You may appeal many IRS collection actions to the IRS
Office of Appeals (Appeals). Appeals is separate from and independent of the IRS Collection office that initiated the collection action. Appeals ensures and protects its independence by adhering to a strict policy
of prohibiting certain ex parte communications with the IRS Collection office or other IRS offices, such as discussions regarding the strengths or weaknesses of your case. Revenue Procedure 2012-18 has more information about Appeals’ independence and ex parte
communication and is available at
www.IRS.gov
.The two main procedures are
Collection Due Process and Collection Appeals Program
. Other procedures are described on page four
of this publication and at www.IRS.gov
.Collection Due Process (CDP) is available if you receive one of the following notices:
•
Notice of Federal Tax Lien Filing and Your Right to a Hearing under IRC 6320
•
Final Notice – Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing
•
Notice of Jeopardy Levy and Right of Appeal
•
Notice of Levy on Your State Tax Refund – Notice of Your Right to a Hearing
•
Post Levy Collection Due Process (CDP) Notice
Collection Appeals Program (CAP)
is available for the following actions:
•
Before or after the IRS files a Notice of Federal Tax Lien
•
Before or after the IRS levies or seizes your property
•
Termination, or proposed termination, of an installment agreement
•
Rejection of an installment agreement
•
Modification, or proposed modification, of an installment agreement CAP generally results in a quicker Appeals decision and is available for a broader range of collection actions. However, you cannot goto court if you disagree with the CAP decision. CAP procedures are described on pages three and four of this publication.
You may represent yourself at CDP, CAP and other Appeals proceedings. Or, you may be represented by an attorney, certified public accountant, or a person enrolled to practice before the IRS. Also, you may be represented by a member of your immediate family, or in the case of a business, by regular full-time employees, general partners or bonafide officers.
A Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) may represent you if you qualify. LITCs are independent from the IRS and most provide
representation before the IRS or in court on audits, tax collection disputes, and other issues for free or for a small fee. Some clinics can provide multilingual information about taxpayer rights and responsibilities. Publication 4134,
Low Income Taxpayer Clinic List, provides
information on clinics in your area and is available at your local IRS office, by calling 1-800-829-3676, or from
www.IRS.gov
.
If you want your representative to contact us or appear without you and to receive and inspect confidential material, you must file a properly completed Form 2848 (no earlier than 10/2011 revision),
Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative
. You may also
authorize an individual to receive or inspect con
fi
dential material but not represent you before the IRS, by
fi
ling a Form 8821,
Tax
Information Authorization
. These forms are available at your local IRS of
fi
ce, by calling 1-800-829-3676, or from
www.IRS.gov
.
HEARING AVAILABLE UNDER COLLECTION DUE PROCESS (CDP)
For Lien and Levy Notices
By law, you have the right to a CDP hearing when you receive
a Notice advising you of this right and you timely postmark a
request for a hearing to the address indicated on the Notice.
You are limited to one hearing under section 6320 (Notice and
opportunity for hearing upon
fi
ling of notice of lien) and
6330 (Notice and opportunity for hearing before levy) for each tax
assessment within a tax period.
You may contest the CDP determination in the United States Tax
Court.
Lien Notice:
The IRS is required to notify you the
fi
rst time a
Notice of Federal Tax Lien is
fi
led for each tax and period. The
IRS must notify you within 5 business days after the lien
fi
ling.
This notice may be mailed, given to you, or left at your home
or of
fi
ce. You then have 30 days, after that 5-day period, to
request a hearing with Appeals. The lien notice you receive will
indicate the date this 30-day period expires.
Levy Notice:
For each tax and period, the IRS is required to
notify you the
fi
rst time it collects or intends to collect a tax
liability by taking your property or rights to property.
The IRS does this by issuing you a pre-levy or post-levy notice.
The notice is mailed, given to you, or left at your home or
of
fi
ce. During the 30-day period from the date of the notice, you
may request a hearing with Appeals. There are four exceptions
to issuing this notice before levy:
1. When collection of the tax is in jeopardy.
2. When the IRS levies your state tax refund.
3. When the criteria for a Disquali
fi
ed Employment Tax Levy
is met.
4. When the IRS serves a federal contractor levy.
You may request a hearing after the levy action in these
instances.
If your request for a CDP hearing is not timely, you may request
an equivalent hearing. To receive an equivalent hearing, your
request must be postmarked on or before the end of the one-year
period after the date of the levy notice or on or before the end of
the one-year period plus 5 business days after the
fi
ling date of
the Notice of Federal Tax Lien.
How do you request a CDP or equivalent hearing
with the Of
fi
ce of Appeals?
Complete Form 12153,
Request for a Collection Due Process
or Equivalent Hearing
, or other written request with the same
information and send it to the address shown on your lien or levy
notice. To request an equivalent hearing, you must check the
Equivalent Hearing box on line 7 of Form 12153, or if you don’t
use Form 12153 write that you want an equivalent hearing if the
CDP hearing request is late. If you received both a lien and a levy
notice, you may appeal both actions by checking the boxes on
line 6 of Form 12153 or if you don’t use Form 12153, you may
appeal both actions in one written request. You must identify your
alternatives to, or your reasons for disagreeing with, the lien
fi
ling
or the levy action. Alternatives or reasons for disagreeing may
include:
•
Collection alternatives such as installment agreement or
offer in compromise.
