Anthony Sykes & Company

             The Taxpayer Bill of Rights is a fundamental document that details how the Internal Revenue Service ( IRS ) will interact with all Taxpayers. Our last post dealt with the right to challenge. In some situations, the challenge continues past the first or second level. In those cases, the right to appeal an IRS decision in an independent forum must be preserved.           There is a fair and impartial appeals process for IRS decisions. To provide for this, there is an IRS Office of Appeals . Not every appeal will qualify to go through this office. Those that do, will not be discussed with the IRS to prevent any compromise of the independent appeal process. Even with this provision, Taxpayers can usually take their cases to court if they choose.

            The Taxpayer Bill of Rights is a document that the Internal Revenue Service ( IRS ) operates by, and should be understood by all Taxpayer’s. At some point in time, many will have an issue with an IRS notification or decision about your Tax Return. This will be provided in writing. After that, there will be a period of 60 days when you have the right to challenge and be heard .           This is the time when the Taxpayer may introduce new documentation to support their position. If the objection is raised within this period of time, it will be considered. If the IRS agrees, they will make the adjustment and a notice will be sent. If they do not agree, a different notice will be sent allowing for an appeal in Tax Court. Clear documentation will be sent explaining the situation. There will never be a surprise phone call demanding immediate payment. Knowing these rights is a protection for every Taxpayer.

             It’s no secret that the Internal Revenue Service ( IRS ) has been very slow to adapt to what modern technology makes available. That history makes this week’s announcement all the more impressive. The IRS has now created a feature which allows Taxpayer’s digital control over who has Power of Attorney ( POA ) to represent them and who can view their tax accounts with a Tax Information Authorization ( TIA ). This may seem like a simple idea, but it’s also a breakthrough.           Tax Professionals can also go online and initiate a POA and TIA . These requests are simpler than the forms that needed to be filled out in the past. When they go to the online account of the Taxpayer, all they need to do is apply their digital signature and submit it. This process is sped up dramatically and no longer requires manual filing. It is currently only available for individual Taxpayers, but there will be some additional functionality added in the near future. This is proof that the

             The Taxpayer Bill of Rights are 10 fundamental rights that Taxpayers have when dealing with the Internal Revenue Service ( IRS ). Knowing these rights will improve interaction when dealing with tax matters. The third on this list is: The Right to Pay No More Than the Correct Amount of Tax .           All Taxpayers have the right to pay only what is legally due, including penalties and interest. If you receive a tax notice and believe that it is in error, you should write back to the office that sent the notice within the appropriate time frame. Providing photocopies of detailed records that support your claim would be helpful. However, keep in mind there is currently a month’s long backlog of processing mail correspondence at IRS offices. These delays can add to penalties and interest being added if there truly is a tax debt. Since these unreasonable delays are caused by the IRS that is a valid reason to request they be removed. The Taxpayers right to pay no more than

                 The National Taxpayer Advocate is required to issue a report to Congress on how the Internal Revenue Service ( IRS ) is functioning. This would include positive points and where they need to improve. How do you think the IRS did in the tax filing season of 2021?           The IRS completed 136 million income tax returns and issued 96 million refunds. This is very similar to what was done in 2019. (The year 2019 is used as a comparison because nothing can ever compare to 2020.) These efforts are made more impressive by the fact that the IRS also issued 3 rounds of Economic Impact Payments within 15 months. With this encouraging news, there are some areas that are in need of improvement.           There is currently a backlog of 35 million individual and business tax returns that need to be processed. Almost half of them are on paper. Pandemic related rules that restricted employee access to IRS facilities kept employees from working on them. This is another rea