Taxpayer Bill of Rights
Afintrix Advisory Analytics relies on the Taxpayer Bill of Rights as the governing framework for how IRS enforcement, examinations, appeals, and collection activity must treat taxpayers, and how rights considerations are documented inside case files and advisory workpapers.
This page consolidates the ten taxpayer rights and the “What This Means for You” provisions drawn from IRS and Taxpayer Advocate Service guidance so that any interaction design, escalation, or dispute strategy remains aligned with statutory protections and administrative procedures.
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The Right to Be Informed
Taxpayers have the right to know what they need to do to comply with tax laws, to receive clear explanations of the law and IRS procedures in all tax forms, instructions, publications, notices, and correspondence, and to be informed of IRS decisions about their tax accounts with clear explanations of outcomes.
What This Means for You
If you receive a notice fully or partially disallowing a refund claim (including a refund claimed on an income tax return), the notice must explain the specific reasons for the disallowance (IRC section 6402(l)).
If you owe a penalty, each written notice of that penalty must state the name of the penalty, the authority under the Internal Revenue Code, and how the penalty is calculated (IRC section 6751(a)).
During an in-person audit interview, the IRS employee must explain the audit process and your rights under that process; during an in-person interview on collection, the IRS employee must explain the collection process and your rights under that process (IRC section 7521(b)(1)); Publication 1, Your Rights as a Taxpayer, generally satisfies this requirement.
On specified notices, the IRS must show the amount of tax, interest, and certain penalties you owe and explain why you owe these amounts (IRC section 7522).
The IRS must state in certain publications and instructions that when you file a joint income tax return, both spouses are responsible for all tax due and any additional amounts for that year, unless innocent spouse relief applies (RRA 98 section 3501(a)), and must state in Publication 1 and all collection-related notices that, in defined circumstances, you can be relieved of all or part of the joint tax (innocent spouse relief) (RRA 98 section 3501(b)).
Publication 1 must explain how the IRS selects returns for audit (RRA 98 section 3503).
If the IRS proposes to assess additional tax, it issues a letter with the examination report, proposed changes, and an opportunity for review by Appeals if you respond within about 30 days; that letter must explain the process from examination through collection and explain that the Taxpayer Advocate Service can assist you (RRA 98 section 3504); Publication 3498, The Examination Process, or Publication 3498-A, The Examination Process (Audits by Mail), is generally enclosed.
If you enter an installment agreement, the IRS must send an annual statement showing how much you owed at the beginning of the year, how much you paid, and how much you still owe at year-end (RRA 98 section 3506; Treas. Reg. section 301.6159-1(h)).
You have the right to access certain IRS records, including staff instructions and manuals, except where disclosure is restricted by the Internal Revenue Code, the Freedom of Information Act, or the Privacy Act, and certain records must be available electronically.
If the IRS proposes to adjust the amount of tax you owe, it typically sends a statutory notice of deficiency that informs you of the proposed change and gives you the right to challenge the adjustment in the U.S. Tax Court without first paying, by filing a petition within 90 days of the notice date (150 days if the address on the notice is outside the United States or you are out of the country when the notice is mailed) (IRC sections 6212, 6213); the statutory notice of deficiency functions as your “ticket” to Tax Court.
IRS written guidance and correspondence should be accessible, consistent, written in plain language, and easy to understand.
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, and to have a way to file complaints about inadequate service.
What This Means for You
The IRS must state in all statutory notices of deficiency that you have the right to assistance from the Taxpayer Advocate Service and how to contact TAS (IRC section 6212(a)).
When collecting tax, the IRS should treat you courteously and generally only contact you between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.; it should not contact you at your workplace if it knows or has reason to know your employer prohibits such contact (IRC section 6304).
If your income is at or below 250 percent of the federal poverty level, the IRS can provide information about eligibility for Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) assistance (IRC section 7526); Publication 4134, Low Income Taxpayer Clinic List, identifies LITCs and contact details.
