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Taxpayer Bill of Rights – Right to Appeal an IRS decision

The next right enumerated on the Taxpayer Bill of Rights is the Right to Appeal an IRS decision. You have to right to hold that appeal in an independent forum.  That appeal will be handled by the independent Office of Appeals which is independent of the IRS but located within the IRS. The Office of Appeals was set up to help taxpayers and the government resolve the tax issues and disagreements that may come up during the administration of the complex US tax system.You are entitled to a fair and impartial administrative appeal of the IRS's decision, including many penalty decisions, and the right to have a written response regarding the Office of Appeals' decisions.

Once the IRS makes a decision, you can appeal it. The Office of Appeals takes no sides in the disputes that come to them. You can present information that supports your request for a different decision and you will get a written response from the Office of Appeals.  Once the Office of Appeals comes out with a decision, you can either accept their decision or appeal it further. That would bring you to the US Tax Court. You can find out more information of how to bring a case to this court via its website at www.ustaxcourt.gov.

The US Tax Court is a Federal trial court. It is here in order that taxpayers can bring various cases to be decided regarding decisions of the IRS. It is a specialized court but not a court of final decision. Many taxpayers have brought cases to the US Tax Court but later appealed its decisions, including up to the US Supreme Court.

No matter what level your decision is at, be it at the IRS, the Office of Appeals, the US Tax Court,  or even the US Supreme Court, your tax dispute will be adjudicated and a final decision will be rendered. More on that in our next blog post regarding the Right to Finality.