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Continuing on with the rights that all taxpayer's in the US have, we now get to the area of payment. The IRS states in the Tax Payers Bill of Rights that all taxpayers have the Right to Pay No More than the Correct Amount of Tax which means that taxpayers only need pay the amount of tax legally due, including all legal interest and penalties, and to have the IRS apply all payments properly.

Most people don't agree with the amount of tax they owe or how much they need to pay, but those tax due amounts are determined by applying the somewhat convoluted US Tax Code. It's not an easy system to understand or administer. There are constant challenges and questions being asked of the IRS to explain why a certain amount is owed or to help determine what might be owed. One thing that must be remembered is that the IRS is there to administer the Tax Code, not write it. The Tax Code is written via legislation that is discussed, argued about, fought over, and ultimately passed by the US Congress and signed into law by the President of the United States.

No matter how much you owe, you have the right to only pay what is legally owed. But the request for payment doesn't end with a one-time statement from the IRS. My next post will be about the Right to challenge the IRS's position on tax owed, what the law says, and to the right to have your challenge heard.

This second installment on Taxpayer's Rights is about the second Right listed in the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, the Right to Quality Service. The IRS is supposed to provide prompt, courteous, and professional service to all taxpayers. The IRS representatives are supposed to speak to taxpayers in ways that the taxpayer can easily understand, to provide understandable info and be able to speak to a supervisor about inadequate service. If you feel you haven't gotten good service, don't hesitate to speak to a supervisor.

I have had many dealings with the IRS over the phone and have always had staff members be professional with my requests. The only issue I have is with the length of time it takes to get to speak to someone. Due to the lack of staff or an overwhelming amount of calls, I have had to wait one-half hour for a customer service rep, at times, and once spent an hour and forty-five minutes waiting. I think that Congress needs to increase the IRS funding instead of decreasing it.

We taxpayers need to remember that the IRS is working for us, the American People, by administering the tax laws to provide funding for the U.S. government. When we have an issue or are told we didn't fill out our tax forms correctly, we should be treated professionally, not have to either wait too long to talk with someone, or have the issue explained in legalese which makes us even more confused after the explanation. I have seen many a letter from the IRS that taxpayers can't understand. I hope that the IRS learns to write clearer, more understandable letters or at least provide a "translation" into everyday language. That would be part of the Right to Quality Service that we are being promised by the IRS.

In a previous post I mentioned the publication by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TBoR). This is a the first in a series of posts on these "Rights" that the IRS has outlined for each taxpayer. Maybe I can help taxpayers understand what they can do to make their yearly chore a little bit less onerous. The first right mentioned in this modern day Bill of Rights is the Right to be Informed.

The TBoR describes the "Right to be Informed" as being able to know what the taxpayer can do to comply with the tax laws in clear explanations of the tax laws and IRS procedures. This applies to all tax forms, instructions, publications, notices and any correspondence from the IRS. The difficult word hear is "clear". I am a tax preparer and I have difficulty in understanding some of the wording that the IRS uses. (I am getting better at it but sometimes I just say to myself,"Huh? What did they mean?". Reading it a second or third time usually helps.) I think that this TBoR is written in clear, understandable language. It's a great start. Let's hope that the IRS can keep it up with future publications. Another problem is that Congress isn't always so clear in the tax laws they pass, so the IRS has trouble writing the rules and regs in clear language. Let's hope Congress learns to make things clearer, too.

The "Right to be Informed" also includes the right to be informed of IRS decisions regarding the taxpayer's personal tax accounts and to receive clear explanations of the outcomes of those accounts. Most people encounter the IRS first through letters sent regarding the current year's or a previous year's tax return. (Aside #1: Don't ignore those letters. The issue WON'T go away by ignoring it. ) The best thing to do when you receive a letter is open it and look for the year they are talking about. It's called the "tax year". You can then see what they want and what you can do about it. The letters also mention what happens if you don't respond by a certain date. (Aside #2: Make sure you respond in plenty of time! DON'T wait until the last minute. Highlight that "respond by" date.) The IRS is trying to let you know what is happening with your tax returns and you can help them by responding to those letters. Yes, you can disagree with them and even challenge what they have decided, but just be clear and have documentation. If you don't understand what they are saying, you can always get help from a tax preparer, tax accountant or a tax lawyer.

Another great way to get help is to do some research on your own. the IRS has a fairly understandable website at IRS.gov. You can get IRS publications, read about tax laws, find out about different topics using the search box, and even get information on contacting the IRS itself. You can even download the TBoR from here. Just search for Pub 1 by clicking on "Forms and Pubs" and then "Current Forms and Pubs".

With this new Taxpayer Bill of Rights, the IRS is attempting to inform you of your rights as a taxpayer. They are not out to "get you" or "take all your money". They are there to administer the tax laws and to make sure the US Government gets money to operate. Make sure that you know what your rights are and become informed. Check out the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.