Posts by Ruth Ann Michnay, P.A.

Problem #6: DENTITY THEFT (Part II) Taxpayer Advocate Service – 10 Most Serious Problems Encountered by Taxpayers Problem #6: DENTITY THEFT (Part II) EXPLANATION OF THE PROBLEM With enough identifying information, a criminal can fraudulently file an individual or company’s tax return. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received about 2.8 million fraud and identity…

Problem #6: DENTITY THEFT (Part I) Taxpayer Advocate Service – 10 Most Serious Problems Encountered by Taxpayers Problem #6: DENTITY THEFT (Part I) WHY THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM FOR TAXPAYERS Individuals who are victims of tax-related identity theft are waiting an average of nearly 19 months for the IRS to process their returns and…

Problem #5: RETURN PREPARER OVERSIGHT Taxpayer Advocate Service – 10 Most Serious Problems Encountered by Taxpayers Problem #5: RETURN PREPARER OVERSIGHT WHY THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM FOR TAXPAYERS Tax return preparers prepare over half of the individual income tax returns filed on an annual basis. Taxpayers, the IRS, and our voluntary tax system rely…

Taxpayer Advocate Service – 10 Most Serious Problems Encountered by TaxpayersProblem #4: Telephone and In-Person Service (Part II) WHY THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM FOR TAXPAYERS Taxpayers who need face-to-face service can make an appointment to visit Taxpayer AssistanceCenters (TACs) for free tax help to address their tax questions and receive support if they facelanguage…

Taxpayer Advocate Service – 10 Most Serious Problems Encountered by TaxpayersProblem #4: Telephone and In-Person Service (Part I) WHY THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM FOR TAXPAYERSWhen taxpayers call the IRS, they expect and deserve quality service without suffering long waittimes. In 2023, telephone service was considerably better; however, it is still not providing thelevel of…

Problem #3: Transparency (Part II) What Is Transparency, and Why Does It Matter? “Transparency” is the government’s obligation to share with citizens the information they need tomake informed decisions and hold officials accountable for the conduct of the people’s business.Government accountability means that public officials have an obligation to explain theirdecisions and actions to citizens.…

Problem #3: Transparency (Part I) Although the IRS made great strides during the 2023 filing season, some taxpayers and taxprofessionals still struggle to access information from the IRS. They have difficulty finding clearand timely guidance on which they can rely, determining the status of pending issues,understanding IRS correspondence and whether they must respond to it,…

Problem #2: IRS Hiring, Recruitment, and Training Public trust in the IRS is at the core of our nation’s system of voluntary tax compliance and self-assessment. Taxpayers have the right to quality service from the IRS, and that service issubstantially reliant upon proper staffing and training of its employees so the IRS can assisttaxpayers. When…

Problem #1: Processing – Ongoing Processing Delays, Burden, and Frustrate TaxpayersAwaiting Refunds and Other Account Actions In 2023, millions of taxpayers once again experienced significant burden and frustration whileawaiting refunds or other IRS actions necessary to comply with their tax obligations and resolvetax account issues. Throughout 2023, the IRS’s backlog associated with paper-filed originaland amended…

Taxpayer Advocate Service – 10 Most Serious Problems Encountered by Taxpayers IRC § 7803(c)(2)(B)(ii)(III) requires the National Taxpayer Advocate to submit an annual reportto Congress that contains a summary of the ten “Most Serious Problems” encountered bytaxpayers. While they use the method described below to identify the Most Serious Problems,the list remains inherently subjective in…