National Taxpayer Advocate Erin M. Collins today released her Fiscal Year 2026 Objectives Report to Congress, highlighting a largely successful 2025 filing season while raising concerns about persistent refund delays for victims of identity theft, delays in processing Employee Retention Credit claims, and critical challenges facing taxpayers and the IRS as the agency prepares for the 2026 filing season. The report also outlines the National Taxpayer Advocate’s priority recommendations as the IRS continues to modernize its technology systems in the coming years.  

You file, within one year after the CDP notice date, Form 12153, Request for a Collection Due Process or Equivalent Hearing, but cannot go to tax court if you disagree with the Appeals determination.

Bankruptcy proceedings begin when you file a petition in bankruptcy court, and that filing creates the bankruptcy estate which consists of all your assets as of filing date. When you file a bankruptcy petition your assets in the bankruptcy estate, under the jurisdiction of the bankruptcy court, aren't subject to levy.

The 2022 filing season is underway and it is anticipated to be a challenging one for taxpayers, preparers, and the IRS for paper filed returns and correspondence. The IRS has issued guidance providing tips on how taxpayers can avoid problems, and one important tip that I cannot stress enough is that taxpayers should make every effort to electronically file (e-file) their returns, especially during this challenging filing season, because the IRS will first process the backlog of 2020 paper returns before it begins processing 2021 paper returns.

An Initial Contact Letter is your notification that your tax return has been selected for an audit (also called an examination). Included in the letter is a listing of the specific items reported on your tax return or that you failed to include on your return that are being questioned by the IRS, with a request that you provide documentation to support the identified items.

The IRS Independent Office of Appeals (Appeals) serves as the administrative forum for any taxpayer contesting an IRS compliance action. If the IRS’s position is adverse to the taxpayer, Appeals is authorized to partially or fully concede the issue(s) in the taxpayer’s case based on the hazards of litigation.

International information return penalties are often thought of as primarily affecting rich people or multinational corporations with significant overseas assets. This is not true. Taxpayers – many of whom are lower- and middle-income individuals, small and midsize business owners, and immigrants – face significant and potentially life-changing penalties, even when they voluntarily comply, for failing to meet obscure and complex foreign information reporting requirements.

You received correspondence from the IRS requesting payment for the tax balance owing and the debt remains unpaid.

If you were counting on your tax refund to pay rent, cover groceries, or catch up on bills, it can be devastating to learn that your refund has been reduced, or taken entirely to pay an old debt. This happens when the IRS or the Bureau of Fiscal Service (BFS) offsets your refund to pay an existing debt. This is called a refund offset.

Throughout my tenure as the National Taxpayer Advocate, I have appreciated the ongoing exchange of ideas and information with my IRS colleagues as we work collaboratively to improve the taxpayer experience, including accelerating the payment of tax refunds to taxpayers entitled to receive them. But we don’t always agree on the same approach or priorities.

Letter 3219, Notice of Deficiency (also referred to as 90-Day Letter), is a taxpayer’s legal notice that the IRS is proposing a deficiency.

You have a balance on your tax account which you have not paid and the IRS has filed a public document, the Notice of Federal Tax Lien (NFTL), with the local and/or state authorities to alert creditors that the government has a right to your interests in any current and future property and assets.