Don’t Fear the Tax Man, Be The Tax Man

Martin Lesky of Los Angeles lost his well-paying job at mortgage broker last year and owed the Internal Revenue Service thousands of dollars as well. One year later he had paid his debt and secured a gig at the IRS.

“People act like I have a disease when I tell them where I work,” said Lesky laughing. “But it’s a great job. I’m off the clock when I leave the building. Unless you tell me you’re screwing the IRS or something. Then your name goes in my book.”

A job at the much-hated government organization is actually a career that most people love. Many college grads head straight into the IRS for their first jobs, and people mid-career often quit the jobs and hook up with the tax man.

Someone who likes to deal with numbers and complex tax issues would feel at home being an IRS agent. Before you can work for the Internal Revenue Services, you’ll need to meet a few requirements for federal government jobs. Here’s how to become an IRS agent.

You can become an IRS agent if you have had experience as an accountant or as a tax advisor. Your main task will be to ensure that individuals and corporations are paying their taxes correctly and on time. You might be conducting reviews and audits on tax returns and comparing them with reports and information gathered from other sources to make sure that companies and individuals are not engaged in fraudulent tax activities.

Entry-level positions are open for people with at least 30 hours of accounting coursework. You can also be an IRS agent if you majored in tax analysis, business administration, or bookkeeping. If you are an accountant or are working in the accounting division of a company, you may find it easier to apply for the position of being an IRS agent. You can also look for employment in companies where you will be dealing with tax laws and regulations, financial accounting, and handling tax records.

The IRS has a variety of opportunities for all kinds of professionals, paraprofessionals, and administrative workers — plus seasonal jobs in many cities across the US. Some of the most popular include attorney, computer analyst, statistician, and compliance officer.

From time to time, however, you may see ads advising you to call for an application form and free government job information. These ads may claim that — in exchange for a payment or fee — they’ll send you the information you need for a position with the IRS, including how to test and score well. Some ads even claim to “guarantee” you will get a full-time permanent position with benefits, or they’ll refund your money.

The truth is anyone looking for information about IRS jobs can get all that information for free. Just visit USAJOBS to view all of the positions.

So, if you finished doing your taxes in 20 minutes without tearing out your hair and sobbing onto your keyboard, you might consider looking into a career at the IRS. Just don’t tell your friends if you get the gig.