Certain IRS notices must contain the name, phone number, and identifying number of the IRS employee, and all notices must contain a telephone number for contact; during calls or in-person interviews, employees must provide their name and ID number (RRA 98 section 3705(a)).
The IRS must publish its local address and phone number in local phone directories (RRA 98 section 3709).
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 and to have the IRS apply all tax payments properly.
What This Means for You
When the IRS proposes to adjust your tax, it generally issues a statutory notice of deficiency, giving you the right to petition the U.S. Tax Court within 90 days (150 days if the address is outside the United States or you are out of the country at mailing) without first paying the proposed adjustment (IRC sections 6212, 6213).
If your income meets LITC thresholds, the IRS can inform you about potential assistance from an LITC and direct you to Publication 4134 or an LITC locator (IRC section 7526).
If you believe you overpaid, you can file a claim for refund within statutory limits (IRC sections 6402, 6511); Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax, contains guidance under headings such as “What if I Made a Mistake.”
You can request abatement of amounts that exceed the correct legal amount, that were assessed after the time limit for assessment, or that were assessed erroneously or illegally (IRC section 6404(a)); IRC section 6502 governs limits on collection after assessment.
You can request abatement of interest attributable to unreasonable IRS errors or delays (for example, delay in issuing a statutory notice of deficiency because an employee was away at training) (IRC section 6404(e)).
If there is legitimate doubt about whether you owe part or all of the assessed tax, you can submit an Offer in Compromise – Doubt as to Liability on Form 656-L (IRC section 7122).
You receive an annual notice from the IRS stating the amount of tax due, which allows you to verify that all payments were received and correctly applied (IRC section 7524); if you have an installment agreement, you receive an annual statement with beginning balance, payments, and ending balance (RRA 98 section 3506; Treas. Reg. section 301.6159-1(h)).
The Right to Challenge the IRS’s 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 the IRS to consider timely objections and documentation promptly and fairly, and to receive a response if the IRS does not agree.
What This Means for You
If you present documentation or objections during an examination and the IRS still disagrees, it issues a statutory notice of deficiency explaining why it is increasing your tax, giving you the right to petition the U.S. Tax Court before paying (IRC section 6212).
Eligible taxpayers can receive LITC assistance, with eligibility and contact information set out in Publication 4134 and IRC section 7526.
If the IRS adjusts your return for a math or clerical error, you have 60 days to tell the IRS you disagree; if IRS stands by the adjustment, it issues a statutory notice of deficiency, which you can challenge in Tax Court within 90 or 150 days without prepayment (IRC section 6213(b)).
After filing of a Notice of Federal Tax Lien, you generally receive an opportunity for a hearing with an independent IRS Appeals/Settlement Officer under IRC section 6320; at that hearing you can propose collection alternatives and in some cases challenge whether you owe the tax, and you can petition the Tax Court if you disagree with Appeals’ determination.
Before a first levy to collect a tax debt (for example, against a bank account), you generally receive an opportunity for a Collection Due Process hearing under IRC section 6330 with similar rights to propose alternatives, contest liability in certain situations, and seek Tax Court review.
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 to a written response regarding the Office of Appeals’ decision, and they generally have the right to take their cases to court.
What This Means for You
The Commissioner must maintain an independent IRS Office of Appeals, separate from the IRS office that initially handled your case; in general, Appeals cannot discuss your case with the originating IRS office unless you or your representative are given the opportunity to participate (RRA 98 section 1001(a)(4); Rev. Proc. 2012-18).
Appeals officers must be regularly available in each state; the National Taxpayer Advocate has recommended that Appeals have at least one Appeals Officer and Settlement Officer permanently available in every state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
If you disagree with proposed adjustments from an examination, you have the right to an administrative appeal under the Statement of Procedural Rules, 26 C.F.R. section 601.103(b), and in certain situations you may request a conference with Appeals under 26 C.F.R. section 601.103(c)(1).
