/*Home and Business Legal Encyclopedia Comment: Taxpayers have

rights too! And here they are. This is a revolutionary document!

Enjoy learning your rights.*/

YOUR RIGHTS AS A TAXPAYER

As a taxpayer, you have the right to be treated fairly,

professionally, promptly, and courteously by Internal Revenue

Service employees. Our goal at the IRS is to make sure that your

rights are protected, so that you will have the highest

confidence in the integrity, efficiency, and fairness of our tax

system. To ensure that you always receive such treatment, you

should know about the many rights you have at each step of the

tax process.

Free Information and Help in Preparing Returns

You have the right to information and help in complying with the

tax laws. In addition to the basic instructions we provide with

the tax forms, we make available a great deal of other

information.

Taxpayer publications. We publish over 100 free taxpayer

information publications on various subjects. One of these,

Publication 910, Guide to Free Tax Services, is a catalog of the

free services we offer. You can order these publications and any

tax forms or instructions you need by calling us toll-free at 1-

800-424-FORM (3676).

Other assistance. We also provide walk-in tax help at many IRS

offices, and recorded telephone information on many topics

(through our Tele-Tax system). The telephone numbers for Tele-

Tax, and the topics covered, are in the tax forms instructions.

We make many of our materials available in Braille (at regional

libraries for the handicapped) and in Spanish. We provide

assistance for the hearing impaired via special telephone

equipment.

We have produced informational videotapes that you can borrow.

In addition, you may want to attend our educational programs for

specific groups of taxpayers, such as farmers and those with

small businesses. In cooperation with local volunteers, we offer

free tax return preparation assistance to low-income and elderly

taxpayers through Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax

Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) Programs. You can get

information on these programs by calling the toll-free telephone

number for your area listed at the end of this publication.

Copies of tax returns. If you need a copy of your tax return for

an earlier year, you can get one by filling out Form 4506,

Request for Copy of Tax Form, and paying a small fee.

However, you often only need certain information, such as the

amount of your reported income, the number of your exemptions,

and the tax shown on the return. You can get this information

free if you write or visit an IRS office, or call the toll-free

number for your area listed at the end of this publication.

If you have trouble clearing up any tax matter with the IRS

through normal channels, you can get special help from our

Problem Resolution Office, as explained later.

Privacy and Confidentiality

You have the right to have your personal and financial

information kept confidential. You also have the right to know

why we are asking you for information, exactly how any

information you give will be used, and what might happen if you

do not give the information.

Information sharing. Under the law, we may share your tax

information with State tax agencies with which we have

information exchange agreements, the Department of Justice and

other federal agencies under strict legal guidelines, and certain

foreign governments under tax treaty provisions.

Courtesy and Consideration

You are entitled to courteous and considerate treatment from IRS

employees at all times. If you ever feel that you are not being

treated with fairness, courtesy, and consideration by an IRS

employee, you should tell the employee's supervisor.

Payment of Only the Required Tax

You have the right to plan your business and personal finances in

such a way that you will pay the least tax that is due under the

law. You are liable only for the correct amount of tax. Our

purpose is to apply the law consistently and fairly to all

taxpayers.

Fairness if Your Return is Examined

Most taxpayers' returns are accepted as filed. But if your return

is selected for examination, it does not suggest that you are

dishonest. The examination may or may not result in more tax.

Your case may be closed without change. Or, you may receive a

refund.

Arranging the examination. Many examinations are handled

entirely by mail. For information on this, get Publication 1383,

The Correspondence Process (Income Tax Accounts), available free

by calling 1-800-424-FORM (3676). If we notify you that your

examination is to be conducted through a face-to-face interview,

you have the right to ask that the examination take place at a

reasonable time and place that is convenient for both you and the

IRS. If the time or place suggested by the IRS is not

convenient, the examiner will try to work out something more

suitable. However, in any case, the IRS makes the final

determination of how, when and where the examination will take

place.

Representation. Throughout the examination, you may represent

yourself, have someone else accompany you, or, with proper

written authorization, have someone represent you in your

absence.

Recordings. You may make a sound recording of the examination if

you wish, provided you let the examiner know in advance so that

he or she can do the same.

/* That's a very good idea! */

Repeat examinations. We try to avoid repeat examinations of the

same items, but this sometimes happens. If we examined your tax

return for the same items in either of the 2 previous years and

proposed no change to your tax liability, please contact us as

soon as possible so that we can see if we should discontinue the

repeat examination.

Explanation of changes. If we propose any changes to your

return, we will explain the reasons for the changes. It is

important that you understand the reasons for any proposed

change. You should not hesitate to ask about anything that is

unclear to you.

