NEW IMRS ISSUES
Campus
IMRS 08-0000785 – Large Dollar Unit
Issue: Practitioners are frustrated with the time it takes to get through to the Large Dollar (LD) unit. When calling the toll-free number they have to ask for the correct extension and are then transferred. Practitioner recommends that the IRS establish a direct phone number to the LD unit.
E-Services
IMRS 08-0000756 – Transcript Delivery System (TDS)
Issue: Practitioner would like to know if unenrolled preparers can gain access to TDS by submitting a Form 2848 through Disclosure Authorization using designation H.
Forms, Publications, Products
IMRS 08-0000768 – Form 4136, Credit for Federal Tax Paid on Fuels
Issue: Practitioners would like to know when Form 4136 will be available for e-filing.
Policy & Procedure
IMRS 08-0000787 – Verification of Employer Identification Numbers (EINs)
Issue: Practitioner recommends that the IRS verify EINs included on Forms W-2 filed with 1040 series forms upon initial filing to determine if employer exists and is in compliance.
IMRS 08-0000780 – Tax Gap
Issue: CPA suggests the IRS mandate grain elevator owners, ethanol plants and other grain merchandisers issue a Form 1099 to farmers for the total payments made on the purchase of grain.
IMRS 08-0000757 – e-Post Cards (Form 990-N)
Issue: 4-H clubs are unable to file the e-post card as their EINs have been cancelled.
IMRS 08-0000753 - Employer Identification Number (EIN)
Issue: Stakeholder advises that the interview form for SS-4 for EINs is very hard to work through and suggests the IRS allow the individual requesting an online EIN to use either the form for submission or the new interview system.
RECENTLY CLOSED ISSUES
Campus
IMRS 08-0000779 – Automated Collection System (ACS)
Issue: Practitioners advise that when calling ACS and requesting to speak to a manager, they are informed a manager will call back within 48 hours. Practitioners state they are not receiving the promised callback.
Response: A callback should be received within 48 hours. Additional emphasis and oversight will be placed on this issue with call site management. Any specifics practitioners can provide are welcome and will assist us in determining the scope and/or cause of the problem.
IMRS 08-0000778 – Automated Collection System (ACS)
Issue: When calling ACS, practitioners would like the ability to discuss more than one case. Currently, when they finish discussing the first case, ACS asks that they hang up and call back. This puts them back in the queue waiting for another assistor.
Response: Employees are discouraged from discussing multiple cases during a phone call as part of our ongoing efforts to provide timely and equitable service to other practitioners and to reduce overall wait times.
IMRS 08-0000777 – Automated Collection System (ACS)
Issue: Practitioners complain that if they are disconnected while talking to ACS, the customer service representative is not allowed to call them back.
Response: We hope this is not a frequent occurrence. There is no policy that prohibits a customer service representative from calling when they have been disconnected. We will ask our ACS sites to let us know if disconnected calls are a problem.
IMRS 08-0000776 – Practitioner Priority Service (PPS)
Issue: Practitioners would like the ability to use PPS to discuss Automated Collection System (ACS) issues.
Response: PPS is available for ACS cases. If there are problems/issues with this service, please provide specifics to be researched and resolved. Practitioners are reminded to enter the TIN into the PPS phone menu when prompted so calls can be routed to the proper ACS queue.
IMRS 07-0000663 – Practitioner Priority Service (PPS)
Issue: Practitioners would like the option of being able to talk to the same employee at PPS when more than one call is needed to resolve an issue.
Response: If you believe it is necessary to speak with the same employee about an ongoing issue, simply ask. We will ask you for some identifying information, contact the employee, and have him/her return the call. Please keep in mind that any employee who takes your call can probably offer you complete service in less time than it will take for you to receive a call back.
E-Services
IMRS 07-0000656 – e-file Provider List
Issue: Department of Revenue advises that the list of e-file providers located on IRS.gov is not current.
Response: The Electronic Return Originator (ERO) locator is updated once a week based on information from the e-file application. Sometimes the information we receive from the participant is incorrect or needs to be updated. If we become aware that the information is incorrect, we request the application be updated within 30 days per Publication 3112, IRS e-file Application and Participation. If it is not corrected/updated within 30 days, we have the authority to temporarily remove the ERO from the program.
Forms, Publication, Products
IMRS 08-0000786 – Form 940, Employer’s Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return
Issue: Practitioners complain that paper Forms 940 are not being received on time or at all.
Response: Form 940 was mailed a bit later than usual this year but still in time to get them completed before the due date. Last minute legislative changes resulted in a small modification to the form. The form is available on-line at IRS.gov. However, it is one of many forms that can be submitted more quickly using e-file than post office delivery. Check out “e-file for Business and Self-Employed Taxpayers” on IRS.gov for more electronic filing and payment options.
IMRS 08-0000731 – Form 8453, U.S. Individual Income Tax Transmittal for an IRS e-file Return
Issue: Practitioners would like to use Form 8453 to submit a copy of the 83(b) election that is required to be attached to a return.
Response: Individual e-file has enabled an “Election Explanation Record” or ELC (short for election) that is used when the taxpayer makes an election for certain tax treatment, status, exception or exemption based on an instruction for the tax form or in a related tax publication when there is no official form designed for that purpose. Practitioners must use the ELC when making a Section 83(b) election or any other election when there is no official form. The ELC is included in the majority of tax preparation software packages. An original signature on the ELC is not required because the signature is covered by the perjury statement and signature on the tax return. Practitioners should not attach a copy of the Section 83(b) election to the Form 8453. Form 8453 should only be used to send any required paper forms or supporting documentation listed next to the checkboxes. Our electronic return summary record can only identify those required forms and supporting documents listed on Form 8453. No other forms should be submitted with the Form 8453.
