The Tax Times: TIGTA Reports That IRS Appeals Properly Handled Collection Due Process and Equivalent Hearings

Monday, August 7, 2023

TIGTA Reports That IRS Appeals Properly Handled Collection Due Process and Equivalent Hearings

On July 21, 2023 the Treasury Inspector General For Tax Administration (TIGTA) released its report of the IRS Independent Office of Appeals Collection Due Process Program which found that the IRS Independent Office of Appeals (Appeals) properly informed taxpayers that Collection Due Process and Equivalent Hearings were conducted by an impartial hearing officer.

Appeals hearing officers verified applicable law or administrative procedures were met; allowed taxpayers to raise issues at the hearing related to the unpaid tax; and made a determination on the proposed levy, the filing of the Notice of Federal Tax Lien, or both after considering the collection action balances efficient tax collection with the taxpayer’s concern that the collection action be no more intrusive than necessary.

However, TIGTA reviewed a statistically valid stratified sample of 106 cases and identified that Appeals did not always classify taxpayer requests properly or provide only one hearing with respect to the taxable period related to the unpaid tax.

In addition, similar to prior audits, TIGTA identified incorrect Collection Statute Expiration Date (CSED) posting errors in ** (** percent) of the 106 sampled taxpayer cases in which the IRS either incorrectly extended the CSED, allowing the IRS additional time to collect the delinquent taxes; or incorrectly shortened the CSED, resulting in the IRS having less time to collect the delinquent taxes.

Based on the sample results, TIGTA estimates that ** and 1,790 taxpayer accounts had their CSEDs incorrectly extended and shortened, respectively, during Fiscal Year 2022.

Because prior year’s review included a still open recommendation to reinforce the procedures for Appeals personnel to ensure that the correct CSEDs are posted to taxpayer accounts, TIGTA is not making any further recommendations related to this issue in this year’s report.

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