Disaster Relief for Taxpayers Affected by California Wildfires

Taxpayers affected by the wildfires in California that began October 8, 2017 may qualify for tax relief from the Internal Revenue Service. The President declared that a major disaster exists in the state of California and as of October 16, 2017, the following counties are impacted: Butte Lake Mendocino Napa Nevada Sonoma Yuba Taxpayer who reside or have a business in these counties may qualif...

NTA Blog: Affordable Care Act Estimators - The Taxpayer Advocate Service Provides Self-Help Tools to Assist Taxpayers With Complex Affordable Care Act Requirements

With the open enrollment period for the Health Insurance Marketplace beginning November 1st, it is the appropriate time to remind taxpayers and preparers of the various Affordable Care Act (ACA) estimators the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) has developed and made available to the public. Whether the taxpayer is an individual or employer, we have several tools available to assist in estimating ...

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 want to fo...

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

The Taxpayer Advocate Service Puerto Rico office reopened Thursday, Oct. 12. However, the office is not open for regular TAS operations at this time. 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. Tax assistance and information is available for those impacted by Hurri...

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 on a unified ap...

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. Per the...

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 problems identi...

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 liti...