IMRS 08-0000720 – Downloading Archived Programs
Issue: Practitioner would like the ability to download Tax Talk Today programs to his iPOD and suggests adding an easier download link to the web.
Response: We tested both iTunes and RSS downloading options successfully. Practitioner subsequently subscribed to iTunes and has since been able to download archived programs to his iPOD.
IMRS 08-0000689 – Publication 783, Instructions on how to apply for a Certification of Charge of Property From Federal Tax Lien
Issue: Stakeholder advises that Publication 783 requests submissions for lien discharge in duplicate but Technical Services only needs one copy.
Response: Collection will issue interim guidance for Publication 783 that states only one set of supporting documentation must be submitted with the application. The IRM will be updated to reflect this change.
Policy & Procedure
IMRS 08-0000775 – Fax Numbers
Issue: Practitioners would like to have a fax number added to Collection notices such as the CP503, 2nd Notice – Balance Due and CP 504, Final Notice – Balance Due.
Response: Unfortunately, it is not practical to add a fax number to Collection notices. Taxpayers and/or practitioners can respond to the notice by either calling Accounts Management or writing to Compliance Service Collection Operations (CSCO). Since phone calls are electronically routed to any Accounts Management call-site across the Enterprise System, it is not possible to associate a fax number with the specific site answering the call. In addition, CSCO only works notices meeting certain criteria. When appropriate, employees can and will provide specific fax numbers to taxpayers/practitioners for the responding location.
IMRS 08-0000772 – e-Postcards
Issue: Practitioner has concerns with privacy issues as they relate to e-Postcards and would like to know how much information is disclosed on the e-Postcards.
Response: News Release IR-2007-129, dated July 12, 2007 includes all details and an FAQ section for e-Postcards.
IMRS 08-0000771 – Health Insurance Deductions
Issue: Practitioners would like more guidance regarding health insurance deductions for 2 Percent Shareholder-Employees.
Response: On December 13, 2007, the IRS published Notice 2008-1, 2008-2 IRB 1, Special Rules for Health Insurance Costs of 2 Percent Shareholder-Employee. The notice provides rules under which a 2 percent shareholder-employee in an S Corporation is entitled to the deduction under Section 162(l) of the Internal Revenue Code for accident and health insurance premiums paid or reimbursed by the S Corporation and included in the 2 percent shareholder-employee’s gross income.
IMRS 08-0000770 – Preparer Penalties/Sanctions
Issue: Practitioners would like a breakdown by preparer category (CPA, Attorney, Enrolled Agent, or Other) of preparer penalties and/or sanctions.
Response: The Office of Professional Responsibility does not maintain statistics of this type.
IMRS 08-0000722 – Appeals Conferences
Issue: Practitioners are concerned with Appeals policy on the location of the appeals conference. The location is not flexible and does not allow for the location of the POA when they are located across the state or in another state.
Response: We follow the guidelines as stated in Appeals Internal Revenue Manual 8.6.1.3.1, Reasonable, Convenient Conference Opportunities which states:
(1) Hold conferences on dates and in locations reasonably convenient to taxpayers and representatives. Generally use Appeals offices, sub-offices, or other IRS-staffed posts of duty that are not temporary or part-time locations. However, managers may approve holding conferences at other sites when feasible and necessary to provide a convenient conference opportunity.
Ordinarily, the amount in dispute is not an important factor in approving another conference site. If you have a question or issue as to the location of a conference, please contact the Appeals Team Manager for the group assigned the case for consideration of your request.
IMRS 07-0000639 – Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
Issue: Taxpayer would like to know what effect claiming or not claiming a qualifying child as an exemption has on the calculation of the EITC when Form 8379, Insured Spouse Allocation is involved.
Response: Claiming or not claiming a qualifying child as an exemption does not have any effect on the calculation of EITC when Form 8379 is involved. EITC is based on income and where the child resides. The taxpayer does not need to claim the child as a dependent to be eligible for EITC on Form 8379. Form 8379 states: “Do not include any earned income credit here; the IRS will allocate it based on each spouse’s income.”
IMRS 07-0000636 – Penalties for incorrect Social Security Numbers on Forms W-2G (Certain Gambling Winnings) for Lottery Payouts
Issue: Governmental Liaison advises there are repeated problems with lottery commissions getting penalties for incorrect Social Security numbers of W-2G lottery payouts to winners. They are prohibited from using the e-Services TIN Matching services for verifying Social Security numbers but would like to know if there is another way to do so.
Response: We have determined that a legislative change is required to allow the lottery commissions to use TIN Matching. It was also noted that the development of additional training for the lottery commissions may be helpful. Additional outreach will be developed.
IN PROCESS ISSUES
Policy & Procedure
IMRS 08-0000721 – Updating Practitioner Directories with Managers’ Names
Issue: Practitioner states it is very difficult to speak directly with Collection and Examination personnel because they are often working out in the field. The stakeholder would like the names and phone numbers of the Collection and Examination managers added to practitioner directories as well as included on all notices/letters.
Status: A response provided by Collection and Examination has been shared with the practitioner. The issue will be closed when receipt is confirmed.
*This is a sample, not a complete list of “In Process” issues currently being worked.
NOTE: Current and previous reports can be accessed from the Tax Professionals page on IRS.gov. (The Monthly Overviews are posted for the periods May 2006 through the current month. You can also access the 2006 Closed Issues Sorted by Subject report on the same page.) We invite you to raise your issues/concerns with your local liaison representative. A listing of Stakeholder Liaison (SL) Local Contacts can be found at IRS.gov, keywords “Stakeholder Liaison (SL) Local Contacts,” or follow the link on the IMRS page. This list is also available for downloading.
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