•
Subordination or discharge of lien.
•
Withdrawal of Notice of Federal Tax Lien.
•
Appropriate spousal defenses.
•
The existence or amount of the tax, but only if you did not
receive a notice of de
fi
ciency or did not otherwise have an
opportunity to dispute the tax liability.
•
Collection of the tax liability is causing or will cause an
economic or other hardship.
Note:
You may not raise an issue that was raised and considered
at a prior administrative or judicial hearing, if you, or your
representative, participated meaningfully in the prior hearing
or proceeding. Also, you may not challenge the existence
or amount of an assessment made based on court ordered
restitution.
Form 12153 is available at your local IRS Of
fi
ce, by calling
1-800-829-3676, or from
www.IRS.gov.
Include a copy of your
lien and/or levy notice. List all taxes and tax periods included on
the notice you received for which you are requesting a hearing.
You are entitled to only one hearing relating to a lien notice and
one hearing relating to a levy notice, for each taxable period.
In general, the IRS will deny a hearing request that only raises
issues identi
fi
ed by the IRS as frivolous or that are made solely
to delay or impede collection. For a nonexclusive listing of issues
identi
fi
ed by the IRS as frivolous, see “The Truth About Frivolous
Tax Arguments” on www.IRS.gov.
To preserve your right to go to court, you must request a CDP
hearing within the time period provided by law. Your request for
a CDP hearing must be sent to the address on the lien or levy
notice and postmarked on or before the date shown in the lien
notice or on or before the 30th day after the date of the levy
notice.
Before you formally appeal a lien or levy notice by sending us
Form 12153, you may be able to work out a solution with the
Collection of
fi
ce that sent the notice. To do so, call the telephone
number on the lien or levy notice and explain to the IRS
employee listed on the notice or other representative why you
disagree with the action.
If a telphone number is not shown on the notice, you can call
1-800-829-1040. This contact, however, does NOT extend the
30-day period to make a written request for a CDP hearing.
What will happen when you request a CDP or equivalent
hearing with the Of
fi
ce of Appeals?
After you request a hearing, you may still discuss your concerns
with the Collection of
fi
ce that sent the lien or levy notice. If you
are able to resolve the issues with that of
fi
ce, you may withdraw
your request for a hearing. If you are unable to, or do not choose
to, resolve the issues with the Collection of
fi
ce, your case will be
forwarded immediately to Appeals.
Appeals will contact you to schedule a conference. Your
conference may be held by telephone, correspondence, or, if
you qualify, in a face-to-face conference at the Appeals of
fi
ce
closest to your home, school or place of business. To qualify for
a face-to-face conference, you must not raise any issues that
are deemed as frivolous or made with a desire solely to delay or
impede collection. If you are proposing a collection alternative,
it may be necessary for you to submit
fi
nancial information or
tax returns to qualify for a face-to-face conference. The Appeals
of
fi
cer will notify you by letter if you need to take steps to qualify
for a face-to-face conference.
Unless one of the exceptions in section 6330(f) applies, for
Jeopardy situations, State Income Tax levies, Federal Contractor
levies or Disquali
fi
ed Employment Tax levies, levy action is not
permitted for the subject tax and periods during the 30 days after
the levy notice and during the timely requested CDP hearing
process. Normally, there will be no levy action during the period
you have to request a hearing from a lien notice and during the
related CDP hearing process.
If your request for a CDP hearing is timely, the 10-year period
the IRS has to collect your taxes will be suspended until the
date Appeals’ determination becomes
fi
nal or you withdraw your
request for a hearing in writing.
At the conclusion of the CDP hearing, Appeals will issue a
determination letter unless you have withdrawn your hearing
request. If you don’t agree with Appeals’ determination, you
may request judicial review of the determination by petitioning
the United States Tax Court within the time period provided
for in the Appeals’ determination letter. You may not be able to
raise issues in the Tax Court if you do not raise them during the
Appeals hearing, and the Tax Court may limit the evidence you
can present to the evidence you submitted to Appeals during
the hearing. You should, therefore, raise all issues and present
all evidence during the Appeals hearing, in order to preserve
your rights to raise issues and have evidence considered in
subsequent court proceedings.
Appeals will retain jurisdiction over its determination. You may
return to Appeals if you believe that the Collection function did not
carry out Appeals’ determination as it was stated or if there is a
change in your circumstances that affects Appeals’ determination.
However, you must
fi
rst try to work with Collection to resolve the
problem.
If your request for a CDP hearing is not timely and you request
an equivalent hearing, the law does not prohibit levy and the
collection statute is not suspended. Furthermore, you cannot go
to court if you disagree with Appeals’ decision.
How do you appeal the rejection of a proposed installment