While attending the IRS Tax Forum in Houston, I took a client's long-standing tax problem, which I've tried to get resolved through the normal channels in the IRS, to the Case Resolution group. I met with a Taxpayer Advocate and in one meeting (albeit nearly two hours), the whole issue was cleared up. She admitted that the original exam team only did a half-baked job on the case review. She also didn't understand why they didn't research all of the information I had presented. I couldn't believe how simple the problem was to resolve with a Taxpayer Advocate, considering I had been going around with the IRS for over a year.
If you have a problem that you can't seem to get settled with the IRS, I recommend that you seek out a Taxpayer Advocate in your area. It may save you a lot of headaches and frustrations. This is what I found out:
1) They are not IRS employees. They work directly for the Treasury Department, so they are independent of the normal IRS bureaucracy. 2) They are only for problem resolution, so they don't process tax returns, get a normal refund expedited, or do any special favors. 3) They can't change the tax code, so arguing a flimsy case won't get you anywhere.It isn't often that I can praise our tax system, but these guys certainly deserve a "well done" in my book!
Russell Tuncap, CMA, CPA