NTA Blog: Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)- TAS Study Finds Informing Taxpayers Can Help Avert Future Noncompliance

Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): TAS Study Finds that Sending an Informative, Tailored Letter to Taxpayers Who Appear to Have Erroneously Claimed EITC Can Avert Future Noncompliance Taxpayers can claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in more than one tax year, so using the audit as an opportunity to educate them about the requirements for claiming EITC is of particular benefit to them and t...

NTA Blog: IRS policy weakens requirements for penalties

IRS Administrative Policy and Recent Litigation Weaken Supervisory Approval Requirement for Penalties In the past, I’ve written extensively about penalties – touching on topics of fairness, equity, and whether penalties are effective in promoting taxpayer compliance. See my 2014 Most Serious Problem and my 2008 study: A Framework for Reforming the Penalty Regime. Today, I wa...

Assistance available for taxpayers impacted by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria

Puerto Rico Taxpayer Advocate Service offices are temporarily closed due to the effects of Hurricane Maria. The local Puerto Rico office will remain closed for business through Friday, October 7, 2017. We ask for your patience during this difficult time as our employees, their families and the local community of Puerto Rico work to recover and repair from the storm damages. Ta...

NTA Blog: Tax Reform

Tax Reform: Hope Springs Eternal This Fall The next few weeks and months are shaping up to be an exciting time for advocates of tax reform. To be sure, the details of a tax reform bill have been shifting almost daily. But that is hardly surprising. If tax reform is to pass, a lot of key players with differing priorities and goals ultimately will have to agree...

Installment Agreements (IAs): Adopting National Taxpayer Advocate Recommendations Could Assist the IRS to Ensure Taxpayers Enter IAs They Can Afford

Previously, I discussed my concerns about installment agreements (IAs) and the study TAS Research conducted on IAs. Today I will discuss the recommendations I have made to the IRS to ameliorate some of my concerns about IAs, both in the study and in the associated Most Serious Problem, both published in the National Taxpayer Advocate’s 2016 Annual Report to Congress.&...

TAS office closures affected by Hurricane Irma

Some Taxpayer Advocate Service offices were temporarily closed due to the effects of Hurricane Irma. As of Monday, September 18, 2017, all TAS offices in Florida are currently open for business. Here is information for victims of Hurricane Irma https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/help-for-victims-of-hurricane-irma....

Installment Agreements (IAs): TAS Study Finds Taxpayers Enter IAs They Cannot Afford

In this and next week’s blog, I will discuss my recent Most Serious Problem on Installment Agreements (IAs) and the corresponding Research Study that was published in my 2016 Annual Report to Congress. Today I will focus my concerns on IAs and discuss the results of the study; in next week’s posting, I’ll review the recommendations my office made to address the pro...

The IRS’s Position in Mescalero Apache Tribe v. Commissioner Raises Concerns About the IRS’s Commitment to Taxpayer Rights

About this time every year, my wonderful staff of attorney-advisors presents me with early drafts of the discussion of the ten most litigated issues in federal courts that are ultimately published in the National Taxpayer Advocate’s Annual Report to Congress. Editing these drafts is one of my favorite tasks, because I get to review in a concentrated fashion a significant swath of tax ...

Success Story: TAS helps taxpayer meet closing deadline

Every year the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) helps thousands of people with tax problems. This story is only one of many examples of how TAS helps resolve taxpayer issues. All personal details are removed to protect the privacy of the taxpayer. TAS received a call from a taxpayer who was frantic and nearly in tears. All of the taxpayer's plans for a new home were about to go astray, although ...

Federal Payment Levy Program: The New IRS Automated Levies on Military Retirement Payments May Be Harming Veterans Experiencing Economic Hardship (Part II)

In last week’s blog, I described the Federal Payment Levy Program (FPLP) and outlined my general concerns about the IRS’s implementation of the “Low Income Filter” (LIF) and lack of person-to-person assistance. In this blog post, I discuss my concerns about the IRS’s decision to extend the FPLP to military pensioners.  The IRS based its...