What IRS Actions Can I Appeal?

What IRS Actions Can I Appeal?

As a Columbus taxpayer you are afforded a certain amount of due process related to whatever your issue before the IRS may be. One of your most important rights depending upon your tax issues and the actions or determinations taken by the IRS is to file an appeal and work with an IRS Appeals Officer regarding the applicable issues. This article provides information related to when you may be able to appeal an issue before the IRS.

Appealing an IRS Final Notice of Intent to Levy

If you are a Columbus taxpayer and the IRS is actively looking to collect on the tax debt, one of the most powerful appeal rights as a taxpayer has is to request an appeal or a collection due process hearing when the IRS issues a final notice of intent to levy.  By law, the IRS must issue a taxpayer a final notice of intent to levy prior to the IRS taking enforcement action such as bank levies, wage garnishments or the seizure of assets to collect on the tax debt.  When the IRS issues the final notice of intent to levy the taxpayer has the right to appeal the collection action by requesting a collection due process hearing. The request for the collection due process hearing must be timely and filed within 30 days of the final notice of intent to levy being issues.  A timely filed collection due process hearing request acts as an automatic stay on enforcement, meaning the IRS cannot levy or seize assets until after a hearing or conference has been held with an IRS Appeals Officer.  The taxpayer has the right to propose a collection alternative such as installment agreement or offer in compromise before the appeals officer, which will prevent future enforcement.  Thus, a taxpayer’s appeal rights when a final notice issued is a very powerful tool for a taxpayer to use in resolving the tax debt and avoiding the IRS levying bank accounts or seizing assets.  It is important to note that if the tax debt is a 941 employment tax liability and the taxpayer requests a collection due process hearing but is not in compliance with future federal tax deposits, the automatic stay on enforcement when the hearing request is filed may not apply.

Appealing The IRS’ Rejection of an Offer in Compromise

If you have submitted an offer in compromise to the IRS Offer in Compromise Unit and the initial offer examiner rejects the offer in compromise, you have the right to appeal the offer rejection and work with an appeals officer to see if the offer can be accepted.  It is not uncommon for an offer in compromise to be accepted on appeal.  While an appeals officer is not going to give away the farm, an appeals officer is more of an impartial party than the initial offe examiner who was reviewing and making a determination on your offer.  Small changes in income or valuation in assets can have a large impact on whether or not an offer can be accepted and thus is may be of benefit to appeal the offer rejection.

Appealing the IRS’ Rejection of a Penalty Abatement or Innocent Spouse Request

Just like appealing a rejected offer in compromise, if the IRS has rejected your request to abate (waive) certain penalties or your request for spousal relief from a joint income tax liability, you have appeals rights and can again work with the impartial appeals officer to see if the outcome cannot improve through the appeals process.

Requesting an Appeal Per An IRS Examiner’s Proposed Assessment of Tax

When going through an audit with the IRS, eventually the IRS examiner will issue proposed changes to your tax return.  You have the right to request an appeal of the examiner’s proposed changes and discuss the matter with an appeals officer.  Under the context of an audit, an appeals officer may be more likely to allow certain expenses that the IRS examiner is not allowing and thus improve the tax amount that is being proposed to be assessed.  Even if you are unable to agree with the appeals officer’s recommended allowances, if the IRS issues a statutory notice of deficiency, you have the right to petition the United States Tax Court and prior to any trial, you will work with an appeals officer towards a potential pre-trial settlement. 

While an appeals officer may not always agree with your positions or requests, it is common to also receive more favorable treatment through the appeals process and thus knowing and understanding your appeal rights related to a tax matter before the IRS is crucial.  An experienced tax attorney should be able to know and apply your appeal rights to your benefit. 

Get In Touch To Start An Appeal

For all tax payers in the Columbus, Ohio area, the McGuire Law Firm has a track record of gaining favorable outcomes for our clients through the appeals process. Contact The McGuire Law Firm to discuss your tax issues with a tax attorney.