Taxpayer Advocate Service/TAS Archives

IRS Roundup January 20 – 31, 2025

by Evan Walters, Samuel F. Hamer, Edward L. Froelich and Michael J. Scarduzio | Feb 13, 2025 | Court Procedure Matters, IRS Appeals, IRS Guidance, Tax Reform, Tax Refunds

Check out our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the weeks of January 20, 2025 – January 24, 2025, and January 27, 2025 – January 31, 2025.

TAX-CONTROVERSY-RELATED DEVELOPMENTS

January 22, 2025: The IRS reminded taxpayers that they have rights – outlined in the Taxpayer Bill of Rights – any time they interact with the IRS. These rights cover a wide range of topics and issues and lay out what taxpayers can expect when interacting with the IRS. Taxpayers should also know that the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) is an independent organization within the IRS that helps taxpayers and protects their rights for free. TAS can help if assistance is needed to resolve an IRS problem, if a problem is causing financial difficulty, or if an IRS system or procedure isn’t working as it should.

January 24, 2025: Alarm Concepts Inc. filed a class action lawsuit against the IRS and Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. after being notified that its tax data was stolen and leaked by Charles Littlejohn, a Booz Allen employee contracted to work at the IRS. Littlejohn pled guilty in October 2023 to unlawfully disclosing confidential tax returns and return information between 2018 and 2020. The breach appears to have affected tens of thousands of taxpayers.

The lawsuit alleges that the IRS failed to implement adequate cybersecurity measures despite repeated warnings, and that Booz Allen neglected to protect the data. The stolen information includes sensitive details from Forms 1099 and Schedule K-1. The lawsuit highlights ongoing risks of identity theft and fraud for the affected taxpayers.

The lawsuit asserts that Alarm Concepts and class members are entitled to statutory damages of $1,000 for each unauthorized inspection or disclosure, as well as punitive damages because the disclosures were willful or the result of gross negligence.

January 30, 2025: The US Senate Committee on Finance released a bipartisan discussion draft of legislation aimed at improving IRS procedures and administration. The proposed bill, named the Taxpayer Assistance Service Act (TAS Act), seeks to enhance the taxpayer experience by facilitating better communication with the IRS, streamlining tax compliance and dispute processes, and ensuring timely expert assistance. Key provisions include improving “math error” notices, expanding US Tax Court jurisdiction, simplifying foreign bank account report compliance, and expanding access to the IRS Independent Office of Appeals. The draft also aims to expand the independence of the National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) from the IRS and strengthen the IRS whistleblower program while protecting the confidentiality of taxpayer information.

The proposed bill reflects nonpartisan recommendations and seeks to address challenges faced by taxpayers within the current tax system. Proponents of the proposed bill include the current NTA Erin Collins and the long-serving former NTA Nina Olson. Olson described the TAS Act as a “sweeping piece of legislation that promises to improve federal tax administration and increase taxpayer protections.”

TAX RETURN FILING SEASON DEVELOPMENTS

January [...]

Continue Reading

read more

Issues With the IRS? Here’s Why More Taxpayers Should Enlist the Help of the Taxpayer Advocate Service

by Kevin Spencer and Evan Walters | Jan 12, 2024 | Uncategorized
The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) recently released its annual report to US Congress. The report highlights the TAS’s accomplishments in 2023 and its continued areas of focus and concern in the new year. While the report is an interesting read, in this article we discuss why it’s beneficial for taxpayers to have the TAS involved in their cases.

Created in 1996 by Congress, the TAS is an independent agency within the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Its mission is to assist taxpayers with systematic issues involving the IRS. For example, suppose you are owed a refund and have been waiting to receive the check for two years now. Or perhaps you changed the name of your business, and the IRS keeps rejecting your returns because the name in their system does not match the new name because the name change has not been processed yet by the IRS. The TAS can typically help in these specific examples and in other similar IRS snafus.

To start the process, file Form 911 with your local TAS office. We suggest providing a comprehensive explanation of the issue you are facing and the steps you have taken to try and fix it in your Form 911. This will help the TAS advocate assigned to your case with getting you a solution quicker.

Practice Point: The TAS is not only for individual taxpayers. We have sought their assistance for all sorts of taxpayers, including large multinational public companies. We cannot emphasize enough how much faster it is to resolve an IRS issue with the help of the TAS rather than calling the general IRS service phone number or writing countless letters to the IRS.

read more

Weekly IRS Roundup July 18 – July 22, 2022

by McDermott Will & Emery | Jul 25, 2022 | IRS Guidance, Tax Reform, Tax Refunds
Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of July 18, 2022 – July 22, 2022. Additionally, for continuing updates on the tax impact of COVID-19, please visit our resource page here.

July 18, 2022: The IRS issued Tax Tip 2022-108, reminding people that they can get the latest IRS news through the agency’s verified social media accounts and by subscribing to e-news services.

July 18, 2022: The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) released its Fiscal Year 2022 IRS Federal Information Security Modernization Act Evaluation report. In the report, TIGTA determined that the Cybersecurity Program was not effective in 17 out of 20 metrics. (TIGTA does not make recommendations as part of its evaluation.)

July 19, 2022: The IRS announced that the Security Summit partners are encouraging tax professionals to inform clients about the IRS Identity Protection PIN Opt-In Program to help protect people against tax-related identity theft. This announcement came during the first of the five-part summer series to highlight the critical steps tax professionals can take to protect client data and their businesses.

July 19, 2022: The IRS reminded 2021 tax extension filers not to wait until October to file their returns. (The IRS estimated that 19 million taxpayers requested an extension to file their 2021 tax return.) The announcement urges taxpayers to file their returns as soon as they have all the necessary information and to avoid the October 17 deadline and last-minute rush.

July 19, 2022: The IRS issued Tax Tip 2022-110, which contains information on reporting independent contractor compensation of $600 or more. This is completed using Form 1099-NEC, Nonemployee Compensation.

July 20, 2022: The IRS announced a new five-year strategic plan that outlines its goals to improve taxpayer service and tax administration. The IRS Strategic Plan FY 2022-2026 will serve as a roadmap to help guide the agency’s programs and operations and to meet the changing needs of taxpayers and members of the tax community. The plan also focuses on four goals to improve customer service: (1) Service; (2) Enforcement; (3) People and (4) Transformation. We will be posting more information about the plan on the blog in the coming days.

July 20, 2022: The IRS issued Tax Tip 2022-110, reminding taxpayers of the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS), an independent organization within the IRS that helps to protect taxpayer rights. The tax tip also includes information on the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TBOR). We previously wrote an article explaining what TAS does and how it can be utilized by all types of taxpayers, as well as a post about how taxpayers can utilize the TBOR.

July 20, 2022: The IRS issued a notice and request for comments for [...]

Continue Reading

read more