Description
Determine tax liability or collect taxes from individuals or business firms according to prescribed laws and regulations.
- • Collect taxes from individuals or businesses according to prescribed laws and regulations.
- • Maintain knowledge of tax code changes, and of accounting procedures and theory to properly evaluate financial information.
- • Maintain records for each case, including contacts, telephone numbers, and actions taken.
- • Confer with taxpayers or their representatives to discuss the issues, laws, and regulations involved in returns, and to resolve problems with returns.
- • Contact taxpayers by mail or telephone to address discrepancies and to request supporting documentation.
- • Send notices to taxpayers when accounts are delinquent.
- • Notify taxpayers of any overpayment or underpayment, and either issue a refund or request further payment.
- • Review filed tax returns to determine whether claimed tax credits and deductions are allowed by law.
- • Review selected tax returns to determine the nature and extent of audits to be performed on them.
- • Enter tax return information into computers for processing.
- • Examine accounting systems and records to determine whether accounting methods used were appropriate and in compliance with statutory provisions.
- • Impose payment deadlines on delinquent taxpayers and monitor payments to ensure that deadlines are met.
- • Check tax forms to verify that names and taxpayer identification numbers are correct, that computations have been performed correctly, or that amounts match those on supporting documentation.
- • Examine and analyze tax assets and liabilities to determine resolution of delinquent tax problems.
- • Determine appropriate methods of debt settlement, such as offers of compromise, wage garnishment, or seizure and sale of property.
- • Secure a taxpayer's agreement to discharge a tax assessment or submit contested determinations to other administrative or judicial conferees for appeals hearings.
- • Prepare briefs and assist in searching and seizing records to prepare charges and documentation for court cases.
- • Direct service of legal documents, such as subpoenas, warrants, notices of assessment, and garnishments.
- • 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.
- • Participate in informal appeals hearings on contested cases from other agents.
- • Answer questions from taxpayers and assist them in completing tax forms.
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O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