You may request independent Appeals review before the IRS terminates your installment agreement (IRC section 6159(e)).
When the IRS proposes to adjust your tax, it generally sends a statutory notice of deficiency, which is your ticket to Tax Court; to challenge without prepayment, you must file a petition within 90 days (150 days if the address on the notice is outside the United States or you are out of the country when mailed) (IRC sections 6212, 6213).
In certain cases, Appeals has exclusive authority to settle your case; generally, for four months after you petition the Tax Court, Appeals is the only IRS office that can settle, provided Appeals did not issue the notice (26 C.F.R. section 601.106).
You are generally entitled to a Collection Due Process (CDP) hearing for the first proposed levy action for a particular liability; the Appeals/Settlement Officer must have had no prior involvement with the tax at issue, and you may petition the Tax Court if you disagree with the CDP determination (IRC section 6330).
If the IRS rejects an offer in compromise or a payment plan (installment agreement), you may seek an independent review by Appeals (IRC sections 6159(f), 7122(e)).
Unresolved issues may be transferred to Appeals; for unresolved matters after Appeals consideration, you may request non-binding mediation or binding arbitration (IRC section 7123); after full payment and denial (or inaction) on a refund claim, you can file a refund suit in U.S. District Court or the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (IRC section 7422).
In limited “pre-dispute” circumstances, courts can determine issues such as exempt-organization status or retirement-plan qualification under IRC sections 7428 and 7476–7479; in jeopardy assessment or levy situations, you may seek court review of whether the action and the amount were reasonable (IRC section 7429).
The Right to Finality
Taxpayers have the right to know the maximum amount of time they have to challenge the IRS’s position and the maximum amount of time the IRS has to audit a particular tax year or collect a tax debt, and the right to know when the IRS has finished an audit.
What This Means for You
To timely challenge a statutory notice of deficiency in Tax Court, you must file a petition within 90 days of the notice date (150 days if the address is outside the United States or you are out of the country when mailed); if you do not, the proposed amount will be assessed and billed (IRC section 6213).
A statutory notice of deficiency must state the deadline for filing a petition with the Tax Court (IRC section 6213(a)).
Generally, the IRS has three years from the date your return was filed to assess tax, with limited exceptions such as failure to file or fraudulent returns (IRC section 6501).
Generally, the IRS has ten years from the assessment date to collect unpaid taxes, subject to suspensions during periods such as bankruptcy, CDP proceedings, or pending offers in compromise (IRC section 6502).
To claim a refund of overpaid tax, you usually must file a refund claim within three years from the date you filed your original return or two years from the date you paid the tax, whichever is later (IRC section 6511); IRC section 6402 addresses administrative refund claims.
If neither you nor the IRS files a timely appeal, the decision of the U.S. Tax Court becomes final under IRC section 7481.
Generally, you will be subject to only one examination per taxable year, but the IRS may reopen a previously examined year when necessary, such as when there is evidence of fraud (IRC section 7605(b)).
The Right to Privacy
Taxpayers have the right to expect that any IRS inquiry, examination, or enforcement action will comply with the law, be no more intrusive than necessary, and respect all due process rights, including search-and-seizure protections and CDP hearing rights where applicable.
What This Means for You
In a CDP hearing on a Notice of Federal Tax Lien, an independent Appeals/Settlement Officer must consider whether lien filing balances efficient tax collection with your concern that collection be no more intrusive than necessary (IRC section 6320).
In a CDP hearing on a proposed levy, the Appeals/Settlement Officer must similarly balance efficient collection with intrusiveness concerns (IRC section 6330).
The IRS cannot levy personal property before sending a notice and demand for payment, while a payment-plan request is pending, or where no funds would be recovered from seizing and selling the property (IRC section 6331).
The IRS cannot seize certain personal items, such as necessary schoolbooks, clothing, undelivered mail, certain amounts of furniture and household goods, and tools of a trade (IRC section 6334(a)); there are limits on the amount of wages subject to levy so that standard-deduction and exemption-level amounts remain exempt (IRC section 6334(d)).
