Tax Law Specialist
Drawn directly from OPM FedScope (June 2026), this page tracks headcount, average salary, tenure, and pay comparison for the Tax Law Specialist occupation series (code 0987).
The verdict
Tax Law Specialist is a smaller, specialized federal occupation: 337 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Legal and Kindred Group family. At an average salary of $152,902 it pays well above the federal average of $117,339, and headcount declined 0.3% from the prior period.
- Employees
- 337
- Share of workforce
- 0.0%
- Avg salary
- $152,902
- Avg tenure
- 18.5 yrs
What the Numbers Say About Tax Law Specialist
0.0% of the federal civilian workforce (1,953,300 employees total, June 2026) works in the Tax Law Specialist occupation (OPM code 0987): 337 people, headcount down -0.3% versus the prior period, though at this small a headcount, year-to-year swings can reflect a handful of hires or departures rather than a broad hiring trend.
The average salary for Tax Law Specialist is $152,902 per year. Salaries moved down by -0.1% from the prior period, a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change. Average length of service in this role is 18.5 years, a long average tenure, typical of career federal roles where employees stay through much of a full career before retirement.
Tax Law Specialist sits inside the Legal and Kindred Group family (code 09), which contains 18 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Tax Law Specialist postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Legal and Kindred Group family.
Inside the Legal and Kindred Group family (18 occupations, 110,958 employees combined), Tax Law Specialist holds the #13 spot by headcount, a 0.3% share of the family total.
Salary context · rich-pay series
How Tax Law Specialist pay compares to the federal average of $117,339
Occupation Average
$152,902
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
+30.3%
Where Tax Law Specialist ranks on rich federal pay
Its average salary of $152,902 is higher than 89% of federal occupation series (484 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Tax Law Specialist sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; Tax Law Specialist ranks higher than 89%.
Related Occupations in Legal and Kindred Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Attorney | 35,986 | $177,921 | 13.6 yrs |
| Contact Representative | 29,201 | $64,454 | 9.3 yrs |
| Veterans Claims Examining | 18,099 | $92,511 | 13.3 yrs |
| General Legal and Kindred Administration | 8,711 | $82,876 | 12.3 yrs |
| Paralegal Specialist | 5,165 | $107,719 | 15.8 yrs |
| Legal Assistance | 3,326 | $69,159 | 12.5 yrs |
| Hearings and Appeals | 3,231 | n/a | 15.9 yrs |
| Passport and Visa Examining | 2,035 | $92,682 | 11.3 yrs |
| Legal Instruments Examining | 1,261 | $73,021 | 11.7 yrs |
| Administrative Law Judge | 1,189 | $208,642 | 20.7 yrs |
Nationwide occupation series with similar scale or pay
Two peer sets for Tax Law Specialist outside the Legal and Kindred Group family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (337 here).
Similar rich average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($152,902 here).
Key takeaways
- Tax Law Specialist pays well above the federal average by 30.3% ($152,902 vs $117,339 federal-wide), at the 89th percentile for pay among 541 tracked occupation series.
- A smaller, specialized federal occupation by headcount: 337 employees, 0.0% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount declined 0.3% from the prior period.
- According to OPM FedScope June 2026, Tax Law Specialist ranks #349 of 663 federal occupation series by headcount (the same employee_count ordering as our occupations directory).
- Inside the Legal and Kindred Group family (18 occupations, 110,958 employees combined), Tax Law Specialist holds the #13 spot by headcount, a 0.3% share of the family total.
OPM FedScope and Federal Workforce Data figures are federal civilian headcounts, average salaries, and length-of-service statistics - not job-quality scores, hiring advice, or a live vacancy listing. A larger or higher-paid agency is not a better employer.