Tax Examiners, Collectors, and Revenue Agents

Determine tax liability or collect taxes from individuals or business firms according to prescribed laws and regulations.

Job Task

• Conduct independent field audits and investigations of income tax returns in order to verify information and/or to amend tax liabilities.
• Confer with taxpayers or their representatives in order to discuss the issues, laws, and regulations involved in returns, and to resolve problems with returns.
• Contact taxpayers by mail or telephone in order to address discrepancies and to request supporting documentation.
• Determine appropriate methods of debt settlement, such as offers of compromise, wage garnishment, or seizure and sale of property.
• Examine accounting systems and records in order to determine whether accounting methods used were appropriate and in compliance with statutory provisions.
• Examine and analyze tax assets and liabilities in order to determine resolution of delinquent tax problems.
• Impose payment deadlines on delinquent taxpayers and monitor payments in order to ensure that deadlines are met.
• Investigate claims of inability to pay taxes by researching court information for the status of liens, mortgages, or financial statements, or by locating assets through third parties.
• Maintain knowledge of tax code changes, and of accounting procedures and theory in order to properly evaluate financial information.
• Maintain records for each case, including contacts, telephone numbers, and actions taken.
• Process individual and corporate income tax returns, and sales and excise tax returns.
• Send notices to taxpayers when accounts are delinquent.
• Serve as members of regional appeals board in order to re-examine unresolved issues in terms of relevant laws and regulations.
• Check tax forms in order to verify that names and taxpayer identification numbers are correct, that computations have been performed correctly, and that amounts match those on supporting documentation.
• Collect taxes from individuals or businesses according to prescribed laws and regulations.
• Review filed tax returns in order to determine whether claimed tax credits and deductions are allowed by law.
• Review selected tax returns in order to determine the nature and extent of audits to be performed on them.
• Secure a taxpayer's agreement to discharge a tax assessment, or submit contested determinations to other administrative or judicial conferees for appeals hearings.
• Direct service of legal documents, such as subpoenas, warrants, notices of assessment and garnishments.
• Enter tax return information into computers for processing.
• Install systems of recording costs or other financial and budgetary data or provide advice on such systems, based on examination of current financial records.
• Notify taxpayers of any overpayment or underpayment, and either issue a refund or request further payment.
• Participate in informal appeals hearings on contested cases from other agents.
• Prepare briefs, and assist in searching and seizing records in order to prepare charges and documentation for court cases.
• Recommend criminal prosecutions and/or civil penalties.
• Request that the state or federal revenue service prepare a return on a taxpayer's behalf in cases where taxes have not been filed.

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