IRS Employee Titles

If you receive a notice from the IRS and there is an IRS revenue officer designated to your individual file, it is important to know what that IRS tax examiner is capable of and may be looking for. His or her official title will be given with any correspondence sent to you. You may read on for a brief description of the different IRS special agents you may encounter.

Revenue Officers are employees of the IRS who work solely in the Collections Division. They may either work in a field office or a campus, which is an automated collections site. Their assigned task is to collect the taxes owed by tax payers, along with whatever else they can bring in. They generally have little to no formal accounting education, and may secure tax returns from taxpayers, but not audit them. They are capable of filing liens, levies and wage garnishments. They even have the ability of seizing a taxpayer’s property to collect taxes owed to the IRS.

Revenue Agents work within the Compliance/Examination Division. They may work in either a field office, or a campus, which is an automated collections site. Their primary task is to audit tax returns (such as a form 1040, 1120, 1065) and are capable of auditing anything on a tax return they feel is necessary to review. They generally like to audit taxpayers in person, but can also audit through correspondence. These agents are considered the accountants of the IRS, and generally have at least a college degree in accounting or tax training. They will ask for all owed taxes to be paid when they complete their audits, but cannot collect the taxes if a taxpayer is unable to pay. They will then forward the case to a Revenue Officer, and you’ll require professional IRS help.

Tax Compliance Officers and Tax Examiners work within the Compliance/Examination Division of the IRS, and can be found in either a field office or a campus (automated collections site). Their primary task is to audit less-complex tax returns and generally conduct their work through correspondence. Tax Compliance Officers and Tax Examiners possess a limited formal education in accounting and/or tax training.

A Special Agent is a very serious agent to be involved with. These agents work within the Criminal Investigation Division (or CID). They are responsible for enforcing the criminal laws for the IRS. They sometimes have a formal education in accounting and/or tax training. These agents work with Revenue Agents to audit suspected taxpayers to develop a criminal fraud or tax evasion case. If a Special Agent is involved and you are convicted of tax evasion or criminal fraud, you could go to prison.