Recently the IRS adopted a document, known as the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, to help taxpayers understand their rights while dealing with the IRS. Taxpayers receiving any correspondence from the IRS during the 2014 calendar year will start to see documentation included which shows the taxpayer’s rights. The IRS is going to add posters and signs to their public offices so people have another way to receive the information and read it. Finally, IRS.gov has a separate section that will highlight the taxpayer’s rights and have easy access to the rights directly from the IRS home page.
The rights highlighted in the Taxpayer Bill of Rights have been a part of the tax code since its inception, but the new document groups them into one easily accessible spot and makes it easier to read and understand them. We highly recommend that if you have any correspondence with the IRS, in which they send you a copy of your rights, that you take time to read through the rights that you have so that you better understand those rights you have.
The following is the list of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights:
1. The Right to be Informed
2. The Right to Quality Service
3. The Right to Pay No More than the Correct Amount of Tax
4. The Right to Challenge the IRS’s Position and Be Heard
5. The Right to Appeal an IRS Decision in an Independent Forum
6. The Right to Finality
7. The Right to Privacy
8. The Right to Confidentiality
9. The Right to Retain Representation
10. The Right to a Fair and Just Tax System
When you deal with the IRS in the future make sure you know your rights so that you have the best experience possible. And, as always, if you need help, please call Paresky Flitt & Company.
Written by Jonathan Novak