Top 10 Taxpayer Bill of Rights: #5 The Right to Appeal an IRS Decision in an Independent Forum
In this post, you will learn about your right to appeal an IRS decision. This has to be my favorite of the top ten rights. You will never see me talk negatively about the IRS but sometimes their decisions are not fair or incorrect. Always remembers that the IRS are operated by humans. As humans, we make many mistakes. Matter of fact, all humans are not perfect and make mistakes. Don't waste your energy hating the IRS. Instead use your energy to learn your rights so you can overcome any mistakes that the IRS may have made. As always, the below information came straight from the IRS website.
The Right to Appeal an IRS Decision in an Independent Forum.
Taxpayers are entitled to a fair and impartial administrative appeal of most IRS decisions, including many penalties, and have the right to receive a written response regarding the Office of Appeals’ decision. Taxpayers generally have the right to take their cases to court.
- The IRS Commissioner must ensure that there is an independent IRS Office of Appeals, separate from the IRS office that initially reviewed your case. Generally, Appeals will not discuss a case with the IRS to the extent that those communications appear to compromise the independence of Appeals.
- Publication 5, Your Appeal Rights and How To Prepare a Protest If You Don’t Agree, tells you how to appeal your tax case if you don’t agree with the IRS’s findings.
- If the IRS has sent you a Statutory Notice of Deficiency, which is a notice proposing additional tax, and you timely file a petition with the United States Tax Court, you may dispute the proposed adjustment in tax court before you have to pay the tax. For more information about the United States Tax Court, see the Court’s taxpayer information page.
- Generally, if you have fully paid the tax and your tax refund claim is denied, or if no action is taken on the claim within six months, then you may file a refund suit in a United States District Court or the United States Court of Federal Claims. However, you generally have only two years to file a refund suit from the date the IRS mails you a notice to inform you that your claim is denied.
In addition to the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, the IRS is committed to ensuring that your civil rights are also protected. Taxpayers are not subjected to discrimination based on race, color, national origin, reprisal, disability, age, sex (including sexual orientation and pregnancy discrimination), religion, or parental status in programs or services conducted by the IRS or on its behalf. If a taxpayer believes he or she has been discriminated against, a written complaint can be emailed to edi.civil.rights.division@irs.gov or mailed to the IRS Civil Rights Division.
Until next time…..Jay-Z once said “I move forward – the only direction. Can’t be scared to fail – search and perfection.”
Jamaal Solomon, EA. MST
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