Interest. You must pay interest on additional tax that you owe.

The interest is figured from the due date of the return. But if

our error caused a delay in your case, and this was grossly

unfair, you may be entitled to a reduction in the interest. Only

delays caused by procedural or mechanical acts that do not

involve the exercise of judgment or discretion qualify. If you

think we caused such a delay, please discuss it with the examiner

and file a claim.

Business taxpayers. If you are in an individual business, the

rights covered in this publication generally apply to you. If

you are a member of a partnership or a shareholder in a small

business corporation, special rules (which may be different from

those described here) may apply to the examination of your

partnership or corporation items. The examination of partnership

items is discussed in Publication 556, Examination of Returns,

Appeal Rights, and Claims for Refund. The rules for regular

corporations are covered in Publication 542, Tax Information on

Corporations. The rules for S corporations are described in

Publication 589, Tax Information on S Corporations. You can get

these publications free by calling us at 1-800-424-FORM (3676).

An Appeal of the Examination Findings

If you do not agree with the examiner's report, you may meet with

the examiner's supervisor to discuss your case further. If you

still don't agree with the examiner's findings, you have the

right to appeal them. The examiner will explain your appeal

rights and will give you a copy of Publication 5, Appeal Rights

and Preparation of Protests for Unagreed Cases. This publication

explains your appeal rights in detail and tells you exactly what

to do if you want to appeal. You can get it by calling us

tollfree at 1-800-424-FORM (3676).

/* Be sure that if you want to file an appeal that you do it at

the proper time. There are time limits, and a good appeal may be

lost because of a delay.*/

Appeals Office. You can appeal the findings of an examination

within the IRS through our Appeals Office. Most differences can

be settled through this appeals system without expensive and

time-consuming court trials. If the matter cannot be settled to

your satisfaction in Appeals, you can take your case to court.

Appeals to the courts. Depending on whether you first pay the

disputed tax, you can take your case to the U.S. Tax Court, the

U.S. Claims Court, or your U.S. District Court. These courts are

entirely independent of the IRS. As always, you can represent

yourself or have someone admitted to practice before the court

represent you.

If you disagree about whether you owe additional tax, you

generally have the right to take your case to the Tax Court if

you have not yet paid the tax. Ordinarily, you have 90 days from

the time we mail you a formal notice (called a "notice of

deficiency") telling you that you owe additional tax to file a

petition with the Tax Court.

If you have already paid the disputed tax in full and filed a

claim for refund for it that we disallowed (or on which we did

not take action within 6 months), then you may take your case to

the U.S. District Court or U.S. Claims Court.

Recovering litigation expenses. If the court agrees with you on

most issues in your case, and finds the IRS's position to be

largely unjustified, you may be able to recover some of your

litigation expenses from us. But to do this, you must have used

up all the administrative remedies available to you within the

IRS, including going through our Appeals system.

Publication 556, Examination of Returns, Appeals Rights, and

Claims for Refund, will help you more fully understand your

appeal rights. You can get it free by calling us at 1-800-424-

FORM (3676).

Fair Collection of Tax

Whenever you owe tax, we will send you a bill. Be sure to check

any bill you receive to make sure it is correct. You have the

right to have your bill adjusted if it is incorrect, so you

should let us know about an incorrect bill right away.

If we tell you that you owe tax because of a math or clerical

error on your return, you have the right to ask us to send you a

formal notice (a "notice of deficiency") so that you can dispute

the tax, as discussed earlier. You do not have to pay the

additional tax when you ask us for the formal notice, if you ask

for it within 60 days of the time we tell you of the error.

/* Read this part above very carefully. DO NOT pay a bill that

you get from the IRS unless you are sure that it is right. Be

sure that you made your objection, and IN TIME. To be sure that

you filed it on time, make sure that you get a receipt from the

post office showing that you mailed the protest. CALLING doesn't

work- in writing, and with a receipt. */

If the tax is correct, we will give you a specific period of time

to pay the bill in full. If you pay the bill within the time

allowed, we will not have to take any further action.

Payment arrangements. You should make every effort to pay your

bill in full. However, if you can't, you should pay as much as

you can and contact us right away. In order to make other

payment arrangements with you, we may ask you for a complete

financial statement to determine how you can pay the amount due.

You may qualify for an installment agreement based on your

financial condition, or we may arrange for your employer to

deduct amounts from your pay to be sent to us. We will give you

copies of all agreements you make with us.

