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Taxpayer Advocacy Panel
Want to Improve
the IRS?¨SPEAK
UP
By Andrea Price, Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Member Representing
Ohio
The Truth Contributor
TAP’s mission is to listen to taxpayers, identify taxpayers’
issues and make suggestions for improving the IRS service
and customer satisfaction. We not only listen to taxpayers;
we try to do something about it. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel
(TAP) is supported by and aligned with the IRS but is not
part of the IRS and are not employees of the IRS. TAP is
comprised of civic-minded citizen volunteers from all
walks of life representing each state, D.C., Puerto Rico and
an international member (citizens living, working or doing
business abroad).
TAP has six committees working on suggestions submitted by
taxpayers. This month I would like to focus on the
Taxpayer Assistance Center (TAC) Improvements Committee.
TAC is your local IRS office. In Toledo, the office is
located at the Four Seagate Building. If you need to visit
your local IRS office, you are required to make an
appointment by calling 845-545-5640 from 7 a.m. - 7a .m.
The TAC committee is currently working with the IRS to be
more customer focused by posting customer friendly signs on
the doors of the office and to promote online services.
Currently it reads: Appointments Required at IRS
Taxpayer Assistance Centers. To make an
appointment, call us at 844-545-5640. Taxpayers do not
need an appointment to make a limited payment, pick up tax
forms, or drop off a current year tax return. The TAC
committee is working with the IRS and a proposed draft is:
Appointments Required. Services are provided by
appointment and no appointment is needed to submit
non-cash payments or a current year tax return. Taxpayers
without an appointment will be seen if we have
availability. For more information on IRS services, how
to make an appointment, view online tools to make payments,
check on the status of a refund and more, see our website at
www.irs.gov.
Another taxpayer’s suggestion, we are working with the IRS
to improve, is to add a map link on the IRS website to the
local IRS office with parking information.
Planning to travel outside of the U.S. this year? Don’t risk
a passport revocation - arrange to settle large IRS debts
now
TAX NEWS from Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS)
The Internal Revenue Service is urging taxpayers to resolve
their significant tax debts, $50,000 or more, to avoid
putting their passports in jeopardy. If you owe $50,000
or more and haven’t made payment arrangements, please
contact the IRS now to avoid travel delays later.
Why is the State Department allowed to limit or revoke my
passport due to unpaid taxes?
In December 2015, Congress passed the Fixing America’s
Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. That act authorized the
IRS to certify to the State Department taxpayers who owe a
seriously delinquent tax debt. A seriously delinquent tax
debt is an unpaid, legally enforceable federal tax debt
totaling more than $50,000 (Please note that this amount is
adjusted annually for inflation.) for which a notice of
federal tax lien has been filed and all administrative
remedies under IRC § 6320 have lapsed or been exhausted, or
a levy has been issued. The IRS began certifying these debts
to the State Department in 2018. Under the law, the State
Department must deny your passport application and may
revoke or limit your passport if the IRS has certified you
as having a seriously delinquent tax debt. A seriously
delinquent tax debt does not include non-tax debts collected
by the IRS, such as the *FBAR penalty and child support.
When will my seriously delinquent tax debt be certified to
the State Department?
The IRS already began certifying certain taxpayers in phases
and will continue certifying all seriously delinquent
individual taxpayer accounts. The IRS will send a Notice CP
508C to your last known address at the time it certifies
your seriously delinquent tax debt to the State Department.
There are some exceptions from passport certification; see more
on denying, revoking passports because of tax debt for a
list of those special circumstances. For taxpayers serving
in a combat zone and who have a seriously delinquent tax
debt, the IRS will postpone certifying their tax debt to the
State Department while they remain performing such service.
In addition, taxpayers who have open cases with the Taxpayer
Advocate Service will now temporarily be excluded thanks to TAS’s
past advocacy efforts.
Everyone has something to say about taxes and the IRS. Please take a
moment to give us your suggestions for TAP to consider by
contacting one of the following:
TAP Ohio member:
tapohioandreaprice@gmail.com
Toll-free at:1-888-912-1227
Website:
www.improveirs.org
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/TheTaxpayerAdvocacyPanel
*FBAR refers
to Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts,
that must be filed with the Financial Crimes Enforcement
Network (FinCEN), which is a bureau of the Treasury
Department. ... The FBAR filing requirement is not
part of filing a tax return. The FBAR Form 114 is
filed separately and directly with FinCEN.
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