The Taxpayer Bill of Rights
Two key elements of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) missions are:
- To treat taxpayers with dignity and respect, and
- To provide taxpayer positive customer experience.
To that end, the IRS developed ten specific rights that you have as a taxpayer whenever you need to work with the federal tax agency on a personal tax matter including:
- When you’re filing a tax return;
- When you’re paying your taxes;
- When you’re responding to correspondence from the IRS;
- When you’re going through a tax audit or appealing an IRS decision.
These rights are outlined in the Taxpayer Bill of Rights:
Taxpayers have the right to know what they need to do to comply with the tax laws.
During the 2021 tax filing season the IRS debuted Schedule LEP, Request for Change in Language Preference. Schedule LEP gives taxpayers with limited English proficiency the opportunity to indicate a preferred language when communicating with the IRS.
The Right to Quality Service
Taxpayers have the right to receive prompt, courteous, and professional assistance in their dealings with the IRS, to be spoken to in a way they can easily understand, to receive clear and easily understandable communications from the IRS, and to speak to a supervisor about inadequate service.
As part of its effort to enhance the taxpayer experience, in 2021 the IRS took important steps to further improve the amount of assistance that they provide in multiple languages. They made the Form 1040 U.S. Individual Income Tax Return available in Spanish during the 2021 tax filing season.
The Right to Pay No More than the Correct Amount of Tax
Taxpayers have the right to pay only the amount of tax legally due, including interest and penalties.
During fiscal year 2021, the IRS expanded the use of data, analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) in its audit process, from the taxpayer selection to their examination.
The Right to Challenge the IRS’ position and Be Heard
Taxpayers have the right to raise objections and provide additional documentation in response to formal IRS actions or proposed actions, to expect that the IRS will consider their timely objections and documentation promptly and fairly, and to receive a response if the IRS does not agree with their position.
The Right to Appeal an IRS Decision in an Independent Forum
Taxpayers are entitled to a fair and impartial administrative appeal of most IRS decisions, including many penalties, and have the right to receive a written response regarding the Office of Appeals’ decision. Taxpayers generally have the right to take their cases to court.
The Right to Finality
Taxpayers have the right to know the maximum amount of time they have to challenge the IRS’ position as well as the maximum amount of time the IRS has to audit a particular tax year or collect a tax debt. Taxpayers have the right to know when the IRS has finished an audit.
Generally, the IRS can include tax returns filed within the last three years in an audit. If the IRS identifies a substantial error, it may add additional years. However, the IRS usually doesn’t go back more than six years. The IRS generally doesn’t examine a tax year multiple time. But the IRS may reopen a taxable year that has been previously examined if the federal tax agency finds it necessary.
The Right to Privacy
Taxpayers have the right to expect that any IRS inquiry, examination, or enforcement action will comply with the law and be no more intrusive than necessary, and will respect all due process rights, including search and seizure protections, and will provide, where applicable, a collection due process hearing.
The Right to Confidentiality
Taxpayers have the right to expect that any information they provide to the IRS will not be disclosed unless authorized by the taxpayer or by law. Taxpayers have the right to expect appropriate action will be taken against employees, return preparers, and others who wrongfully use or disclose taxpayer return information.
For example, the IRS cannot contact your employer, your bank, or any other third parties to obtain information about collecting your unpaid tax without providing you with reasonable notice in advance.
The Right to Retain Representation
Taxpayers have the right to retain an authorized representative of their choice to represent them in their dealings with the IRS. Taxpayers have the right to seek assistance from a Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic if they cannot afford representation.
The Right to a Fair and Just Tax System
Taxpayers have the right to expect the tax system to consider facts and circumstances that might affect their underlying liabilities, ability to pay, or ability to provide information timely. Taxpayers have the right to receive assistance from the Taxpayer Advocate Service if they are experiencing financial difficulty or if the IRS has not resolved their tax issues properly
and timely through its normal channels.
For example, the IRS cannot seize all of your salary to pay for tax that you owe.
In the United States of America as in France, Congress has the authority to lay and collect taxes. The money collected is used to pay the country’s debts and government programs such as the country’s defense, education and general welfare system. To manage the Government’s finances and resources effectively, Congress established the U.S. Department of the Treasury on September 2, 1789 and the position of the Commissioner of the Revenue to collect internal taxes. A few years later, on July 1, 1862, Congress established the Office of the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue under the Department of the Treasury and the nation’s first income tax.
In 1863, the Office of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue collected $39.1 million of taxes. In comparison, the federal tax agency collected more than $4.1 trillion in taxes before refunds during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021. The agency processed $1.1 trillion in federal tax refund. In 1953, the Office of the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue’s name changed to the Internal Revenue Service. The agency’s mission is to provide America’s taxpayers top- quality service by helping them understand and meet their tax responsibilities and enforce the law with integrity and fairness to all.
The IRS’ core operations include the collection of individual and corporate taxes, processing tax returns including exempt-organizations’ tax returns. L’IRS’ core operations also include taxpayer assistance, enforcement of the tax laws through examination and collection, as well as criminal investigation of tax crimes. During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021 the IRS thus processed 269 million federal tax returns and forms.