The IRS cannot seize your personal residence, or a principal residence used by your spouse, former spouse, or minor child, without court approval and a showing that no reasonable alternative collection method exists (IRC section 6334(e); Treas. Reg. section 301.6334-1(d)(1)); revenue officers must attempt personal contact and, when seizure would create hardship, help you reach TAS if relief is not granted (IRM 5.10.1.7.2).
Interim IRS guidance extends these protections to suits to foreclose a federal tax lien on a principal residence, requiring hardship consideration and exhaustion of reasonable administrative remedies before pursuing foreclosure (IRS Interim Guidance Memo SBSE-05-0414-0032).
After seizure, the IRS must promptly notify the owner that the property will be sold, set a minimum bid price, and return property if the tax plus expenses are paid before the sale; within 180 days after the sale, interested persons may redeem the property by paying the purchase price plus interest; after sale, you receive a breakdown of how sale proceeds were applied to your tax debt (IRC sections 6335, 6337, 6340).
Under RRA 98 section 3421, IRS employees must, where appropriate, obtain supervisor approval before filing a Notice of Federal Tax Lien, and disciplinary measures apply when such approval is not obtained.
The IRS should not seek intrusive or lifestyle-based information during an audit absent a reasonable indication of unreported income (IRC section 7602(e)).
If you submit a Doubt as to Liability Offer in Compromise, financial documentation is not required (IRC section 7122(d)(3)(B)); see Form 656-L for details.
The Right to Confidentiality
Taxpayers have the right to expect that information provided to the IRS will not be disclosed unless authorized by the taxpayer or by law, and to expect the IRS to investigate and address improper use or disclosure of return information by employees, return preparers, or others.
What This Means for You
Generally, the IRS may not disclose your tax information to third parties without your permission, except as authorized by law (IRC section 6103).
Return preparers who disclose or use tax information for non-tax-preparation purposes may be subject to civil penalties, and if done knowingly or recklessly, criminal fines and imprisonment (IRC sections 6713, 7216).
Communications between you and an attorney about legal advice are generally privileged; a comparable privilege applies to tax advice from persons authorized to practice before the IRS (CPAs, enrolled agents, enrolled actuaries), but only to the extent such communications would be privileged if made to an attorney; this privilege does not generally cover return-preparation discussions and is limited to noncriminal IRS matters and noncriminal federal tax proceedings where the United States is a party (IRC section 7525).
Subject to exceptions, the IRS must give you advance reasonable notice before contacting third parties (such as employers, banks, or neighbors) to gather information, and must periodically provide, on request, a list of those third-party contacts (IRC section 7602(c)).
The National Taxpayer Advocate and Local Taxpayer Advocates may decide whether to share with the IRS information you provide to TAS, including the fact that you contacted TAS, under IRC section 7803(c)(4)(A)(iv).
The Right to Retain Representation
Taxpayers have the right to retain an authorized representative of their choice to represent them in dealings with the IRS and to be told that, if they cannot afford a representative, they may be eligible for assistance from an LITC.
What This Means for You
If you prevail in court, under specified conditions you may be entitled to recover certain reasonable administrative and litigation costs related to your dispute with the IRS (IRC section 7430).
In most situations, the IRS must suspend an interview if you request to consult with a representative, such as an attorney, CPA, or enrolled agent (IRC section 7521(b)(2)).
You may choose an attorney, CPA, or enrolled agent to represent you in an IRS interview; IRS cannot require your presence if you have an authorized representative, unless you are formally summoned (IRC section 7521(c)).
If your income is at or below 250 percent of the federal poverty level, you may seek representation from an LITC for free or a nominal fee under IRC section 7526; Publication 4134 lists LITCs and their contact information.
