A Tax Consultant for All Seasons

If you have been given a decision by the IRS that you disagree with, you do have options. One option is to appeal that decision. Listed below is the information you need to know and steps you need to take to protect your rights and appeal that decision. If you would like someone to represent you during the appeals process, an Enrolled Agent can represent you.

IRS Publication 1, Your Rights as a Taxpayer, explains some of your most important taxpayer rights. During their contact with taxpayers, IRS employees are required to explain and protect these taxpayer rights, including the right to appeal.

The Appeals Office, which is independent of the IRS office that proposed the disputed action, can work with taxpayers by correspondence, telephone, or informal conferences.

Through Appeals procedures, taxpayers can settle most differences without expensive and time-consuming court trials. However, if you and the Appeals Officer or Settlement Officer cannot reach agreement, or if you prefer not to appeal within the IRS, in most cases, you may take your disagreement to federal court.

For more information about Appeals and its processes, go to the IRS Web site at IRS.gov and select the link to “Appeal a Tax Dispute”, which is found at the bottom of the home page. The Appeals Web page provides links to assist you in determining if you are ready for Appeals, how to request an appeal, and what you can expect from Appeals.

This page also provides a link to easy-to-use online self-help tools to help you focus on your area of dispute and determine if you will benefit from filing an appeal. You can also link to “Online Videos of the Appeals Process” containing informative online video streams entitled “The Appeals Process (Examination)” and “The Appeals Process (Collection).”

Information is also available in IRS Publication 5, Your Appeal Rights and How to Prepare a Protest If You Don’t Agree; Publication 556, Examination of Returns, Appeal Rights, and Claims for Refund; and Publication 1660, Collection Appeal Rights (for Liens, Levies, and Seizures). To get copies of IRS publications, visit the IRS Web site at IRS.gov or call 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).

Remember that for the genuine IRS Web site be sure to use .gov. Don’t be confused by internet sites that end in .com, .net, .org or other designations instead of .gov. The address of the official IRS governmental Web site is www.irs.gov.

Links:

• Tax Information for Appeals
• Tax Topic 151 – Your Appeal Rights
• Publication 1, Your Rights as a Taxpayer (PDF 21K)
• Publication 5, Your Appeal Rights and How to Prepare a Protest If You Don’t Agree (PDF 36K)
• Publication 556, Examination of Returns, Appeal Rights and Claims for Refunds (PDF 105K)
• Publication 1660, Collection Appeal Rights (for Liens, Levies, and Seizures) (PDF 31K)
• Publication 3605, Fast Track Mediation ( PDF 15K)

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 13th, 2008 at 19:12 and is filed under IRS Help. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.