IRS Myth 2: Taxpayers Have No Right To Question IRS Decisions

This article is part of our series on the 12 Myths About the IRS That Taxpayers Need To Know.

Here is the Taxpayer Bill of Rights:

1. The Right to Be Informed
2. The Right to Quality Service
3. The Right to Pay No More than the Correct Amount of Tax
4. The Right to Challenge the IRS’s Position and Be Heard
5. The Right to Appeal an IRS Decision in an Independent Forum
6. The Right to Finality
7. The Right to Privacy
8. The Right to Confidentiality
9. The Right to Retain Representation
10. The Right to a Fair and Just Tax System

If any of these rights are violated, I take it to the next level. Everyone at the IRS has a boss. Revenue Officers and Revenues Agents have Managers. Managers have Territory Managers. Territory Managers have Area Managers. Recently, I took a case to the Director of Field Collection. He is the IRS head of all Collection in the country. I met him when I was speaking at a seminar in San Antonio and he gave me his telephone number. I called him on a case where the Revenue Officer violated four of the above rights. The matter was quickly resolved.

The Right to Appeal is so important. The job description of a Revenue Officer is “get the money”. The job description of an Appeals Officer is “make a deal that is fair and settle the case”. Who would you rather deal with? The “get the money” person or the “settle the case person”? That is why I appeal every decision the IRS makes that I do not agree with.

When all else fails, the Taxpayer Advocate can give citizens relief. I use the Advocate on cases that I cannot resolve through normal channels and on questions that no one at the IRS can answer.