Revenue Officer vs. Revenue Agent: Responsibilities and Key Differences

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 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.

In the U.S., revenue officers are not revenue agents. Revenue officers focus on collections while agents conduct audits on tax filings. Revenue officers also have the additional authority to take action when enforcing collections.

Key Duties and Responsibilities of a Revenue Officer

Revenue officers mainly collect debts owed to their agencies. 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 to collect delinquent and overdue tax returns.

An IRS revenue officer also:

• Conducts face-to-face interviews with taxpayers
• Obtains and analyzes revenue and financial information to ascertain a person's or company's ability to pay the tax bill
• Design payment plans to help those with tax arrears pay them over time
• Garnishes wages and seizes personal property to pay off delinquent taxes

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.

Important Considerations for Revenue Officers

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.

Career Outlook and Prospects for Revenue Officers

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) groups together examiners, collectors, and revenue agents into one category in its Occupational Outlook Handbook. These professionals earn an average annual salary of around $66,000 in 2025.

Jobs in this field are expected to decline by 7% by 2031.

Comparing Revenue Officers and Revenue Agents

While a revenue officer actually collects taxes, revenue agents handle tax audits. Revenue officers handle more challenging tax cases. When the IRS can't collect through letters, calls, tax levies, or garnishments, it sends 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.