Tax Examiners, Collectors and Revenue Agents
Additional Information
Duties
These are some of the most common duties of tax examiners and collectors, as well as revenue agents:
- Determine if tax credits and deductions claimed on a tax return are permitted by law.
- In order to resolve issues and get paperwork, get in touch with the taxpayers.
- To check or amend tax obligations, conduct field audits and investigations of income tax returns.
- Comprehend and apply accounting principles and current tax requirements while evaluating financial data.
- Keep track of each instance, including phone numbers and the steps that have been performed, in a database.
Taxpayers who overpaid or underpaid will be notified and either given a refund or asked to pay more.
People and corporations must pay the taxes they owe to the government in accordance with the law. Tax examiners and collectors and revenue agents are responsible for this. Additionally, the IRS follows up with individuals whose returns are suspicious or who owe more money to ensure that they pay their fair share.
Taxes are collected at several levels of government. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the United States federal government is largely in charge of taxation on both businesses and individuals. Taxes on income and purchases are collected by state governments. Property and sales taxes are levied by the local government in each jurisdiction.
Tax examiners working for the federal government are required to submit any modifications or corrections they make to the states because some states base their income taxes on taxpayers reported federal income. Afterwards, state tax examiners will decide whether or not the modifications influence the state taxpayer's liability.
There are distinct roles for tax examiners and collectors and revenue agents:
As a rule, tax examiners deal with uncomplicated tax returns made by individuals and small firms that claim a limited number of deductions. Individual taxpayers may also be contacted by tax examiners to fix any lingering issues with their returns.
A tax examiner's primary responsibility is to ensure that the tax credits and deductions claimed by taxpayers are in fact legal. ' Examiners alter the total amount payable to a taxpayer if extra taxes are needed and then notify them of the adjustment.
Internal revenue agents, as they are known by the IRS, are tax-related accounting experts. They do the same thing that tax examiners do, which is to check for errors on tax returns. Revenue agents, on the other hand, deal with the complicated tax returns of major organizations and businesses.
In other cases, such as when working with global corporations, seasoned revenue agents specialize solely in that field. There are always new tax rules and regulations that revenue agents need to be aware of, no matter what their specialty is.
Accounts that have not been paid are handled by tax collectors, who are also known as IRS Internal Revenue Officers. As soon as the revenue agent or tax examiner receives a late payment report from the taxpayer, the procedure of collecting it begins. A tax collector is appointed to the case if the taxpayer does not make an effort to pay.
Whenever a tax collector is assigned to a case, the taxpayer is notified in advance through letter. They then work with taxpayers to settle the bill. If a settlement is reached, it may entail putting together a payment schedule that calls for the debt to be repaid gradually over time.
Collectors examine and verify the statements of delinquent taxpayers who say they cannot pay their taxes. Tax collectors use third parties, such as local motor vehicle departments, to find valuables held by taxpayers that are listed on their financial accounts or mortgages. A lien is a claim on a property, such as real estate, bank accounts, or automobiles, that the IRS can use to satisfy a debt. To recoup unpaid taxes, tax collectors can also seize a percentage of an employee's earnings.
Education
Accounting or a similar subject is often required for tax examiners and collectors and revenue agents. For some positions, a high school diploma or GED may be enough to land a job.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) accepts applicants with a bachelor's degree in any field of study, specialized expertise, or a combination of both education and experience for employment as tax examiners and collectors. To become an IRS agent, you'll need a bachelor's degree in accounting or a similar combination of education and experience, such as working as an auditor for a CPA firm.
Training
A month to a year of on-the-job training is normal for newly employed tax examiners, collectors, and revenue agents. These employees are also required to stay up to date on any modifications to the tax code or to the methods for its enforcement or collection.
Extensive Previous Experience in a Related Field
As a substitute for education, some businesses may accept job experience. It's also uncommon for businesses to seek for tax examiners and revenue agents with prior experience working in the fields of accounting or bookkeeping or in customer service or credit checking.
Advancement
Individual tax return examiners who want to work on more complicated corporate tax returns can become revenue agents.
Advancement to supervisory or management roles is possible for tax collectors and inspectors who show leadership abilities and a solid understanding of tax collecting procedures.
Criteria to Be Considered
Skills in analysis. A tax examiner's and revenue agent's job are to look for and decide whether or not a claim for a credit or deduction is validly made.
Confidence in your ability to communicate. When dealing with the public, tax collectors must be able to communicate complicated information, especially sensitive information, clearly.
Focused on the smallest details. Revenue officers and tax examiners evaluate each tax return for correctness. In order for them to succeed, they must pay attention to the finer points.
Personality traits. Tax collectors need to be able to work well with others. Tax collectors who are chasing past-due accounts must be strong and cool under pressure.
Abilities in the area of mathematics. Since they work with statistics on a daily basis, revenue agents and tax collectors are expected to have a solid foundation in math. They must also be able to compare and contrast data.
The ability to manage one's time effectively. Tax examiners and revenue agents deal with a wide range of financial documentation, including numerous tax returns. It's critical to keep all of your data organized.
Pay
The median annual wage for tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents was $59,740 in May 2024. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $40,020, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $110,300.
Job Projections
Employment of tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents is projected to grow 2 percent from 2023 to 2033, slower than the average for all occupations.