Your Tax Appeal Rights

This information is intended as technical information of use to consultants and individuals doing research.

The IRS has an appeals system for people who do not agree with the results of an examination of their tax returns or with other adjustments to their tax liability.

If your examination or other adjustment was conducted through a personal interview with an IRS employee, the employee will explain your appeal rights to you. If you disagree with the findings, you may request a meeting with the employee's supervisor. If you still do not reach an agreement, or if the examination or other adjustment was conducted through correspondence, the IRS will provide you with a report and/or letter explaining the proposed adjustments and informing you of your right to request a conference with an appeals officer. The letter will also tell you how to make your request. If you request an appeals conference, you should be prepared to support your position.

In addition to examinations many other things can be appealed. Among them are penalties, including the trust fund recovery penalty, offers in compromise, employment tax adjustments, liens, levies, seizures, abatement of interest and other claims.

Appeals conferences are informal meetings. You may represent yourself at your Appeals conference; or, if you want, you may have an attorney, a certified public accountant, or an individual enrolled to practice before the IRS represent you. If you do not reach an agreement with the appeals officer, or you do not wish to appeal within the IRS, you may take your appeal into the courts.

For further information on the appeals process and information on how to stop interest from accruing on any anticipated liability, order Publication 5, Appeal Rights and Preparation of Protest for Un-agreed Cases and Publication 556, Examination of Returns, Appeal Rights and Claims for Refund. Also, Publication 1660, Collection Appeal Rights (for Liens, Levies and Seizures) discusses how you can appeal those actions. These publications can be ordered by calling 1-800-829-3676.

Be sure to call for Publication 5 and Publication 1660. Although you may be tempted to do the appeal yourself, be for warned that the IRS does take advantage of taxpayers who represent themselves. Therefore, you should make sure you have a tax lawyer representative who is familiar with the IRS and knows how to present your collection appeal with legal argument and tax authority. It is possible that there are substantive issues that can be resolved, it is possible that the IRS cannot collect as a consequence of the Statute of Limitations, and there are other numerous issues that can be raised to assist a taxpayer.