What To Do When You And The IRS Disagree

It starts with a letter in the mail from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It says the tax agency has reviewed your tax return and determined that something you have claimed is not allowed.

Do you, as a taxpayer, have any recourse?

The IRS says you do, and it's called the Appeals process. The agency says it, too, can make mistakes and it's willing to listen to your side.

Many of the different departments within IRS are responsible for making decisions concerning the application of tax law to various taxpayer issues. In some cases, agreement on these decisions, or determinations, cannot be reached. In other words, the taxpayer does not agree with the determination.

This is where Appeals comes in. Appeals is independent of any other IRS office and serves as an informal administrative forum for any taxpayer who disagrees with an IRS determination. Appeals provides a venue where disagreements concerning the application of tax law can be resolved on a fair and impartial basis for both the taxpayer and the government.

The mission of Appeals is to settle tax disagreements without having to go to the Courts and a formal trial. The Appeals process is probably the way to go if:

• You received an IRS correspondence explaining you have the right to come to Appeals to dispute an IRS decision.
• You do not agree and are not signing an agreement form sent to you.

If you meet the above qualifiers listed above then you may be ready to request an Appeals conference or hearing. However, Appeals is probably a waste of everyone's time if:

• Your only concern is that you cannot afford to pay the amount you owe.
• The correspondence you received from the IRS was a bill and there was no mention of Appeals.

If you cannot identify the requirements, or if you do not meet the conditions for coming to Appeals as explained above, contact the person in the IRS you are working with or Customer Service for assistance at 1 (800) 829-1040. In many cases you will want to let your accountant or tax preparer deal with the IRS in the Appeals process.