what is a revenue officer 
a revenue officer is an employee of a government or a public agency who collects delinquent taxes or fees the job is performed on a case by case basis and generally involves directly contacting individuals or businesses that are in arrears on payments at the federal level revenue officers are employed by the internal revenue service irs in the united states and the canada revenue agency cra in canada state and local tax departments also employ revenue officers in some cases the job title may be tax collector 1in the u s revenue officers are not revenue agents the latter job title is held by auditors who review tax filings to identify any errors or discrepancies responsibilities of a revenue officerrevenue officers are primarily involved in collecting debts owed to the agencies for which they work their roles in the u s and in canada differ somewhat in canada excise tax revenue officers have audit advisory and legal roles in the u s the primary responsibility of revenue officers who work for the irs is collecting delinquent and overdue tax returns an irs revenue officer also a revenue officer with the irs may also file for extensions on the statutes of limitations for tax collection and initiate administrative and judicial action this position is often confused with that of a revenue agent who conducts audits of tax returns 2there have been reports of phone scammers claiming to be irs revenue officers the irs has a consumer site with regular updates on the latest tax related scams 3special considerationswhile they are government employees irs revenue officers do not carry firearms or have the authority to arrest taxpayers one of their primary duties is to help create a payment plan for collecting any unpaid taxes the officer may also seek an unannounced in person visit with the delinquent taxpayer this is known as a field audit the bureau of labor statistics bls groups together examiners collectors and revenue agents into one category in its occupational outlook handbook these professionals earned an average annual salary of 56 780 per year in 2021 that translates to 27 30 per hour the number of jobs in the field in 2021 totaled 55 300 job growth in this field is expected to decline by 7 by 2031 4revenue officers vs revenue agentswhile a revenue officer actually collects taxes revenue agents handle tax audits revenue officers for tax agencies cover the more difficult tax cases when the irs isn t able to collect by means of letters phone calls tax levies or garnishments they send revenue officers these officers have the authority to seize and sell assets to cover tax liabilities they can also approve or reject payment plans the role of a revenue agent is to determine tax liability via an audit the audit that agents carry out is also known as an examination as such these individuals work directly with taxpayers their representatives tax preparers and tax lawyers 5irs revenue officers carry two forms of official identification a pocket commission and a standardized federal identity credential known as an hspd 12 card 6frequently asked questions