Advocates try to offer happy returns
You have an ally at the Internal Revenue Service. To repeat: You have an ally at the Internal Revenue Service.
Unfortunately, almost 80 percent of the taxpayers who could benefit from the Taxpayer Advocate Service are unaware of its existence. And this is the time of year when many need its help most.
Those who expected a refund check by now, for example, and already spent the money. Now they have a rent or house payment due, or face shutoff of their utilities. Their wages have been garnisheed. They have called the IRS for information or help. They are not getting answers, or the answers are unacceptable. Or, they may be in the grip of the dreaded auditor.
“There is no issue beyond the scope of a tax advocate,” says Vicki Stevens, manager of the Taxpayer Advocate Group in Seattle. Nor is the potential clientele circumscribed; even corporations have access. About the only place advocates cannot go is Tax Court.
TAS is truly independent, with a separate chain of command all the way back to Washington, D.C.
How do they help? Let’s get back to that delayed refund. Advocates can get a refund deposited in a bank account within two or three days. If that’s not possible, the advocate will call the landlord who is threatening eviction and ask for a delay while the refund is processed. Same thing with the utility, or whatever.
Advocates also assist with “systemic hardships,” which are created by the agency when a tax schedule gets detached from the return, for instance. The taxpayer gets nowhere trying to solve the problem with an IRS representative. An advocate can mediate and, in extreme cases, order the agent to make the correction deemed appropriate after review.
Stevens recalled the confusion created by a filing extension granted by the IRS to residents and businesses located within the disaster area designated in the wake of the 2001 Nisqually earthquake in the Puget Sound area. The deadline was extended to April 30, but the computers allowed only 14 days — one too few. Those who waited until the 30th to file received notices they would be charged a penalty and interest for violating the new deadline. It was the advocates who identified the programming error and had it fixed, sparing thousands of taxpayers further aggravation.
Lastly, TAS compiles an annual report on its work, and can recommend to Congress changes in the tax law that would correct persistent problems.
Pete Sepp, a spokesman for the National Taxpayers Union, says the work done by TAS has become increasingly sophisticated and its recommendations well-reasoned, including those the Taxpayers Union disagrees with.
He praises TAS efforts to support due process in collections actions, and modifications to the alternative minimum income tax. The IRS 2003 annual report, he notes, says TAS fielded almost 200,000 applications for help, and was at least partially successful in 130,000 cases.
“That’s encouraging,” Sepp says, adding that he would like to see advocates more often order IRS compliance with their findings.
Stevens says the threat of an order is enough to dissuade agents from digging in on cases where they know they are wrong on the issues. The advocates work constantly with regular IRS agents, but their first allegiance as an advocate is to the taxpayer. When agents interview for advocate positions, she says, managers want to be sure they can be open-minded and will identify with the individuals or businesses they will work with.
Taxpayers find TAS several ways. Agents refer some, as do employees in the two Seattle IRS call centers that handle collection problems, or taxpayer calls for help. There is a link on the IRS Web site, www.irs.gov. Many are referred by congressional offices, which become intermediaries between the taxpayer and the advocate. Those files are not closed until the congressional liaison agrees the advocate has done everything possible to resolve the problem.
Most cases are resolved within 100 days.
Many of the cases referred to TAS involve taxpayers who have been misinformed about tax law, Stevens says. Advocates try to educate these individuals and, if a problem with payments has already developed, will help work out a solution. The advocates will do all they can as long as the taxpayer cooperates by providing documents needed to prove their case. If the taxpayer chooses not to comply with the law, their cases are not referred back to IRS agents so enforcement efforts can begin. But, Stevens says, the agency’s own, separate files will show there are unresolved issues with a taxpayer. The IRS receives notice an advocate has closed a taxpayer file only when told it can lift a hold that was placed on collection or other action pending an advocate recommendation. Advocate computer files, she says, cannot be accessed by other IRS divisions, but advocates have access to all other files except those in the hands of investigators.
Stevens, who was raised in Spokane, says advocates and taxpayers like the way the system has worked since it was set up in 2000. Surveys show those who work with advocates rate the quality of help four or better on a scale where five is the best, she says.
“You really feel great satisfaction,” she says.
To teach the Taxpayer Advocate Service, call 1-877-777-4778, toll free. Washington residents will have their cases forwarded to the Seattle office. Idaho cases will be forwarded to Boise.