpayers who may be facing hardships, have encountered language and cultural barriers, or have simply tried everything they know to resolve their tax problems. The Case Advocate job includes analyzing financial information, such as tax returns and financial statements, and researching tax law.
You will work with a variety of taxpayers, from those who have limited understanding of the tax code to professionals such as attorneys and accountants. This involves frequent communication with taxpayers as well as working directly with other IRS employees to resolve taxpayer problems. Case advocates assist and educate taxpayers to comply with tax law. This requires strong interpersonal and communication skills.
You will be responsible for a large inventory of cases with new cases being assigned daily. Each case represents either an individual or a business taxpayer. There are very strict time frames with changing priorities. You work independently to set your own schedule. You must be organized and flexible with good time management skills. You will also be required to identify trends or burdens impacting taxpayers and make recommendations for improvement.
The next set of questions draw primarily on your experiences in working with and relating to others in a work setting. In each of the questions in this section, you are asked to indicate how you would be most likely to respond in a given situation. No special training or experience is required to answer these questions. Identify from the response options the one that best represents how you would handle the situation. Select the response that is closest to how you would be most likely to actually handle the situation, not the response that you think others might select or the response that you think is expected.
10.
Mr. Mango discovered a discrepancy between his copy of his tax return and the return filed with the IRS by his accountant. The return filed by the accountant reflected a larger refund amount and was direct deposited in the accountant's bank account. Mr. Mango is asking for the larger refund amount. You ask Mr. Mango questions about the income, expenses, and credits shown on his tax return and suspect that something is wrong. What would you do in this situation?
11.
A taxpayer asks for your assistance to get back on a payment plan. She explains that she was on a payment plan, but missed a few payments. As a result, the IRS collection department is about to garnish her paycheck. What would you do in this situation?
12.
Oak's Nursing Home was a major employer in a small town. The owner, Mr. Oak, could not cover expenses and is planning to close the business. Because he could not make tax payments on a timely basis, the IRS collection department garnished the business bank account. This occurred on the day of the final payroll. Mr. Oak contacted the Taxpayer Advocate Service for help to ensure his employees received their final paycheck that day. You had many actions already scheduled for the day when this case was assigned to you. Your other customers have been waiting for actions on their cases before you received Mr. Oak's request. What would you do in this situation?
13.
A taxpayer has filed several offer-in-compromise requests and all have been rejected. Offer-in-compromise requests are requests to settle the taxes owed for a lesser amount due to financial hardship. The taxpayer contacts you and claims he cannot pay his account in full. What would you do in this situation?
14.
Mr. and Mrs. Snow filed a refund request form along with their tax return to get Mrs. Snow's share of their refund. Mr. and Mrs. Snow contact you because they never received a response to the refund request form they submitted. You research their account and see that their tax return was processed and the amounts agree with their copy of the tax return. However, there is no record of the refund request form. Their total tax refund was sent to pay past due child support owed solely by Mr. Snow to his previous wife. Both Mr. and Mrs. Snow worked during the tax year and had taxes withheld. Mrs. Snow is entitled to her part of the refund. What would you do in this situation?
15.
Mr. Howard was expecting a refund, but he received a notice that all of his refund was applied to his wife's debt. Mrs. Howard owes a tax debt incurred prior to their marriage. Mr. Howard is entitled to his full refund because he earned all the income for the year. He submitted a claim to the IRS to receive his refund. Now he is seeking your assistance because he never received a response to his claim. What would you do in this situation?
16.
The IRS garnished Ms. Orange's wages for overdue taxes. She contacted Taxpayer Advocate Service requesting that you stop the wage garnishment because she cannot afford to pay her necessary living expenses as she lives in a high cost area. Ms. Orange states that the IRS collection department has not considered this. You secure a current financial statement from Ms. Orange with supporting documentation. While talking to Ms. Orange, you learn that she has a part-time job that she did not include on her financial statement. Also, the mortgage interest she listed was owed to her parent, but Ms. Orange stated she had not actually paid it. What would you do in this situation?
17.
Mr. and Mrs. Green come into your office and are upset because the IRS applied their refund to Mr. Green's past due student loan. Mrs. Green's income is the family's sole income and she wants the refund. Mrs. Green wants you to get her money back. An IRS customer service representative told her that because they filed a joint return the refund belongs to both Mr. and Mrs. Green, so she would not get a refund. However, Mrs. Green is entitled to her refund. What would you do in this situation?
18.
A taxpayer comes to your office because she recently received an IRS bill for taxes due on a court settlement she received. She believes the settlement is not taxable and highlights a page in an IRS publication showing you the settlement is not taxable. The taxpayer asks you to adjust her account to show that she does not owe the IRS money. What would you do in this situation?
Select “Yes” or “No” to the following question(s).
19.
To qualify for this position and receive full credit for your relevant experience you must list the month/year and number of hours worked for experience listed on your resume. Your resume must support your responses to the questions. Do you understand that failure to provide sufficient evidence in your resume may result in a "not qualified" determination?
20.
I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, all of the information included in this questionnaire is true, correct, and provided in good faith. I understand if I make an intentional false statement, or commit deception or fraud in this application and its supporting materials, or in any document or interview associated with the examination process, I may be fined or imprisoned (18 U.S.C. 1001); my eligibilities may be cancelled, I may be denied an appointment, or I may be removed and debarred from Federal service (5 C.F.R. part 731). I understand any information I give may be investigated. I understand that responding "No" to this item will result in my not being considered for this position.
Failure to agree or respond to the statement below will disqualify you from further consideration for the position. Select the most appropriate response below.
Failure to agree or respond to the statement below will disqualify you from further consideration for the position. Select the most appropriate response below.