Tax Attorney Pans IRS OIC Program

A few weeks ago I sent an open letter to the IRS regarding their Offer in Compromise (OIC) program. It recently came to my attention that WebCPA, a site with tools and news for accountants, had posted an article about my open letter. Below is the text from their article.

Tax attorney Roni Deutch has written an open letter to the Internal Revenue Service criticizing the agency's offer in compromise program, which is supposed to help taxpayers settle their debts.

The letter came in response to a recent questionnaire from the IRS asking recipients how satisfied they were with the program. Deutch described several objections that she and other attorneys at her firm share. The firm has been helping taxpayers settle their debts with the IRS for 17 years.

Deutch noted that she had sent a similar list of suggested improvements in December 2005, the last time the IRS sent out a questionnaire to taxpayers and tax professionals about the OIC program, but the IRS essentially ignored them.

"In those three years, the IRS has done nothing to act upon our requests," wrote Deutch. "Thus, I resubmit these requests to you for consideration and action."

One of her criticisms is that the IRS is not doing an adequate review of its Effective Tax Administration offers in compromise. "There are not enough sufficiently trained employees at the IRS to review and accept ETA OICs," she wrote. "When an ETA OIC is filed, the taxpayer states that 'I owe this amount and have sufficient assets to pay the full amount, but due to my exceptional circumstances, requiring full payment would cause an economic hardship or would be unfair and inequitable.'"

IRS Announces Two New Appeals Programs

According to their newest press release, the IRS is announcing “a two-year test of two programs: the post-Appeals mediation and arbitration procedures for Offer in Compromise (OIC) and Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (TFRP).

Beginning Dec. 1, 2008, for a two-year test period, Appeals will offer post-Appeals mediation and arbitration for OIC and TFRP cases for taxpayers whose appeals are considered at the Appeals office in Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Houston, Indianapolis, Louisville, Phoenix, and San Francisco.

Under these two alternative dispute resolution programs, the taxpayer or Appeals may request nonbinding mediation. The taxpayer may decline Appeals’ request for mediation. Appeals will evaluate a taxpayer’s request for mediation based on the criteria detailed in Revenue Procedure 2002-44 and Announcement 2008-111. A request for binding arbitration must be made jointly by the taxpayer and Appeals. The mediation and arbitration procedures do not create any additional authority for settlement by Appeals.

During the test period, Appeals employees will advise the taxpayer of the availability of these alternative dispute strategies and the deadline for timely requesting such strategies when a rejection of an OIC is sustained or a proposed TFRP assessment is sustained. An OIC submitted during Collection Due Process (CDP) as an alternative to a Collection action is not eligible for these alternative dispute resolution strategies during the test period.”

Revisions to Offer in Compromise Application Form

On Monday the IRS announced they had revised the application for an Offer in Compromise, Form 656 package. IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson notes, "we hope that these changes help more people who qualify satisfy their tax obligations." The changes were made as a result of the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 and some of the changes include new payment terms and submission rules. For more details on the changes visit the IRS’s website.