Tax Appeals

If you disagree with the proposed adjustment or action in your tax case, you can appeal your case to the Office of Appeals. An appeals officer or settlement officer will review the strengths and weaknesses of the respective positions taken in your case and give it a fresh look. Reviews by the Office of Appeals are conducted in an informal manner, by correspondence, telephone or at a personal meeting. Differences are often settled during an informal review thus avoiding expensive and time-consuming court proceedings. The Office of Appeals goal is to provide a forum for taxpayers to work together to resolve the tax dispute. You can work directly with us in the Appeals process at anytime, but there is different types of Appeals that may need to be considered depending on your tax situation. 

1. The IRS provides the Collection Appeals Program (CAP) is one of the options for taxpayers it is an administrative appeal for certain collection actions. 
2. The IRS also provides the Collections Due Process (CDP) for appealing collection actions it consists of Form 12153 it provides taxpayers the opportunity to go to appeals on either a final notice of federal tax lien or a proposed or actual levy.  The problem with filing a CDP on the notice of federal tax lien is that the lien has already been filed with the County Recorder’s Office and is public record.  With a CDP, the taxpayer can exercise their appeal rights after the notice of federal tax lien has been issued.  If the Collection Due Process appeal is filed within 30-days, it is considered a timely CDP Hearing which protects the specific tax periods from any further collection action until the taxpayer has the opportunity to be heard. It also preserves the taxpayer’s right to file a petition in Tax Court if he/she does not agree with IRS Appeals’ determination.                                                                                                                                                                      
3. Thanks If a taxpayer did not timely request a CDP hearing with Appeals, the taxpayer may request an Equivalent Hearing (EH) within a one year period beginning the day after the date of the CDP notice. The taxpayer must specifically request an Equivalent Hearing by checking the EH box on Form 12153, verbal confirmation or a written request. In an EH, the taxpayer may raise issues and Appeals will consider all raised in CDP however, the taxpayer does not have the right to seek judicial review of Appeals decision. 

The CAP program is available for more situations than the CDP program, even though a final resolution may take longer.