Taxpayers have the right to pay the correct amount of tax.

Taxpayer bill of rights item  3 says taxpayers have the right to pay only the amount of tax legally due, including interest and penalties, and to have the IRS apply all tax payments properly. The IRS does a decent enough job with this in most instances. We file nearly all federal income tax returns electronically so the returns are processed correctly. The problem often arise when the IRS matching program can't find everything on your return. This generates a notice to you with a proposed assessment. This notice is a CP 2000. You may owe the proposed amount or you may not. There are many instances where the amount due isn't valid and an explanation can resolve this. Here are a couple of examples. I represented taxpayers who didn't report securities sales. The IRS received only the amount of the sale not the amount paid for the securities. The cost of the securities was provided to IRS and this issue was resolved generating a refund for the taxpayers. Taxpayer received CP 2000 because taxpayer made IRA contribution but the receipt of the IRA contribution wasn't reported to IRS by the financial institution so IRS had no record of this.  This can be resolved by providing all documents to IRS demonstrating that an IRA contribution was made. I've had people tell me they didn't understand the notice but they paid the proposed assessment to make the IRS go away.  BEFORE YOU PAY ANY IRS PROPOSED ASSESSMENT BE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND IT AND ACTUALLY OWE IT!  While it may be accurate it may not be. We review IRS notices often to determine if the proposed assessment is accurate or an explanation should be provided.

Robby  

Taxpayer Bill of Rights Right to Quality Service

Item two in the recent Taxpayer Bill of Rights issued by IRS is The Right to Quality Service. The IRS says taxpayers have the right to receive prompt, courteous, and professional assistance in their dealings with the IRS, to be spoken to in a way they can clearly understand, and to receive clear and easily understandable communications from the IRS, and to speak to a supervisor about inadequate service. This is going to be a challenge for IRS.  Wait times on IRS phone calls are over an hour in many cases. This is on a line dedicated to tax practitioners who represent taxpayers before the IRS. I called as I started writing this post and the recording said my wait time was greater than one hour so who knows  how long that will be. When I ultimately get through (I don't ever give up) there is a good chance the person who answers the phone will be courteous and professional. I will generally get the information I need.  Taxpayers who contact the IRS directly tell me they experience long wait times as well.  IRS notices are often long and confusing so there is work to be done in that area. We can explain to you what your IRS notice means if you need assistance. You can generally speak to a supervisor in a 24 hour period if the agent isn't helpful or won't provide the necessary information. However, I have had instances where the agent refused. I never give up so I will get that conference with a supervisor even if the agent refuses. If there is not a pressing need to talk to the IRS immediately  I can generally get a power of attorney on the IRS system in about 5 days. I can avoid the telephone delay and get what I need on line to proceed with a course of action. This is an excellent alternative to the telephone delay.  Whatever it takes is what I'm going to do to get the necessary information so we can move forward on a course of action to address your tax problems. I Never Give Up!

Robby

IRS issues Taxpayer Bill of Rights The 10 things you should know.

These rights are a list of 10 things that were previously in the tax code but difficult to find. They are now organized and listed for easy reference. Number 1 on the list is The Right to be Informed. I find often the taxpayers I represent have no idea what they owe and on many occasions why they have a tax liability. You are entitled to know what to do to comply with the tax laws, clear explanations of the laws and IRS procedures in all tax forms, instructions, publications, notices, and correspondence. At our initial meeting the first thing I do is get authorization to speak to IRS on your behalf, talk to the IRS and order the necessary documents to determine where you stand with IRS.  It is often a relief for taxpayers to just know where they stand and a course to resolve the issues. The IRS says you have the right to be informed of IRS decisions about your tax account and to receive clear explanation of the outcomes. This might be difficult as IRS notices are often long and hard to understand.  We can help you understand your notices, find out where you stand with IRS and get a path to resolve the issues often at our initial meeting or at least in a couple of days as all the documents are received. Many times people leave my office saying I feel better just knowing where I stand and what has to be done.

Robby