Welcome to the Tax Tips and Insights series of First Response Resolution, LLC’s official blog! We are a specialty tax firm practicing right here near Medford in Southern Oregon. The focus of my practice is solving tax problems for individuals and businesses, IRS Representation of taxpayers, and representing taxpayers before their individual State Departments of Revenue. We offer our services online nationwide from the comfort of our client’s homes and will provide services on-site to businesses in our area upon request. Think of our firm as your Financial First Responders who specialize in saving troubled taxpayers. We help people who are struggling with tax problems get their lives back on track so they can focus on what matters most to them.
In this post we continue to cover the rights that are granted to Americans in the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. It is important to know that you have rights as a taxpayer to be able to defend them when dealing with the IRS. We are well versed in defending taxpayer rights while representing clients before the IRS and State Departments of Revenue.
The Right to Challenge the IRS’s Position and Be Heard:
Have you received notice in the mail from the IRS? Maybe they adjusted your tax return, disallowed deductions that you claimed, assessed penalties and interest to your account, or are asserting that you have underreported income. You have the right to challenge the IRS’s position and assessment if you disagree with their perspective, to provide additional documentation to support your position, and to expect that the IRS will consider your response and additional information before making their determination final. Each IRS notice you receive will define the issues at hand and will provide you with a timeline within which to act. You have the right to expect that the IRS will also inform you of their decision regarding any challenge to their position. If you still disagree with their determination, you may have the right to petition the U.S. Tax Court.
The Right to Appeal an IRS Decision in an Independent Forum:
You are entitled to request that your case be reviewed in a fair and impartial manner in an administrative appeal on most IRS decisions, including penalties that have been assessed. You also have the right to receive a written response regarding any decision from the Office of Appeals. The Office of Appeals is an independent division of the IRS that has discretion and authority to review your circumstances, consider your position and documentation provided, and determine if the initial review of the previous IRS personnel was accurate. Most cases in which a taxpayer petitions the U.S. Tax Court will initially be sent to the Office of Appeals prior to being heard in court. The Office of Appeals reviews your case with an impartial and objective approach in which they consider the hazards of litigation and costs to the government if the case ultimately goes to court. This is a great option for taxpayers who disagree with an IRS determination because the staff in the Office of Appeals are highly trained and have the authority to make determinations based on the facts presented to them.
The Right to Finality:
As a taxpayer, you have the right to know the maximum length of time that you have to challenge a position of the IRS and the maximum length of time that the IRS has to conduct an audit or legally pursue collection of a tax debt. You also have the right to know when an IRS Audit has been concluded. If you are sent a Statutory Notice of Deficiency, the notice MUST include the deadline to file a petition with the U.S. Tax Court to challenge the proposed assessment.
The Right to Privacy:
As a taxpayer, you have the right to expect that the IRS’s actions will comply with the law and be no more intrusive than is necessary. You have the right to expect that the IRS will respect your due process rights, including search and seizure protections, and that they will provide a Collection Due Process hearing where applicable. There are limits on the amount of your wages that the IRS can levy, and they can’t seize certain personal items. The IRS also cannot seize your primary home without court approval and must show that there is no reasonable alternative method to collect the tax debt. In addition, the IRS should not attempt to obtain intrusive and extraneous information about how you live your life if they have no indication that you have failed to report all of your income.
If you or someone you know is in the midst of an IRS issue, contact me at either 541-293-8449, by email at zach@firstresponseirs.com, or through our website. We specialize in solving tax problems! We know how to defend taxpayer rights and will thoroughly investigate and evaluate your specific situation and consider ALL OPTIONS available to you. All discussions are kept strictly confidential, and we offer no obligation initial consultations of up to one hour.
Is your agency interested in having me speak to your team of realtors in person or over Zoom at one of your weekly sales meetings free of charge? I have a presentation developed to address the following:
- Taxation and your clients,
- Tax tips for saving on your own tax returns, and
- Tax Problem Solutions.
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