NTA Blog: IRS Continues to Close Taxpayer Assistance Centers, Despite Taxpayer Advocate Service and Congressional Concerns

Subscribe to the NTA’s Blog and receive updates on the latest blog posts from National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson. Additional blogs from the National Taxpayer Advocate can be found at www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/blog. For many years I have reported on the state of service at IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs), formerly known colloquially as walk-in sites. In my previous blog, ...

New Tax Reform Changes Website Explains What Is Changing and What Is Not

You may know that Congress approved major tax reform in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) on Dec. 22, 2017. The IRS is currently working on implementing this complex tax legislation that will affect both individuals and businesses. In light of the extensive list of items under the TCJA, particularly those affecting individuals, the Taxpayer Advocate Service has created the Tax Reform Changes ...

NTA Blog: Low Income Taxpayer Clinic Program Celebrates 20th Anniversary

Subscribe to the NTA’s Blog and receive updates on the latest blog posts from National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson. Additional blogs from the National Taxpayer Advocate can be found at www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/blog. It gives me great pleasure to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) program. As part of the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring ...

NTA Blog: Tax Administration on the Twentieth Anniversary of RRA 98

Subscribe to the NTA’s Blog and receive updates on the latest blog posts from National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson. Additional blogs from the National Taxpayer Advocate can be found at www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/blog. Twenty years ago this week, the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 was enacted. This landmark legislation created significant taxpayer rights – including...

Veterans May Claim Refund on Disability Severance Payments

The Internal Revenue Service is advising certain veterans who received disability severance payments after Jan. 17, 1991, and included that payment as income, that they should file an IRS Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, to claim a credit or refund of the overpayment attributable to the disability severance payment. This is a result of the Combat-Injured Veterans Tax Fairn...

NTA Blog: The National Taxpayer Advocate Responds to Private Debt Collectors’ Contentions

Subscribe to the NTA’s Blog and receive updates on the latest blog posts from National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson. Additional blogs from the National Taxpayer Advocate can be found at www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/blog. Last week, I returned from vacation to read a press release from a newly formed organization consisting of private debt collection (PDC) agencies working IRS account...

Low Income Taxpayer Clinics Celebrate 20 Years of Taxpayer Service

July 22, 2018 marks the 20th anniversary of Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITC). Low Income Taxpayer Clinics were enacted by Congress on July 22, 1998, as part of the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998. The LITC program today consists of 134 clinics in 48 states and the District of Columbia. From 2012 to 2016, LITCs: represented more than 52,400 low income taxpayers with IRS controversies...

3rd International Conference on Taxpayer Rights Videos Now Available

Didn’t make it to the 3rd International Conference on Taxpayer Rights? Catch up on what you missed and enhance your knowledge of taxpayer rights on a global scale. Videos are now available from each panel discussion and presentation conducted during the 3rd International Conference on Taxpayer Rights. Experience conversations held among international tax leaders in their fields throughout...

NTA Blog: Overall the Filing Season at Taxpayer Assistance Centers Ran Smoothly, But Room for Improvement Remains

Subscribe to the NTA’s Blog and receive updates on the latest blog posts from National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson. Additional blogs from the National Taxpayer Advocate can be found at www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/blog. In my most recent Annual Report to Congress, I focused on Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs) as one of the Most Serious Problems facing taxpayers. My concerns about ...

NTA Blog: “Real” vs. “Unreal” Audits and Why This Distinction Matters

Subscribe to the NTA’s Blog and receive updates on the latest blog posts from National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson. Additional blogs from the National Taxpayer Advocate can be found at www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/blog. Around five months ago, in my 2017 Annual Report to Congress, I identified IRS audit rates and the distinction between “real” and “unreal” au...