Chilling Facts About IRS Revenue Officers
Revenue officers are highly skilled employees of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) who are responsible for collecting back taxes and resolving tax debt cases. They receive more intense training than regular IRS employees and they have the ability to enforce the tax code and collect taxes from delinquent accounts as quickly as possible. Revenue officers have a deep and comprehensive knowledge of the tax code. This provides them an advantage over taxpayers, as they use the tax laws to enforce actions to their fullest.
Absolute Collection Power
The IRS grants revenue officers substantial power to collect tax debts. They can seize your bank account or your wages and place liens on property and/or assets. revenue officers send IRS notices, call taxpayers to meetings with IRS officers, and use other collection actions against a taxpayer. They may summons bank accounts and documents, and require taxpayers to provide their financial information.
What You Can Do
A revenue officer will usually confirm whether or not a taxpayer is fully compliant with the tax laws. This includes filing of all tax returns and correctly paying any tax liabilities. As such, you’ll want to ensure that all past tax returns are filed, paycheck stubs and bank statements organized, and receipts for the deductions claimed are accessible. The revenue officer will ask for tax and financial documents, including bank account statements and pay stubs.
Review past filings to ensure the correct amount of taxes were paid. An officer may perform an audit if they find discrepancies in the information they receive from third-party sources (employers, banks, etc.) and those reported on a return.
Using Help
A revenue officer is assigned to a tax debt case for collection of unpaid taxes. If a taxpayer receives a notice from the IRS regarding collection and they cannot pay the tax debt, they can hire an enrolled agent who specializes tax debt resolution to represent them. Having professional representation from an experienced tax professional can be a benefit when seeking the best resolution possible.
