Private Debt Collection Program - What You Need to Know

  The Internal Revenue Service recently implemented a new private debt collection program and will assign certain overdue federal tax debts to private collection agencies (PCAs). Posted ...

Correctible Error Authority Part 2: Why Correctible Error Authority Creates More Problems Than It Resolves

In my last blog, I discussed my concerns about the IRS’s current use of math and clerical error authority under IRC §§ 6213 (b) and (g). This week, I’ll take a...

Why Correctible Error Authority Raises Significant Taxpayer Rights Concerns – Part 1

People occasionally ask me which areas of tax administration worry me the most. There is certainly no shortage of candidates, but if I had to narrow it down, the IRS’s math and c...

NTA Nina Olson Testified on IRS FY 2018 Budget Request

National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson testified before the Subcommittee on Financial Services on IRS FY 2018 Budget Request. Read her complete testimony....

IRS Allowable Living Expense Standards Do Not Provide Taxpayers With a Sustainable Standard of Living

At TAS, we help taxpayers from all walks of life. When it comes to taxpayers with tax debt, some taxpayers have the resources to pay their debt. This blog focusses on the method t...

IRS Frequently Asked Questions Can Be a Trap for the Unwary

At a recent hearing before the Subcommittee on Oversight of the Committee on Ways and Means, I was asked a seemingly simple question about what types of guidance taxpayers can rely on. Unfortunatel...

TAS assistance offered at local Problem Solving Days

    The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) will conduct Problem Solving Day events in communities throughout the country in the coming months and year. During these events, TAS empl...

Private Debt Collection: Recent Debts (Part 3 of 3)

In an earlier blog I discussed my concern about how the IRS’s private debt collection (PDC) program affects taxpayers who are likely experiencing economic hardship. In this blog,...

Success Story: TAS Advocates for Return of Levied Proceeds

Every year the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) helps thousands of people with tax problems. This story is only one of many examples of how TAS helps resolve taxpayer issues. All personal details ar...

Private Debt Collection: Hardship (Part 2 of 3)

I have always had concerns about outsourcing tax debts to private collection agencies (PCAs). First, I believe tax collection is an “inherently governmental function” w...