Only after we have tried to contact you and given you the chance

to pay any tax due voluntarily, do we take any enforcement action

(such as recording a tax lien, or levying on or seizing

property). Therefore, it is very important for you to respond

right away to our attempts to contact you (by mail, telephone, or

personal visit). If you do not respond, we may have no choice

but to begin enforcement.

/* If you visit or call on the telephone, be sure to write as

well, and get a receipt for mailing! */

Release of liens. If we have to place a lien on your property

(to secure the amount of tax due), you can expect us to release

the lien promptly when you pay the tax and certain charges.

Property that is exempt from levy. If we must seize (levy on)

your property, you have the legal right to keep:

- A limited amount of personal belongings, clothing, furniture

and business or professional books and tools.

- Unemployment, worker's compensation, and certain pension

benefits.

- Court-ordered child support payments.

- Mail.

- An amount of wages, salary, and other income ($75 per week,

plus $25 for each legal dependent).

If at any time during the collection process you do not agree

with the collection employee, you can discuss your case with his

or her supervisor.

Access to your private premises. A court order is not generally

needed for a collection employee to seize your property.

However, you don't have to allow the employee access to your

private premises, such as your home or the non-public area of

your business, if the employee does not have court authorization

to be there.

Withheld taxes. If we believe that you were responsible for

seeing that a corporation paid us income and social security

taxes withheld from its employees, and the taxes were not paid,

we may look to you to personally pay an amount based on the

unpaid taxes. If you feel that you don't owe this, you have the

right to discuss the case with the collection employee's

supervisor. Also, you generally have the same IRS appeal rights

as other taxpayers. Because the Tax Court has no jurisdiction in

this situation, you must pay at least part of the withheld taxes

and file a claim for refund in order to take the matter to the

U.S. District Court or U.S. Claims Court.

Publication 586A, The Collection Process (Income Tax Accounts),

and 594, The Collection Process (Employment Tax Accounts), will

help you understand your rights during the collection process.

You can get these publications free by calling us at 1-800-424-

FORM (3676).

The Collection Process

To stop the process at any stage, you should pay the tax in full.

If you cannot pay the tax in full, contact us right away to

discuss possible ways to pay the tax.

First notice and demand for unpaid tax.

10 days later.

Enforcement authority arises.

Up to 3 more notices sent over a period of time asking for

payment.

Notice of intent to levy is sent by certified mail (final

notice).

10 days later.

Enforcement action to collect the tax begins (lien, levy,

seizure, etc.)

Refund of Overpaid Tax

Once you have paid all your tax, you have the right to file a

claim for a refund if you think the tax is incorrect. Generally,

you have 3 years from the date you filed the return or 2 years

from the date you paid the tax (whichever is later) to file a

claim. If we examine your claim for any reason, you have the same

rights that you would have during an examination of your return.

Interest on refunds. You will receive interest on any income tax

refund delayed more than 45 days after the later of either the

date you filed your return or the date your return was due.

Checking on your refund. Normally, you will receive your refund

about six weeks after you file your return. If you have not

received your refund in 8 weeks after mailing your return, you

may check on it by calling the toll-free Tele-Tax number in the

tax forms instructions.

If your refund is reduced because of a debt you owe another

Federal agency or because you owe child support, we must notify

you that this has occurred. However, if you have a question

about the debt that caused the reduction, you should contact the

other agency.

Cancellation of Penalties

You have the right to ask that certain penalties (but not

interest) be canceled (abated) if you can show reasonable cause

for the failure that led to the penalty (or can show that you

exercised due diligence, if that is the applicable standard for

that penalty).

If you relied on wrong advice given to you by IRS employees on

the toll-free telephone system, we will cancel certain penalties

that may result. But you have to show that your reliance on the

advice was reasonable.

/* It is revolutionary that the IRS recognizes that it makes goofs

and it is its responsibility to fix them. */

Special Help to Resolve Your Problems

We have a Problem Resolution Program for taxpayers who have been

unable to resolve their problems with the IRS. If you have a tax

problem that you cannot clear up through normal channels, write

to the Problem Resolution Office in the district or Service

Center with which you have the problem. You may also reach the

Problem Resolution Office by calling the IRS taxpayer assistance

number for your area listed at the end of this publication. If

the tax problem is causing or will cause you significant

hardship, the Problem Resolution Officer will arrange for an

immediate review of your problem. During the review, we will not

take any enforcement action.

Taxpayer Assistance Numbers

You should use the following telephone numbers in getting answers

to your tax questions.

You may also use these numbers to reach the Problem Resolution

Office if you need special help in resolving problems that you

have not been able to resolve through normal IRS channels. Ask

for the problem Resolution Office when you call.