An IRS Revenue Officer Has Been Assigned to Your Case

What is an IRS Revenue Officer?

A Revenue Officer is a person, not a computer. Your case has left the automated collection system and been assigned to someone whose job is to collect from you specifically. They work to deadlines and they follow up.

Most IRS collection is automated: computer-generated notices from a service center, with no individual attached to your file. A Revenue Officer is different. They are a field employee of IRS Collections, assigned to a specific caseload, working in your geographic area.

Cases are typically assigned to a Revenue Officer when one or more of these is true:

• ·The balance is substantial
• ·There are multiple years of unfiled returns
• ·Payroll taxes are involved — this is treated with particular seriousness, because the money was withheld from employees
• ·Earlier collection attempts produced no response
• ·A previous agreement was defaulted
• ·There are signs of assets that could satisfy the debt

A Revenue Officer is not, in itself, an accusation of fraud. It is an indication that the IRS has decided this case needs a person on it.

What can a Revenue Officer do?

Levy bank accounts, wages and receivables, file federal tax liens, summon you and third parties such as banks and clients, and visit your home or business. The authority is broad and it can be used quickly.

Revenue Officers have broad authority and they can use it quickly. The levy powers below are set out by the IRS at Levy, IRS.gov, and a determination can be taken to the Independent Office of Appeals — an office separate from Collections:

• ·Issue levies on bank accounts, wages and receivables
• ·File federal tax liens
• ·Summon you, your records, and third parties such as banks and clients
• ·Visit your home or place of business without an appointment
• ·Contact your customers, clients or bank — which for a self-employed person can be commercially damaging
• ·Recommend seizure of assets, including vehicles, equipment and in rare cases real property
• ·Investigate whether individuals are personally liable for unpaid payroll taxes

They also have discretion to approve resolutions. That is the important half of the picture, and it is where representation pays for itself.

What should I do if a Revenue Officer contacts me?

Respond, but do not handle it alone. Do not ignore the contact and do not volunteer financial information in an unprepared conversation — what you say in the first call shapes the case. Get representation in place first.

Do

• ·Acknowledge the contact — silence accelerates enforcement
• ·Note every deadline you have been given, precisely
• ·Get representation in place quickly, ideally before any substantive discussion
• ·Gather your records: filed returns, notices, financial statements, bank statements

Do not

• ·Do not ignore letters, calls or visits
• ·Do not guess at answers about income, assets or who controlled company funds
• ·Do not hand over documents before someone has reviewed what is being asked for and why
• ·Do not move money or transfer assets — this is viewed extremely poorly and can create new and worse problems
• ·Do not agree to a payment amount on the spot because it was asked for on the phone

Why does representation change a Revenue Officer case?

Once Power of Attorney is filed the Revenue Officer deals with your representative rather than with you, on professional terms and a documented footing. The deadlines do not vanish, but the improvisation does.

Once we file a Power of Attorney, the Revenue Officer deals with us. No unannounced visits to your business. No calls that catch you unprepared. Every question comes to a professional who knows which ones require documentation and which require care.

That is not about being obstructive — quite the opposite. Revenue Officers generally prefer working with a representative, because the information arrives complete, on time, and in the right format. Cases that are being properly worked tend to receive more latitude than cases where the officer cannot get a straight answer.

What we bring:

• ·We control the flow of information. You will not accidentally say something that becomes a problem later.
• ·We know what is negotiable. Deadlines, financial standards, and the resolution route all have more flexibility than most taxpayers realize.
• ·We prepare the financials properly. Form 433-A and 433-B done well is the foundation of every good outcome here.
• ·We keep the case moving. Missed deadlines are what turn a manageable case into a seizure case.

How do Revenue Officer cases usually end?

With a resolution rather than a seizure — an installment agreement, Currently Not Collectible status, or a settlement — provided the case is engaged with. The bad outcomes are concentrated among people who did not respond.

Despite how alarming the first contact feels, the great majority of Revenue Officer cases end in a negotiated arrangement rather than a seizure. Common outcomes:

• ·Unfiled returns brought current, often reducing the balance substantially
• ·An installment agreement based on properly documented finances
• ·Currently-not-collectible status where genuine hardship exists
• ·An Offer in Compromise where the numbers support one
• ·Penalty abatement reducing the total owed

Seizure is a last resort the IRS uses when a taxpayer will not engage. Meaningful engagement is what prevents most cases from reaching that point.