NTA Blog: Overall the Filing Season at Taxpayer Assistance Centers Ran Smoothly, But Room for Improvement Remains

Subscribe to the NTA’s Blog and receive updates on the latest blog posts from National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson. Additional blogs from the National Taxpayer Advocate can be found at www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/blog. In my most recent Annual Report to Congress, I focused on Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs) as one of the Most Serious Problems facing taxpayers. My concerns about ...

NTA Blog: “Real” vs. “Unreal” Audits and Why This Distinction Matters

Subscribe to the NTA’s Blog and receive updates on the latest blog posts from National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson. Additional blogs from the National Taxpayer Advocate can be found at www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/blog. Around five months ago, in my 2017 Annual Report to Congress, I identified IRS audit rates and the distinction between “real” and “unreal” au...

Success Story: TAS Advocates for Penalty Abatement

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’s tax issues. All personal details are removed to protect the taxpayer’s privacy. A taxpayer came to TAS for assistance because the IRS assessed a penalty for not reporting income accurately. The taxpayer relied on a t...

NTA Blog: A Few Thoughts About The National Taxpayer Advocate’s Fiscal Year 2019 Objectives Report

Subscribe to the NTA’s Blog and receive updates on the latest blog posts from National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson. Additional blogs from the National Taxpayer Advocate can be found at www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/blog. In lieu of posting a blog this week I would ask that you check out my June Report to Congress instead. In my preface you will find some extraordinary information, st...

National Taxpayer Advocate releases Fiscal Year 2019 Objectives Report to Congress

The National Taxpayer Advocate released her Fiscal Year 2019 Objectives Report to Congress today. In it, she reviews the 2018 filing season, addresses challenges facing the IRS, and identifies TAS’s priority issues for fiscal year (FY) 2019. Taxpayer Service Challenges  In her preface to the report, the NTA focuses on the IRS’s customer service challenges. She states in the cu...

Tax Changes

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NTA Blog: Participants in the Sharing Economy Lack Adequate Guidance From the IRS

Subscribe to the NTA’s Blog and receive updates on the latest blog posts from National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson. Additional blogs from the National Taxpayer Advocate can be found at www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/blog. In my most recent Annual Report to Congress, I included the IRS’s efforts to reach out to participants in the sharing economy (also know as the “gig econ...

NTA Blog: The IRS’s Continued Refusal to Exclude Already Open TAS Cases From the Passport Certification Program Violates Taxpayer Rights

Subscribe to the NTA’s Blog and receive updates on the latest blog posts from National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson. Additional blogs from the National Taxpayer Advocate can be found at www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/blog. In January, I wrote my third blog about the IRS’s new program to certify the seriously delinquent tax debts of taxpayers for the purposes of passport denial, l...

NTA Blog: One Year Later, The IRS Has Not Adjusted Its Private Debt Collection Initiative To Minimize Harm To Vulnerable Taxpayers

Subscribe to the NTA’s Blog and receive updates on the latest blog posts from National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson. Additional blogs from the National Taxpayer Advocate can be found at www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/blog. Since the IRS implemented the private debt collection (PDC) initiative last year, I have been concerned that taxpayers whose debts are assigned to private collection...

IRS Announces Webinar on the 2019 Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) Grant Application Process

The IRS announced today that the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic Program Office will host two webinars on Tuesday, June 5, 2018, and Tuesday, June 12, 2018. The webinars are to provide potential applicants with information about the application requirements and process. The intended audience for this webinar include applicant’s proposing to open or expand the work of existing: Clinical progra...