The Right to a Fair and Just Tax System
Taxpayers have the right to expect that the tax system will consider facts and circumstances that affect their liabilities, ability to pay, or ability to provide information timely, and to receive assistance from TAS if they are experiencing financial difficulty or if the IRS has not resolved their issues properly and timely through normal channels.
What This Means for You
If you cannot pay your tax debt in full and meet certain conditions, you can enter into a payment plan (installment agreement) to pay in set amounts, typically monthly (IRC section 6159); TAS provides tools on installment agreements.
You can request elimination of amounts that exceed the correct legal liability, that were assessed after the statute of limitations, or that were assessed erroneously or illegally (IRC section 6404(a)); IRC section 6502, under the Right to Finality, governs limits on collection after assessment.
You may request abatement of interest caused by unreasonable IRS errors or delays (IRC section 6404(e)).
The time limit for seeking a refund may be suspended while you are unable to manage your financial affairs due to a mental or physical health problem (financial disability), under IRC section 6511(h).
If you acted with reasonable care or had a reasonable basis for a tax position, you may qualify for relief from certain penalties; reliance on advice from a tax professional can, in appropriate cases, constitute reasonable cause (IRC sections 6651, 6656, 6694, 6662, 6676); return preparers who take unreasonable or reckless positions that cause underreporting may be penalized under IRC section 6694.
You can submit an offer in compromise when you believe you do not owe all or part of the liability, are unable to pay in full within the lawful collection period, or believe equity, hardship, or public policy considerations warrant compromise (IRC section 7122; see page 289 of the RRA 98 Conference Report).
If you experience significant hardship due to IRS action or inaction (for example, serious financial difficulties or unresolved issues), you may be eligible for TAS assistance (IRC section 7803(c)); you also have the right to request that TAS issue a Taxpayer Assistance Order (TAO) ordering the IRS to take, cease, or modify actions, or to escalate or expedite an action (IRC section 7811).
For offers in compromise based on inability to pay, the IRS considers your income, assets, and expenses and generally applies standard allowance guidelines unless doing so would prevent you from meeting basic living expenses, in which case actual expenses must be considered; for offers based solely on doubt as to liability, financial information is not required (IRC section 7122(d)(2)).
If you are a low-income taxpayer submitting an offer in compromise, the IRS cannot reject your offer solely because the offer amount is low or does not cover IRS processing costs (IRC section 7122(d)(3)(A)), and cannot reject a Doubt as to Liability offer solely because it cannot locate your return to verify the liability (IRC section 7122(d)(3)(B)).
The IRS cannot levy all of your wages; a portion is exempt to allow basic living expenses (IRC section 6334); the IRS must release all or part of a levy when the liability is satisfied or unenforceable by time, when an installment agreement is in place (unless otherwise stated), when release would facilitate collection, when the levy creates economic hardship, or when the property’s fair market value exceeds the liability and partial release would not impair collection (IRC section 6343(a)(1)).
Eligible taxpayers may seek LITC assistance to help ensure the IRS considers their facts and circumstances; eligibility and clinic details are in Publication 4134 (IRC section 7526).
When the IRS proposes to adjust your tax, you typically receive a statutory notice of deficiency, which allows you to challenge the proposed adjustment in Tax Court without prepayment by filing a petition within 90 or 150 days, as described earlier; this notice again functions as your ticket to Tax Court (IRC sections 6212, 6213(b)).
Official References
- Internal Revenue Service
- Taxpayer Bill of Rights:
https://www.irs.gov/taxpayer-bill-of-rights - Publication 1, Your Rights as a Taxpayer:
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1.pdf - Publication 3498 / 3498-A, The Examination Process:
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p3498a.pdf - Publication 4134, Low Income Taxpayer Clinic List:
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p4134.pdf - Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax:
https://www.irs.gov/publications/p17 - United States Tax Court (taxpayer information):
https://www.ustaxcourt.gov - Taxpayer Advocate Service
- Taxpayer Rights overview:
https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/get-help/taxpayer-rights/ - Taxpayer Advocate Service home:
https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov
