Veronica Tubman: Well, I see its the top of the hour. For those of you just joining, welcome to
today's webinar, Updates from the National Taxpayer Advocate, Erin Collins. We're glad you're
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to disable your pop-up blocker right now so you can answer the question as we move along. Again,
welcome. We're glad you joined us for today's webinar. Before we move along with our session, let
me make sure you're in the right place. Today's webinar is Updates from the National Taxpayer
Advocate Erin Collins. The webinar is scheduled for approximately 100 minutes, just to make sure
it will be 100 minutes. Let me introduce today's speaker. Erin Collins is the voice of the
taxpayer within the IRS and before Congress. She joined the Taxpayer Advocate Service and we have
an acronym for that TAS in March 2020. The advocate for taxpayers, protect their rights and work
towards improving the quality of taxpayer service and tax administration and has more than 35
years of service in tax law, spanning 15 years in the IRS Office of Chief Counsel and 20 years at
the accounting firm of KPMG LLP where she retired in 2019 as a Tax Managing Director in charge of
its tax controversy practice and that was for the Western region. At KPMG, Erin represented thousands of
individuals, partnership, small companies and corporate taxpayers on technical and procedural tax
matters. She represented clients federal examinations and IRS Appeals on domestic and international
tax issues. She also has represented several clients before the U.S. Tax Court. Erin was the
co-author of the Practicing Law Institute's IRS Practice & Procedure Deskbook and has spoken frequently on IRS
practice, procedure, controversy and litigation matters before many professional organizations.
Before joining TAS, she represented several clients pro bono to help them resolve tax issues with
the IRS. You know she was also a volunteer and board member of a nonprofit organization Step Up,
whose mission was to help girls in under resourced communities, to fulfill their potential by
empowering them to become confident, college bound, career focused and make sure that they stay
career focused and ready to join the next generation of professional women. I'm going to turn it
over to Erin to begin the presentation. Erin? Erin Collins: Hey, thanks Veronica. So greetings
from Washington DC. So today I'm planning on covering several items. And at the end, we'll go
ahead and take some of your questions. So let's start with a high level overview of my office
which is the Taxpayer Advocate Service. We're also going to cover our Annual Report to Congress,
which we just released last Wednesday, January 12. So if you haven't read it, rush out and get it
done. And then we're going to address some of the challenges taxpayers and practitioners have
faced with the '21 Filing Season and look towards the 2022 Filing Season. So why don't we go ahead
and start with an overview of TAS. So what is TAS or who is TAS. My position, which is the
National Taxpayer Advocate and the group that I lead, which is Taxpayer Advocate Service were
created by Congress over about 20 years ago to assist taxpayers. So Section 7803 of the code sets
forth our mission and our responsibility. So over the years we've been referred to as the voice of
taxpayer, the internal watchdog or the safety net for taxpayers. In essence, Congress created us
to help taxpayers struggling with IRS issues. And although we're IRS employees we are an independent
organization housed within the IRS to advocate for taxpayers. So as this slide indicates, we have
four key mission statements provided by the code. We assist taxpayers with their individual problems
with the IRS. We work with taxpayers in which issues what we call systemic issues impact multiple
taxpayers across the board. We also have the ability to make administrative recommendations to
mitigate problems directly with the IRS and we also have the honor of identifying potential
legislative changes and make those proposals as part of our annual report to Congress. Veronica
Tubman: Erin, how many employees are in TAS, and where are your offices located? Erin Collins: We
have about 1,700 employees, we have an office in every one of the 50 states. So we have about 78
offices plus our headquarters here in DC. So let's talk a little bit about what TAS does. I think
when most professionals, associates think about TAS, they think about our one on one assistance
that we provide for individual taxpayers or what we call our case advocacy. Other individuals are
familiar with or have read our Annual Report to Congress that we provide and that falls in our
bucket we refer to as systemic advocacy. But not a lot of people also realize that we also
administer and support 134 LITCs or Low Income Tax Clinics across the country and we also support the
Federal Taxpayer Advocacy Panel. So throughout the year, what we do or what TAS focuses on is
taxpayer service, taxpayer rights, and the impact of tax administration on taxpayers. In most
cases, we're involved behind the scenes, from the outside looking in, I don't know people per se
know what we do. But we work with our counterparts in the IRS, we try and identify problems, we
discuss challenges and throughout the year we make recommendations. My ultimate goal is to find
solutions, I just like to fix problems. So when I think of what TAS does is we identify and try
and fix the issue. So not only do we want to be the voice of taxpayers, but I also want us to be
the fixer. Veronica Tubman: Sounds good, Erin. Can you give us an example of something you've
identified? Erin Collins: Sure. One of the examples, one example would be and I think a lot of
folks may be aware of this. Last year around late March, taxpayers and practitioners started
reaching out to our office regarding notices that were stemming from their tax return. A lot of
people refer to it as a math error notice. So at that point, late spring, there were about 5
million notices that were sent out to taxpayers. And it's basically covered the reconciliation of
the first two stimulus payments with the recovery rebate credit. The problem was of these 5
million notices, it did not include the standard language, including the taxpayer rights. The
notices failed to inform taxpayers of their right to request the IRS, in essence, set aside the
adjustments and provide the taxpayer the ability to establish what they were entitled to. So the
amount of the stimulus on their return. So after we raised the issue internally, the IRS
corrected the notices going forward. So that was a good start and they included the right portion.
But then they also agreed to re-issue those five million notices, providing the taxpayer that
60-day window and explaining to them that they have the ability to contest the IRS adjustments. So
that missing language was key, because most taxpayers don't understand that their rights, that
they could contact the IRS and contest the adjustments before the IRS assess or collect it. All
right, I'm looking at the slide deck, I think Veronica, that brings us to the first polling
question. So take it away. Veronica Tubman: Thanks a lot, Erin. Yes, it's time for our first
polling question. So make sure you have your thinking caps on, which of these describes a Taxpayer
Advocate Service is A, is an independent organization within the IRS or B, identifies potential
administrators as legislative changes to mitigate problems or is it C, administer support and
partners with Low Income Tax Clinics and we call those LITC and the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel or TAP
or is it D, provides free service to eligible taxpayers, including individuals and nonprofit
organizations or is it E, all of the above? So let's take a moment and click the radio button that
best describes the question or the answer to the question. I'll give you a few more seconds to
make your selection. Okay, we're going to stop the polling now. And let's share the correct
answer on the next slide. So let's and the correct response is E, all of the above. So let's see
how you did with this question. Let's take a look and see how things went. 96%, I see that it was
96% of you responded correctly. That is an exceptional response rate. So Erin, it looks like
you're going to discuss the Taxpayer Bill of Rights next. Erin Collins: Thanks, yes codifying the
Taxpayer Bill of Rights was something my predecessor Nina Olson and TAS worked on for some time.
And it's reflected on the screen that the 10 what we refer to as a TBOR, the Bill of Rights. And
we continue to work with the IRS to ensure that not only taxpayers understand these rights, but
just as important IRS employees understand them, and more importantly, what IRS employees need to
do to protect those rights when working with the taxpayer. And when you think about it, that
applies to all IRS employees, not only the employees that directly interact with taxpayers, such
as what people typically think of as our customer service representative, revenue agents, or
revenue officers. But it includes employees for example, writing guidance, or even putting content
on our website. These 10 fundamental rights, it is important to both IRS and its employees to what
we do each and every day. Veronica Tubman: Erin, so what exactly does case advocacy mean, can you
help us out with that? Erin Collins: I will try. I suspect a percentage of folks who joined us
today have probably worked with one of our case advocates in one of the local office. And as our
name implies, we advocate, we champion issues on behalf of taxpayers. So we work with taxpayers
one on one and we work with our IRS colleagues in an effort to fix an issue. As I said earlier, we
have 78 offices across the United States. We also have an office in District of Colombia and we
also have one in Puerto Rico. And when you think about our local offices, each office consists of
we have case advocates, we have our technical resources. And of course, we have our local taxpayer
advocate that runs the office. So their mission is to work directly with taxpayers. And we
represent individual, small businesses, employers, corporations, partnership with state, in
essence, we represent all taxpayers. Veronica Tubman: Erin, do you only work with taxpayers or
can you assist their representatives to fix the problem? Erin Collins: Yes, it's interesting
since I joined two years ago, I've heard that question a lot from the outside. I think there's
some misconception out there that we only represent taxpayers. The key is does the taxpayer meet
our criteria, and which we're going to discuss on the next slide. But if the taxpayer meets our
criteria, we can assist the representative working with that particular taxpayer. And what we
found is sometimes working with representatives can speed up the process. So when they provide
our case advocates with the facts and the law, in essence, it saves our case advocates the time
from developing the issue from the beginning. So for all the representatives out there listening
in on the call, my recommendation work with the local taxpayer advocate, help them by providing as
much of a complete picture as you can. That's going to help us and that's going to help us help
you, help your clients more quickly. And so it eliminates some of the back and forth that occurs
sometimes when taxpayers were working one-on-one with an individual taxpayer. Veronica Tubman:
Okay, So Erin, I heard you say before, that TAS advocates it is not implement. Can you explain to
me and to our audience what that is? Erin Collins: Sure. So I think taxpayers and practitioners,
they normally don't focus on how we accomplish, sort of our mission or how we get something done.
Most, they're just happy when we get it fixed. But for the majority of our cases, when we work with
the taxpayer, the representative to determine the problem, we gather the facts, review the law,
the procedure. And then we have to work with the IRS to get the problem resolved. We don't have
this delegated authority to implement the change. And I think people really haven't focused on
that is that we truly need our counterparts within the IRS to complete or resolve the issue. So
think about all the challenges that the pandemic has brought to both taxpayers, representative and
even IRS employees, we're all struggling trying to get through or every day. And so when you think
about TAS and our mission, and as you just indicated, advocate versus implement. In order for us
simply it was a taxpayer, we need our IRS folks to make that change. So, in essence, we were created to
be independent. And so again, our role is that of to advocate. So therefore, we don't have that
delegated authority to make the correction. So this past year or two years has been extremely
difficult for taxpayers, practitioners, and our employees as well. Because we need to reach across
the aisle and have the IRS assist us. And with the challenges of shutting down some of the
offices, or actually all of the offices when we first started the pandemic, having people work
remotely, it's caused challenges with our TAS folks of getting access to the IRS and getting things
done quickly. So as a result, our case advocates have been working a very high inventory.
Historically, I think our folks are carrying 80 to 120 open cases at one time. But these past two
years, some of our case advocates have carried over 250 open cases. And that's just not
sustainable. And unfortunately, we are not providing timely responses or service for our own
taxpayers. Veronica Tubman: So how does that change, Erin? Erin Collins: That's the question I
ask myself every day. We've been trying to work on solutions. Some of our options are not good.
Either we limit the cases that we take in, which is not a good solution for taxpayers. We increase
the number of our case advocates in the local offices, which would be my number one choice. But
currently, we need to have a consistent budget for year-to-year to do those additional hiring,
which is a challenge. But some of the things we are doing is we're changing our training structure
to get some of our new advocates on the line quicker or moving work around the organization. So
it's kind of a all hands on deck to get these individual cases worked. Veronica Tubman: Okay,
so Erin, so I guess that leads us to TAS's criteria to accept a case. What is it? Erin Collins:
Yes, so as the slide indicates, we have a couple of criteria. And again, one of the reasons we
refer to ourselves sort of as the safety net is, typically we come in after taxpayers are unable
to resolve the issue with the IRS. So we're typically and shouldn't be the first step in the
process. Rather, we're here to support the taxpayer, when things go wrong. So in other words, if a
taxpayer is not able to resolve an issue with the IRS, then they can look at TAS. So when you
look at the slide here, in essence, we kind of have two buckets. When taxpayers can't, experience
economic harm, or when procedures are not working. So let's go to the next slide and talk about
the two buckets economic burden and systemic burden. So if you look at the slide was this pretty
much to summarizes our case acceptance criteria. And again, think about the past two years. All of
us across the country have been dealing with pandemic. Individuals were out of work. We've all
taxpayers practitioners, IRS employees have experienced the filing season delays, the challenges,
collection notices were automatically issued before underlying, the underlying issue was addressed
by the IRS. So in essence, 10s of millions of taxpayers probably fall in those two criteria
buckets. And again, historically, we handle or handled about 160,000 cases per year. This past
year, we had over 260,000 cases. So that's a 58% increase in the cases we accepted. And on top of
that, the number of our case advocates over the years has declined. So unfortunately, we don't
have the resources, we don't have enough employees to try and fix millions of taxpayers problems
and current issues. And again, if you look at the criteria, the second bullet under systemic
burden is significant delays of more than 30 days. And just think about what taxpayers and
practitioners have dealt with over the past couple years. At the end of 2020, there were about 11
million returns that were not processed, and were carried over at the beginning of the 2021 filing
season. And in fact, they were not resolved. So I believe until June of 2021. At the end of
the filing season, last year, which was May 17 there were 35 million returns, still requiring
manual processing. And then fast forward to the end of December, there were over 6 million, 1040s
still waiting to be processed. There were over 2 million amended returns waiting to be processed,
there are over 2 million, 941s to be processed and 400,000, 941x's to be processed. And throw on
top of that another 3 million business returns waiting to be processed. So the IRS is in a hole
right at the beginning of the filing season. So it's been a really tough time for taxpayers, as
well as IRS employees. So when you think about the IRS, with all of its employees, have not been
able to timely process these returns, my organization, TAS just does not have the capability of
handling millions of taxpayer processing issues. So it puts me as the NTA in a difficult position.
Where do we spend our resources to do the most good. So we also have two other case criteria, the
best interest of taxpayers and public policy, which gives the NTA the ability, it doesn't fit in
the four in the two buckets on the previous slide. We can go ahead and add other issues to the
criteria. And last year, we threw in the economic impact payments or the stimulus payments, and we
threw I think we put it in under the best interest of the taxpayer. So occasionally, we'll apply
that exception across the board for taxpayers. And I see we have the next polling question.
Veronica Tubman: Yes, Erin we do. It's time for our second polling question. Okay. Which of these
statements is true regarding taxpayer eligibility for TAS help? is it A, an IRS procedure is
working well, and the taxpayer would like to expand it or B, an IRS procedure isn't working, as it
should, C, the IRS problem was resolved in less than 60 days and they are satisfied or D, the IRS
tax problem was resolved after contacting an IRS manager and they are satisfied. So take a moment
and click the radio button that best answers the question. I'll give you just a few more seconds
to make your selection. Erin Collins: I know the answer. Veronica Tubman: Okay, well, that's
all. We're going to stop the polling now. Thanks, Erin. Don't give it away. And let's share the
correct answer on the next slide. But let's take a look. And the correct response is B, an IRS
procedure isn't working as it should. So let's see how well you did with this question. Let's take
a look. I see that 92% of you responded correctly. So that was a good job. Erin, it looks like
you're going to continue with your discussion on case advocacy. Erin Collins: Thanks. So one
other group that we have within TAS that I think some people are not familiar with is we call it
CCI, Centralized Case Intake. And these are a group of our employees that handle, in essence, our
toll free line. Their goal is to try and resolve the caller's problem upfront without having to
open a case and send it to the local office. Unfortunately, they're not able to do that across the
board. And if they cannot resolve the issue, they then gather the information, and then they send
it to the local office where the taxpayer is located. Last year, we had over 64,000 taxpayers
that CCI worked with. But again, we are challenged there as well. We have too many incoming calls
for our folks to answer. So you know, it, I hate apologizing because it is what it is. But I know
it's very tough for taxpayers, I know that we have not been as responsive, both on the phone, and
giving updates to taxpayers as they would like and what we have historically done. So this is hard
on our employees as well. So we do recognize our challenges and delays and do appreciate working
with taxpayers, trying to get it done. So we included this slide just to provide some examples of
what our case advocates have worked on in the past year or so. And as you can see, sort of the
subject matter runs from processing errors which seems to be the number one thing currently to more
complex issues such as penalty abatement, or correcting identity theft problem. So under normal
time, some of our cases were easier or quick to fix. But today, even those that are not as
complex, are taking substantially longer to close, because again, we're trying to get the IRS
folks to work these cases for us, but they also have all hands on deck and are trying to get
through the filing season. So our folks are working hard to move these cases towards resolution.
But I really do appreciate the patience and understanding when you guys are working with our case
advocates. They're trying their best. Okay, so let's change gears. And let's talk about our
systemic advocacy group. So unlike our case advocates, who work one-on-one with taxpayers. Our
systemic advocacy folks work on issues that impact multiple taxpayers. So although our team is
located across the country and various offices, it's more of a headquarters function, versus our
case advocates that have the direct contact with taxpayers or representative. So our systemic
folks, they work with the IRS throughout the year, we try and be proactive on the front end. So we
provide our thoughts and advice. Before for example, the IRS issues guidance, or before a notice
goes out the door, or before the IRS is redrafting a form letter, we try and put in our two cents. IRS may
not always agree with our recommendation. But we continue to provide our views all year
long in the hopes of continuing to improve taxpayer service and protecting taxpayer rights. And
our systemic advocacy folks, they also work with outside representative, taxpayers, and even our
case advocates and trying to spot trends. So where there may be a say an administrative error,
what fix needs to be made systemically? So let me give you a couple examples. So last year, there
were several overlapping natural disasters, in which if you recall, the IRS provided taxpayers
relief for the filing date, which was very much appreciated. But we started to see a trend with
late filing penalties for those disaster areas. And our systemic advocacy folks were able to
recognize that there was a glitch in IT programming. So our folks identified it, worked with IRS and
they were able to reprogram the system, stop the penalties from being asserted and work to resolve
those that were previously assessed penalties. So that that was a good task by our folks. Another
example, which you may think is minor, but impacted a lot of folks is after Congress changed the
partnership administrative procedures. The IRS Form 2848, which is the power of attorney form. It
didn't include the designation of a partnership representative, which was a new term that was
created by Congress in the centralized partnership audit regime. So we were able to raise the
issue and the IRS updated the 2848, which again was a help for a lot of taxpayers. And then there
another example, I think a number of folks are familiar with, is we worked on an issue that impacted
taxpayers who timely filed their petition in the United States Tax Court. So as you may be aware,
once a petition is timely filed with the court, the IRS is prohibited from assessing and
initiating collection actions for a proposed tax due. With the IRS backlog and challenges, the Tax
Court was inundated with petitions. And as a result, they fell behind in serving the IRS notice.
So in other words, what happened was, without the IRS receiving the notice that the petition was
filed, IRS computers just started sending out collection notices. So we raised the issue, we worked
with IRS folks, we worked with the Tax Court, members of the ABA were involved as well as some of our
LITC clinicians. And as a result of discussions, what the Tax Court did was they created sort of
an interim procedure. And they provided the IRS notice, so that they could program a system to
prevent these premature assessments and stop the issuance of the collection notices. So that was
very impactful for a lot of people who are all of a sudden dealing with collection issues
unnecessarily. So this slide here talks a little bit about where we get our information, we being
the systemic advocacy group. We get it from our case advocates, no surprise, we also get a lot of
recommendations and reach out from IRS employees for assistance. And then one of the things that I
asked you all, because I would throw you in the public bullet, is really think about, what you
could do to help us as well. And I think when you look at what the systemic advocacy group, the
phrase, it takes a village. It's very appropriate here. So Veronica, I see our third polling
question, and I'm going to tell the audience, this is a tough one. Veronica Tubman: Okay. Yes,
it's time Erin, for our third polling question. So everybody, let's put our listening cast on and
think. Which of these issues were worked by TAS? Was it A, refund issues. B, injured spouse
claim. C, tax treaties. D, original and amended tax processing E, all of the above, or F, none of
the above. So let's take a minute and click the radio button that best answers the question. I'll
give you a few more seconds to make your selection. Okay. We're going to stop the polling now.
And let's share the correct answer on the next slide. So let's take a look. And the correct answer
is E. All of the above. So let's see how well you all did with this question. I see that 82% of
you responded correctly. Well, Erin. Erin Collins: I'm going to put a caveat on correctly,
because again, this is sort of a trick unintentional trick question. Veronica Tubman: Okay. Erin
Collins: With all the challenges the IRS is facing, TAS unfortunately, we've limited which
original returns we accept. And we also put a pause on amended return. So two months ago, all of
the above would have been the correct answer. Today, we're still trying to figure out what do we
do and working with the IRS and some of those original and amended return, so stay tuned. But
again, as I said this, when it was originally written out the question, it was correct, but today,
not so much. Veronica Tubman: Okay, Erin, thanks so much for the clarity, we really appreciate
that. And let's move on, we're going to continue with systemic advocacy, systemic work and issues.
Erin, you're up. Erin Collins: Okay, thank you. So again, the slide just talks about some of the
categories that our systemic advocacy folks work with or on I should say and probably the one
that's maybe near and dear to my heart, because we just finished is the Annual Report to Congress.
That is a big project that our folks work on throughout the year. So let's talk about some of the
examples of what our systemic folks work on. So, these past two years, we spent, not a big
surprise, a fair amount of time on issues associated with the pandemic. So ranging from stimulus
payments, all the way to processing issues. I think everyone is tired of hearing that term. But
it has been a big challenge for taxpayers, practitioners, IRS, and our TAS folks. So the next
slide we're going to go to is my what I call my 32nd Commercial for our SAM system, which is a
Systemic Advocacy Management system. So I have asked of all you who are calling in for this WebEx
is I need your help. I would like to request all of you that when you learn or see a problem, that
doesn't seem right and you believe it impacts multiple taxpayers. My request, consider going to
our website and the link is on the slide there and let us know what you're seeing. We don't want
it is the caveat, we don't want individual issues, we want to have a systemic issue. Like for
example, the one I mentioned earlier, that a number of your clients in the disaster area are all
getting erroneously hit with a failure to file return. That's a perfect one that could be
elevated through our SAM system. So I again, I do challenge you, you are very important sometimes
to get our job done. So we look to you to hear what's going on, you're sort of the ears and the
eyes of what we need to know. I can't believe Veronica, we're now on another polling question. So
let's go to the next one. You got a lot of polling questions here by the way. Veronica Tubman:
Yes, we do because we're just making sure that everybody's getting this really good information.
Okay, everybody. So yes, it's time like Erin says for our fourth polling question. Which one of
these can involve a systemic issue worked by TAS, is it A, processing errors, B installment agreement,
C, identity theft, D, collection, E, none of the above or F, all of the above. So let's think
about what Erin just talked to us about and take a moment and click the radio buttons that best
answers the question. So I'll give you a few more seconds to make your selection. Okay, we're
going to stop the polling and let's share the correct answer on the next slide. So let's take a
look and the correct response is F, all of the above. So let's see how well you all did with this
question. I see that we have 82% of you responded correctly. So maybe we need a little
clarification. Erin, can you provide a little more detail? Erin Collins: Yes, why did only 82%
get this right. So again, it's all of the above. So it's kind of obvious. So our systemic folks
really work any issue that is raised, but again, it's systemic, not individual taxpayer. So we
don't want you coming in and saying, hey, I represent this client, Bob, and he's had this problem.
What we really are looking for are areas that you think it impacts many Bobs across the country
so that, again, we could try and find out what the challenge is. So anyway, hopefully, the next
polling question we can do better than 82%. Veronica Tubman: Okay, Erin, we appreciate you. It
looks like you're going to discuss TAS reports next. Erin Collins: Yes, so at the beginning of
the presentation I mentioned TAS' mission is set forth in the Internal Revenue Code Sections
7803(c) and as the NTA, I have the honor of filing two reports to Congress. So the first one is
what we refer to as the objectives report, that is due at the end of June, and it sets forth TAS'
goals for the upcoming fiscal year. So in essence, it provides an overview of where TAS is going
based on our current year and our expectations for the upcoming year. Whereas our Annual Report
to Congress, that's due at the end of the year, and I think more people are familiar with the
Annual Report to Congress. So we provide Congress and the public and the IRS, our analysis of what
the code requires, the 10 most serious problems facing taxpayers, taxpayer service, taxpayer
rights, and we have the ability to provide recommendations in an effort to reduce the burden or
correct the problem. So let's kind of break down the 2021 Annual Report to Congress. I think when
those are folks that are familiar with the report, I think everyone looks to the 10 most serious
problems. But I'm not sure everyone also realizes some of the other pieces that we include in the
report. For example, the statute requires us to talk about the 10 most litigated issues. And so
this year, when we were trying to make that determination, we took what I call a hybrid approach.
So similar to previous years, we review issued opinions in both, or I should say all three, the
Tax Court, the U.S. District Court and the Court of Appeals during the fiscal year. But what we
did this year is we also looked at the what I call the front end of litigation, and that's the
time folks file their petition. So rather than just look at the back end of those cases that
actually went forward to a trial and opinion was issued, we also looked at the front end, what
were the issues that taxpayers filed a petition for in the tax court during the fiscal year. So it
was interesting, it generated a lot of consistent answers, and also some differences. So when you
look at the data, and you go back a number of years, the winners, I guess, if you can call it that
the most litigated issues are typically gross income, which is your Section 61, trade or business
expenses, which is your Section 162. CDP cases, you usually hit the top 10 and then delinquency
penalties are usually on the list year-after-year. But when we look at the petitions, we got some
different answers. So coming in at number six was the issue of which is kind of surprising, W-2s
and 1099 withholding. So IRS and taxpayers have differences with respect to the 1099 and W-2s. And
then also for the first time, the standard deduction, made it to the top 10 and we also on the top
10 was the American Opportunity Credit, which came in number nine on the list. And then also on
the report, what we looked at is what we kind of call the family status issues. So that includes
things like filing status. So for example, single, married, head of household. And then we also
discussed the earned income tax credit, the child tax credit, and then also a lot of dependent
issues. So we broke down the data with respect to what goes into the family status bucket. So it's
common if you're kind of a litigation or tax nerd. It's an interesting read to look at some of the
statistics in there. So again, if you're looking for something to do some night, you might
consider flipping through the report on the most litigated issues. And then about five years ago,
TAS created a separate volume for the annual report that has our legislative recommendations. I
think the folks on the Hill were saying it'd be easy if it was all in one place. So we created
what we call the Purple book. And this year we made 68 legislative recommendations to Congress
with the effort of improving taxpayer rights or tax administration. And then also this year in the
report, we have what's called TAS' advocacy successes. And since the report always focuses on the
negative, that's what the statute requires us to do, I thought it would be nice to give a small
glimpse of the work our employees do throughout the year, which have a positive result. So we were
using it to have a small glimpse into an ability to sort of acknowledge and celebrate the positive
results to see some of the changes that were made throughout the year. So we have a small
smattering of some of our successes in there. And then this year, we have a new section that we
call At a glance. It takes the 10 most serious problems. And then what we did was we tied it to a
recent taxpayer survey done by the IRS as to what taxpayers want and why it's important. So in
essence, we try to take the entire 200 page report and simplify it in four or five pages. And it
was sort of we call it an invitation to start a dialogue on how we can improve tax administration
for all taxpayers. Veronica Tubman: So I had a question, I apologize. It's really interesting,
but can you explain how you select the problem to be the most serious problem included in your
report? Erin Collins: Yes, as I said, I joined two years ago, and I asked that question as well,
how am I supposed to do this? So I think about it, if you all were sitting in my chair, if you
guys got to play NTA for the day or one of the team members that were involved in these
conversations, how do you select the most serious problems? I mean, think about it. What do you
do, so I think since the pandemic, it's kind of an obvious what the problems are, the challenges
the pandemic brought is they're huge. They're huge problems. So, but what we typically do is look
at a number of types of criteria, we look at issues that impact taxpayer rights, we look at how
many taxpayers are impacted by a particular problem? Is there a financial impact to the taxpayer?
How does it impact taxpayer service? Are there barriers to compliance? And then on top of that,
we look at our inventory as well as the SAM submission. So in essence, we look at kind of all of
the above plus emerging issues. So what I did I learned starting this position is and my guys, I'm
sure they like me to start even earlier. But the process usually starts late spring, early summer.
And it is a team effort, not only within TAS but also with our IRS colleagues, because we depend
on them to help us gather and verify the facts, before we put pen to paper, and then even after we
finish our draft and write up, we go back to the IRS and verify those facts again, because the
last thing we want to be doing is making a recommendation to Congress, or the IRS that doesn't
have the correct facts. So when you look at the top 10 issues in 2021, I see them and we have four
of them on this particular slide. I see them as being intertwined. And when you think about it,
they sort of feed off of each other. And I believe if we were to fix one or two of these problems,
it would also improve the others. So let me give an example. If you look at the first most serious
problem, and I don't think anyone would probably disagree, that the processing and refunds this
year were extremely painful. There were more problems, then the IRS has dealt with historically,
we had high level of challenges. So when you think about it, you have the more delays in
processing the work, not a surprise taxpayers reached for the phone. And so when you look at the
phones, this past year, the IRS had three times more calls and three times doesn't sound a whole
like a really big number. But historically, they have about 100 million calls a year. This past
year, they had 282 million incoming calls. So think about that, 282 million for 15,000 customer
service representative. So you guys do the math. It is not humanly possible to answer the amount
of calls that came in this past year. So the challenges, the more you have problems with the
processing, the more people pick up the phone. And during the busy times, the percentage of
taxpayers that were able to speak with a customer service representative, it was in the single
digits. And that's just unacceptable. And for the year, the average of I think, when you put all
of their phone lines together was 11%. So 89% of the people calling, didn't get through to speak
to a customer service representative. So I think no one disagrees that that number is not
acceptable. So another thing when you look at sort of having these issues intertwined is in my
opinion, the IRS provided more information on the filing season, and we've recommended for the
upcoming filing season, they do what we refer to as a dashboard. So they can give the public
information of where they are in the process. If they did that, or they provided more details and
more information on the taxpayers online account, maybe taxpayers could self serve, maybe the
phone numbers wouldn't or the phone lines wouldn't be overrun. So I think the lack of the IRS not
being proactive and transparent with respect to providing details on the filing season and not
being able to access certain information on their online account again drove the taxpayers to the
phones. And then also, one of the other issues that created problems are, I think this was
covered on the next slide. But the folks want to file electronically but were not able to. So
several IRS forms that are required to be attached to a tax return, they're not able to be done
electronically, which then requires the taxpayer to file a paper return, that's not good. The past
two years, paper has not been the IRS's friend. So because taxpayers couldn't file electronically,
it required manual processing, which increased the processing and delay time which drove people to
the phone. So on this slide, we talked about the filing season delay online account and digital
communication. So again, we broke down in the report some of the challenges that taxpayers were
facing on the filing season delays, and unfortunately, there were many to discuss. And that was a
real challenge. Online account, that's one of my, I don't know if it's a pet peeve or an
opportunity for the IRS because I do think that if we were able to provide taxpayers and
practitioners specifically more information that they could access on behalf of their taxpayers or
clients, they would be overjoyed, just a self help, rather than having to call the IRS. So I do
think having a more robust online account would be very important to helping fix these problems on
a go-forward basis. The other thing that I get a lot of comments from practitioners and folks on
the outside is why can't I just email the IRS? Why can't I just digitally communicate with the
IRS. So that is something that again, we very much want the IRS to provide that ability to
taxpayers. And one of the things I always look towards is the more people we can drive to the
Internet or online accounts, frees up employees or customer service representatives to help the
taxpayers that truly need it to help taxpayers who don't have the ability to self help, don't have
access to the Internet, or are not sophisticated in tax. I mean, tax is very complicated. So some
folks just need to talk to a human. So I think the more digital communication we can do, the more
we can free up those customer service representatives to help those individuals that need it. And
then the next slide has the last three most serious problems, the e-filing barriers,
correspondence audits, and collections. And those also are very challenging for taxpayer. So again
on the E-filing barriers, there's a list and we included in the report of forms that if they're
attached to your return, you have to file by paper. And again, that's not a good answer. And so
the IRS really needs to get back into the 20th century and get those forms to be able to be
attached. One of the challenges I hear a lot are PDF attachments, there appears to be some
software, you can attach it, others you can't. But I would like to have that across the board that
any taxpayer could attach a PDF document to the return and still be able to be get it through. So
you know, that's it. That's a key issue, correspondence audit. That's extremely frustrating. And
anyone who does correspondence audits, please go read that section of the report. Some of the
statistics are very disturbing. We tried to focus on those individuals who had AGI of 50,000 or
below. This is really tough for me as an IRS employee and as a former practitioner, to see the
high default rates between those who don't respond, or those who just sort of disengage, it's
close to 50%. So what are we as the IRS doing wrong? Or what do we need to do to educate taxpayers
because what's happening is that they don't respond. Not a big surprise. The IRS is disallowing X,
whatever it is, issuing a 30-day letter, and then issuing a statutory notice of deficiency. So if
we can get taxpayers to come in earlier, and we can educate taxpayers of what they should be
doing. I think that would be a huge benefit. And again, I think that's something that I look to
all of you to help us do on behalf of taxpayers. And then again, we cover collections, and we
have different things that we discussed that impact low income taxpayers. So again, that's our top
10. Unfortunately, good or bad, a lot of them impacts the processing and filing. Which I would
guess if I would ask, most of you, you would be shocked if those weren't on the top 10 of our
list. I'm looking at the slides and golly gee. Veronica we have another polling question.
Veronica Tubman: Yes, we do, Erin. Thanks again. And thanks for the good information you can give
it to. I'm learning a lot as well. Okay. Yes, we have our fifth polling question. Which internal
revenue code IRC section requires a national TAS advocate to submit two annual reports to
Congress? So let's take a look. Is it A, IRC 6302(h)(1)(A), or is it B, IRC 7803(c)(2)(B),
or is it C, IRC 7206(1). And lastly, which is D, is at IRC 6664(d)(4)(B)(ii).
Take a moment and click the radio button that best describes the answer
that answers the question. And I'll give you just a few more seconds to make your selection. Erin
Collins: Where's the music Veronica? And come on? We should have music going into doing this?
Veronica Tubman: There we go. Erin Collins: Okay, got it. Veronica Tubman: Way to go. We're
going to stop the polling question now. And let's share the correct answer on the next slide. So
let's take a look. See how everybody's doing here. And the correct response is B, IRC 7803(c)(2)(B).
So let's see how well everybody did on this particular question. Well, I see
that 90% of you responded correctly. So Erin, you were right. Our response rate is getting better.
We appreciate that. Erin Collins: Well, some people are tax nerds. And I happen to know that 66,
64 is a reasonable cause and 7602. You don't want to go there. That's fraud and false return and
6300 sections are collection. So by process of elimination, they could get to the answer, even if
they didn't listen. Veronica Tubman: There we go. Erin Collins: Yes, that's a good thing,
isn't it? Veronica Tubman: Okay. Well, let's see Erin. It looks like you're going to continue
with your discussion on systemic advocacy. So we're waiting. Let's go. Erin Collins: Yes,
actually, I think I'm talking about filing season, but I'm not sure what slide you're looking at.
Veronica Tubman: Yes, you are. I do apologize for that, Erin. Erin Collins: Don't worry about
it. So anyway, this slide is to me extremely depressing. It shows the numbers. And again, good
news, bad news, these numbers change weekly. And they've gone up, they've gone down. So this was
mid November. And again, currently, there a little bit different. But the point of this is, at
year end, before the start of the filing season, which is next Monday. IRS is a hole IRS still has
a huge percentage of inventory. I mean, when you think about what IRS does each filing season,
it's actually pretty amazing. They have give or take 200 million returns that they process and go
through the system. And probably 80 plus, don't even know there's a problem, if they filed
electronically. But those who have the problem, it's incredibly painful. So typically, from one
year to the next, the IRS carries over about a million returns that still need to have some sort
of processing or resolution done. Somebody can quickly do the math, that's a lot bigger than a
million. And that is a real problem. So I have concerns with the amount of these unprocessed
returns. And then also, if you look at the bottom piece, that's correspondence. So for example,
you have a penalty abatement request, or IRS has made a math error adjustment, and you've
responded, that's in that bucket here. So that's carrying over into this filing season. So not
only have taxpayers not received their refunds or have correspondence addressed, they may now be
getting collection notices, where they don't think they owe the tax or the challenges, they may
have a problem filing electronically next year, because the IRS didn't process the 2020 return. So
just a quick tip that the IRS does have online that they did last year, if you're unable to
process or get your electronic return filed. And you know that the IRS did not process last year,
they don't have your AGI and if you recall, when you're doing, entering in the information to
electronically file, you need that AGI number to match IRS system. So if you don't have that, you
enter zero, and then the IRS will process your electronic file return. So everyone keep that in
the back of your head because that is a fix that is what the IRS tried to do with their systems to
allow those who are in limbo to be able to file their returns electronically. So I guess, if I
were to give advice, what I would tell folks, I guess not if I do when I do give people advice. I
would say please make every effort possible to file electronically. Provide your bank routing
number or your information and request the direct deposit. And the most important thing currently,
please triple check your numbers. Any inconsistency with your W-2, your 1099 may trigger manual
processing. Any inconsistencies with the third stimulus checks that you report on your 2021 as
part of the recovery rebate credit, that's going to require manual processing. Any inconsistencies
with the monthly child tax credit payments guess what that's going to require manual processing.
So last year, the manual process was a key factor in the delay of 10s of millions of returns. 35
million at the end of the filing season were still waiting to be processed. And I think Veronica,
you had mentioned at the I guess the beginning of this before we started you had made reference to
the two IRS letters that are coming out and I hate I'm not a numbers person but Letter 6419 which is it
should show the total of the monthly child tax credits. And then also the letter 6475, which will
include the total that you receive for EIP. The third EIP, and when I think a lot, and make sure
that when you're, if you're preparing someone's return or you're preparing your own, most people
receive one payment. However, if the IRS used your 2019 income to determine the amount of the
stimulus payments. After your 2020 return, if there was, it should have been larger, the IRS would
have issued a subsequent one. So some tax payers may actually have received two payments for that
third stimulus. So again, it's important to verify that information. And then one other thing
that I think people are not focusing on, if you have a joint return, each spouse is going to get
their own letter. So they each need to include the amount. So I think some taxpayers are confused
or not reading the letter all the way down. Husband gets one for $1,200. Wife gets one for $1,200. And
they think we should put $1,200 on the return. But in fact, you need to add the two to do math
really quick. $2,400 should be the number that you include over to your return. So taxpayers I
think may get confused with that, if they're not focusing on the fine print, so to speak. I'm
hoping that all these folks take those letters to the returns preparers. But words to the wise what
you might want to do is, if the taxpayer is there, have them check their online account. So
anyone who created a I think they called it the child tax credit portal, if they have an account
there, they can also access their online account. And what the IRS has done, and I think it
officially goes live at the end of next week, it will have the stimulus payment included and it will have
the total of the child tax credit. So you can also go there, that will have the most up-to-date
information. So if you're working with taxpayers, you might want to have them go to their online
account that can even do it through their phone, and make sure that the number you have is
consistent with what you're putting on the actual return. So I guess my advice, file
electronically, use direct deposits, and triple check for errors. So by doing that, that'll kind
of speed up the processing. And not only is it going to reduce the problem for your taxpayer.
Hopefully, it reduces the problem for all taxpayers, because if we can keep that number of manual
reviews to a low number, that is really going to be beneficial for all taxpayers across the
country. So you know, again, if you don't have an error, and you file electronically, typically
the refund is paid under 21 days. But if you have to file a paper return, what I
would recommend, please make a copy, file it early. Please have proof of mailing. So either go to
the post office and invest that $4 or $5 it's going to cost to send it certified or registered
whatever, or use a private delivery company and keep the information. But know that if you're
entitled to a refund on a paper return, you're going to have a delay. So I think the mantra that
TAS as well as the IRS have been sort of espousing recently is file electronically, provide your
bank routing information, and triple check numbers on the return for errors. So one of the other
honors I have as the NTA and for TAS is we have the ability, or I should say it's entrusted upon
us to administer the Low Income Tax Clinic Program. Through the program, we provide grants to 135
clinics across the country. And these clinics, I mean, they are a lifeline to many taxpayers, as
the name implies low income you have there's a dollar limitation and we tend to try and focus on either
low income or those who speak English as a second language. So again, they are so important with
respect to tax administration, they help individuals with problems similar to TAS with
representation before the IRS. So they actually can go in and argue merits of the examination,
they can represent taxpayers in appeals, collection. And they represent taxpayers in Tax Court,
and other courts as well. So they will get involved in litigation, they do an amazing job. And by
the way, if any of you are looking to do some pro bono work, please consider reaching out to one
of our clinics, they depend on volunteers in order to assist taxpayer. So if you look at the
slide, if you go to the last piece there, that'll take you to the location of where the clinics
are. So again, my recommendation is, if you all are trying to do good work, it is a great way to
spend your time. So right now we have more than two thirds of the volunteers, there are attorneys,
certified public accountants, enrolled agents. So again, my plug, please consider being one of
those volunteers. So that takes us to TAP. And I think a lot of people are like, what is TAP? So
TAP is a guess I explained it as an advisory committee. It was established under the story of
treasury. We have 75 amazing volunteers. And they are truly I guess, I could say, dedicated to
helping the IRS identify ways to improve customer service and satisfaction. So their mission. And
again, there's their website, you can go in and provide information also, by the way, they also
gather information of problems and other challenges. So feel free to share with them as well. But
since their creation, TAS has provided more than 2,000 recommendations to the IRS, and the
National Taxpayer Advocate. And as I said, they're a great group of people, they generally spend
two to 300 hours per year, which is that is a big commitment on behalf of tax administration. So,
again, really appreciate everything that they do. So I guess I'm looking at the slides, I think
Veronica time for me to Stop yapping. I'm going to guess we probably have more questions in the
queue than we can ever answer. But I guess we can pick it off and give it a try. Veronica Tubman:
Thanks, Erin. And yes, we appreciate your yapping. There are plenty of questions. So I just like
to say hello, again. It's me Veronica Tubman, and I'll be moderating the Q&A session. So before we
start, I want to thank everyone for attending today's presentation. Updates from a National
Taxpayer Advocate, Erin Collins. Earlier I mentioned we want to know what questions you have for
our presenter. And here is your opportunity. If you haven't input your questions, there're still
time, just click on the drop down arrow next to the ask question field and just type in
your question and then just click then. Erin is staying on with us. And we'll be answering your
question. And one thing before we start. As she said, we may not have time to answer all the
questions submitted, however, let me assure you, we will answer as many questions as time allows.
So let's get started so we can get to as many questions as possible. So let's take a look. Our
first question is when its addressing an issue to a local taxpayer advocate office through the
mail. How long should I expect to wait for return correspondence, Erin? Erin Collins: Well,
that's great. Let's start off with one of the more difficult questions. Yes, historically, it
would be within the week. The challenge we're having right now due to the high inventory are folks
and to be perfectly blunt, and I really hate saying this. But there are offices that I would say
are 30, 45, 60 days behind getting back to taxpayers, which again, I think we all recognize is not
acceptable, but they are doing their best. And again, I do appreciate everyone not taking it out
on the case advocates, because it's not their fault, but really working with us because we're all
trying to get the same result. How do we fix the problem for the taxpayer. It's just not going to
be as fast as we would all like. And by the way before we switch to the next question, plug for
TAS. Similar to the IRS, we will be hiring. So anyone who would like to share this experience with
us, because I'm just so much fun to work with. So you really want to come work with TAS. We will be
hiring. So keep an eye out on the USA jobs. And again, IRS is hiring as well. So there's my plug
before we go the next question. Veronica Tubman: Okay, thanks, Erin. So here's our next question.
And I know a lot of people have been wondering, kind of second amendeded return be filed
electronically after an initial amended return has been filed. Erin Collins: Okay, so someone
sent me a really hard question. I don't know the answer to that. I do know that you can file a
superseded return electronically. And I do know you can file the first Amended return
electronically, but I apologize. I don't know the answer to that. Veronica Tubman: Okay, we
appreciate that. Let's take a look. We got a lot of really good questions. So does TAS assist
foreign individuals that have problems with the IRS? Erin Collins: Yes, as we say, we represent
all taxpayers. So as long as you meet the criteria of either the economic or systemic burden, we
would work with you on the issue. Veronica Tubman: Okay, sounds good. Okay, so here we have this
maybe a two parter. Can the service center stop sending notices on taxpayers that have filed
either an amended paper return and or reply instead of continuing to send notices for the same
issue with different balances due to interest and penalties that just totally confused the
taxpayer it confuses the IRS and the taxpayer. So do you have any advice for that? Erin
Collins: Read our report. Yes, I share the frustration. I think that is a huge challenge with the
IRS. There is a ground swell that we've been pushing this for some time that the IRS needs to
figure out how to deal with this because if the taxpayer has sent in a request for IRS to do X,
and they continue sending the collection notices, that's a real problem. So we've proposed to have
the IRS stop sending out all automated notices, and I think they're struggling with that
recommendation. And then our other recommendation would be, then that particular taxpayer should
be able to call the IRS and get for example, a six-month extension, just stop those notices for
the next six months, to give the IRS opportunity to fix whatever the issue is and to stop the
challenges for the taxpayer of getting those notices. I mean, by the time he gets a second, third
collection notices, they're not pretty. And if you get the one that says okay, your CDP rights, you
have no option but to move forward. Otherwise, you're going to forfeit your rights. So it's a real
problem for taxpayers. Veronica Tubman: Okay, so that's good to know, talk in some of those
notices will allow more time for processing to, thanks, Erin. What about the U.S. territories,
such as the U.S. Virgin Islands, who is their TAS representative for those areas, Erin? Erin
Collins: I'm trying to think of it, we do have I don't know at top my head. But if you go to our
website, which is TaxpayerAdvocate.irs.gov, we have a section of who to contact. And I believe
it's kind of like a map of the United States and then has it all broken down. And it will show the
local taxpayer advocates, name, address, telephone number, and I believe it also has the Fax
number. Veronica Tubman: Very good. And as we said, make sure that you save the Taxpayer Advocate
site as one of your favorites, so you'll have that opportunity to have quick access. Erin
Collins: Yes and that falls under what we call our area three, we have a different area. So Star
Smith is the Executive in charge of Area 3. But again, if they go online, they should be able to
find that information. Veronica Tubman: Very good. Okay. Thanks again, for good reference. Okay,
is there any way we can email the local taxpayer advocate, can we just send an email? Erin
Collins: That also is a good question. So one of the issues that I'm pushing with the IRS is to
use digital communication. So there are restrictions, we do have concerns with respect to
protecting taxpayer information. And so when we use email, we may have to encrypt it and other
things. So if you reach out to the local office, you can discuss that with the local LTA and see
if you can arrange to either use email or use a Fax number because again, our phone lines as well
as our Fax and as well as email are inundated, trying to take care of taxpayers. Veronica Tubman:
So Erin, our next question kind of goes on something you said a little earlier, where can I apply
to be a TAS employee? What's that resource? Erin Collins: All right, I've only been in the
government two years, guys, and I haven't figured out the bureaucracy, but I believe it's USA jobs
is the website that lists all of the IRS job. So we would be included in that section and yes,
thank you. We consider coming to work for us. We need good people. Veronica Tubman: Erin said,
come on and get on board. We need you. Okay, here's our next question. Can TAS assist with tax
matters outside of income tax, such as excise taxes? Erin Collins: Yes, as long as it is in the
Internal Revenue Code, we can assist. Veronica Tubman: All right, so here we have another good
question. I have several clients who have received the, we need another 60 day letter. Are these
people eligible for TAS assistance and one has received this letter at least four times. Erin
Collins: Yes, I'm very sorry to hear that because that's just not acceptable. The challenges as
I'm sure you're experiencing is getting the IRS to be proactive on that trying to get that done.
So it's a challenge. I wish I could help you figure out a better way to do it, you can technically
you do qualify if again, you have a systemic problem. IRS is not responding when they say they're
going to respond. That might be something you can go to work the local office and talk to them
about. Veronica Tubman: Okay, thanks a lot, Erin. So here, we have this is kind of a series of
questions. So here we go. On Slide 15, the data, on Slide 15, the data shows 5.9 million
individual tax returns, and 2.4 million business tax returns were still in line to be processed.
What causes this backup to occur, manual returns processing errors, new tax law, et cetera. Were
the number of amended tax returns and 941Xs above average 402 amended Form 941 sounds kind of
high, is this normal to the best of your knowledge? Erin Collins: Okay, that's like a three, four
parter. So see if I can even remember. Yes, the challenge in my opinion, with respect to the
problem, the last filing season was multiple reasons. The pandemic itself caused problems for IRS
employees. We're trying to be very cautious in our campuses. And that's where they process the
return. We've had outbreaks, we've had to shut down we've had to close sections where people were
not able to work, we try social distance, which limits how many people can be in one place. If
you've ever been to a campus, I mean, it's the size of a football field, and you have a lot of
people packed in there. And so under the pandemic, we've been trying to space people out, limit
how many people are in the building, so that affects our timeliness and efficiency. So that is one
challenge. The other challenge we have is Congress, and on one hand, it was great for taxpayers.
They provided late legislation. At the end of December of last year, we had the second stimulus
payments. We also had various elections that take taxpayers could elect, for example on EITC, you
could look back to your 2019 return if it was less to get more of a credit. Again, that was very
helpful for taxpayers. But the IRS had not entered that into their system. So that required manual
reviews. We had over 11 million taxpayers put a number on their recovery rebates that was
inconsistent with IRS records. That required manual review, so and then the unemployment
compensation again, very favourable to taxpayers, Congress excluded the 10,200 of income but
the problem was they did it early March, I think it was March 11. Half of the returns were already filed,
and so that created a challenge for the IRS to make the correction and in the meantime I think a lot
of taxpayers filed amended returns so that increased the amended return. So I think it is kind
of you add all those of things up and it equaled very unpleasant 2021 filing season. I think a
lot of the 941 were the benefits, again, that Congress provided taxpayers on the employment side,
and so taxpayers were filing or filing amended returns to avail themselves of the benefit that
Congress allowed. So when you add all those things up again, it was a painful year. I don't know
if I hit all parts. Veronica Tubman: You hit every last one of them. And thanks again. Okay.
Erin Collins: And by the way, I got, was a call a friend, I got a friend of mine, one of my
employees, basically said, hey, silly woman, if you don't know the answer to how they can get a
job at TAS, help people, taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/careers. So come on in. Veronica Tubman: That
was great. That's a good resource. Way to go, so now that you have it, we'll have more all hands
on deck. So make online account available for U.S. citizens outside the U.S. would be very
helpful as those taxpayers many times don't get letters and notices. Is that in the work that you
know? Erin Collins: It's in my request, yes I think international taxpayers really struggled
because they've closed a lot across the globe, I can't believe I'm saying this across the globe.
They've closed out a lot of their offices that they had through embassy and other things. So it's
difficult to get to the IRS in a foreign country, mail is an issue, especially now in light of the
pandemic. So by the time the notice gets out and gets to a taxpayer, they may already be out of
time. So I am pushing hard for all including international taxpayers who have that ability to
access their online accounts. I mean, sometimes I think they even need it more, because of the
challenges that they're facing. And we want them to be compliant. So we should be helping them.
Veronica Tubman: Okay, got it. So kind of on the same line, many of my clients this is from a preparer are
complaining of how invasive the IRS online sign-up is, and are refusing to use it. So do you have
any advice for that? Erin Collins: Yes, I am one that was online challenge as well. And I had
struggled. So I do understand, I didn't think it was invasive, I just had problems. They did
change their systems in November, they switch to something that they refer to as SADI which I
think is something like Secure Access Digital something or another. And they are using an outside
vendor ID.me. What I've heard good news of that is once you get an account, and I understand the
struggle to get an account, but you can also use that log in and other government agencies such as
Social Security. So we are trying to work with other Federal agencies to make it easy for
taxpayers. But they still there are well above a 50% success rate. I think under the last system,
they were well below it. Here, I think they're closer to a 70% to 80% chance of success rate. So
more taxpayers you're getting through. But again back to your grade school days, 70% is like a C
or C minus. So that's not exactly a good grade. Veronica Tubman: Got it. So here we have another
good one. Taxpayers have been waiting, waiting for many months for refunds, will interest be paid
for their delayed refund? Erin Collins: It should be, the statute requires that the IRS doesn't
pay, I forget the actual number. So sorry, I don't know limit 45 days or something that they
should be receiving interest. So you're going to get small amount of interest. Veronica
Tubman: Little bit of interest, okay. Does the Taxpayer Advocate deals with state issues as well?
Erin Collins: Not really, the only thing that we might be able to do is if it's a Federal issue
that the state is looking at, we might be able to help you relay information to the states but we
only focus on IRS issues. Veronica Tubman: Got it. Okay. And does the TAS work with VITA and TCE
sites? If so, could you briefly describe how? Erin Collins: Yeah, our case advocates one of their
goals or missions that they have is part of outreach. So they spend or should be spending a fair
amount of time in local community events upcoming for those who are interested, I believe next
Thursday is the EITC Awareness Day. TAS if you go to our website, we also have our filing season
dates where we provide information of kind of the do's and don'ts on some of the changes of law
that you should be aware of. And we do work with VITA our clinics. So we tried very hard to get
out in the community. And I always welcome, if you all have events locally, feel free to reach out
to your local taxpayer advocate, because it might be something that we can assist you with.
Veronica Tubman: Sounds good. Okay. Here we have another question. If a client started with the
Taxpayer Advocate and stops, and they've closed the case. Can the case be reopened when the
taxpayer is ready again? Erin Collins: There's a lot of facts unknown on that. But generally,
yes, I mean, if you close the case, but there's still an issue or an issue has resurfaced. That is
something you might be able to go back to the office and explain what the situation is. But
without knowing the underlying facts. I want to be a little vague in my answer. Veronica Tubman:
Okay. All right. Thanks for that. So I need a little clarity here. I'm confused about the
difference between LITC versus VITA or an AARP Tax Program. What's the difference? Erin Collins:
Okay, I can start with the first two and work my way to the third. So the LITCs, what they do is
represent taxpayers usually post the filing of the return. Last two years, we've made some
exceptions where they assisted, basically non-filers who are not in the system so they could get
their stimulus checks. But typically think of the LITC as being the person you would go to for
examination or a collection issue or litigation, because that's really their primary function is
that time of going through sort of the program, or the challenges that taxpayer dealing with.
Whereas VITA is more upfront. The VITA volunteers help taxpayers prepare the return and get
them filed. So one advantage for folks that are able to use VITA, statistically it shows that VITA
have fewer errors. So that's good, but they can also file returns electronically. So that right
now is a huge plus, if you're able to go out and get VITA to assist you. They can do that. AARP
I've had the honor of speaking with the AARP Group. I do know that they do a lot of tax
assistance. I think some of the AARPs are actually VITA folks. So I think they kind of wear
multiple hats. So anyway, so hopefully that kind of makes the distinction. But AARP and VITA are
more upfront. Whereas the LITC is once a problem arises, examination, a collection, that sort of
thing. That's where the LITC folks come in. Veronica Tubman: Got it. Thanks again. Okay, so where
do we find the members of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel that represents our state? Where can we find
that? Erin Collins: So you guys are going to make me flip through the slide deck. On the slide
deck that has the section or I'm just talking flow so I can find it. All right, so the slide that
talks about the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel. On the bottom, it says for more information, and it has
their website, improveirs.org. If you go into that website, it does list by state, each of the
volunteers, and it also talks a bit about what they do, some of the recommendations and other
types of things. So I would recommend you go there. And, again, a plug for if you want to
volunteer, it's a great place to spend time and really have an opportunity to look at some of the
issues. So we have improveirs.org is the website. Veronica Tubman: Okay, so what advice do you
have? And this is our final question from return prepare, when the taxpayer either lost their
letter from the IRS or never received it with a total monthly child tax credit payments. What
advice do you have? Erin Collins: Yes, I think at that point, the best answer may not be a
workable answer, which is have the taxpayer go to their online account. Again, the IRS what's on
that online account is going to match IRS records. And that's the best thing to do. If the
taxpayer is unable or hasn't established an account. The next best thing is, secondary evidence so
to speak. If they had direct deposits, have them pull out six months of deposits. You don't have,
you don't see what was the deposits each of the accounts. You really again, you want to jump
through whatever hoops you can to determine that number. So either go to the child tax credit
portal, go to their online account, go to bank statements. There is a phone number, I apologize, I
don't know what it is, it's on irs.gov. If you have a problem or questions specific to child tax
credit, you can call that number, and they may be able to help you as well. But unfortunately,
with the phone service, that would probably be my last option. Veronica Tubman: Okay. Thanks,
Erin. Audience unfortunately, that's all the time we have for questions. You know, I really want
to thank Erin for sharing her knowledge and sharing some experiences and her expertise, and for
answering your questions. But before we close the Q&A session, Erin, what key takeaways do you
want the attendees to remember from today's webinar? Erin Collins: It's probably going to
surprise you, but file electronically. Have your direct deposit anyway. But one of the key
takeaways and something we're I'm very proud of our guys are in our communications group. We
are now bilingual, our website is both in English and Spanish. So a big shout out to our team who
are able to help those who speak Spanish, get necessary tax information. So we've included that in
there as well. And then also for those of you who have not spent time on our websites, we have or
really try and put on a lot of information, including filing season and other tips and
recommendations. We also one of the honors I have as the NTA is I have a blog, I never thought
I'd have a blog in my life. But I have a blog, and we try and get out information to taxpayers,
you can always subscribe to the blog. But we also have something that we refer to is our
interactive roadmap. And anyone who's in the DC area, it kind of looks like the DC metro map
It has different stops, if that's the right word along the way. So it shows from sort of the
progression of filing a return from filing season to exam to appeal to collection to litigation.
And it's interactive. So if you click on it, it can take you to a particular notice if you have a
number of the notice. And it explains what that notice is, it kind of gives a high level overview.
So I get a lot of practitioners tell me that's a little helpful, so they can explain it to their
clients. So that would be a takeaway. And then again, do everything we can to have this be the
most uneventful filing season possible. And I think that's on all of us. It's not just on IRS
employees, it really has, puts an onus on return prepares. So please make sure we have the least
amount of errors so that we don't hold up your clients tax refunds or issues. And it will also
impact everyone. So again, make sure you return matches the W-2, the Social Security, the math is
correct, the EITC, the child's credit. You play a very important role with respect to tax
administration. And so I think it's on all of us. It is a team effort. So you know, again, I
appreciate it. And I want to thank everyone who attended that sat through however many minutes it is.
Do appreciate, trying to get the information out and as they said, like we need you guys in order
to have a successful filing season. So thank you for all you do for taxpayers as well as tax
administration. So back to you, Veronica, I guess the commercial for upcoming webinars. Veronica
Tubman: Okay, thank you much. We've appreciate those takeaways, some good items to have. And
thanks again Erin. Audience, we are planning additional webinars throughout the year. To register
for an upcoming webinar, please visit irs.gov keyword search webinars and select the Webinars for
Tax Practitioners or Webinars for Small Businesses. When appropriate we'll be offering
certificates of completion for upcoming webinars. We invite you to visit our video portal at
www.irsvideos.gov. There you can do archived versions of our webinar. And certificates of
completion are not offered. Remember that if you view an archived version of any of our webinars
on the IRS video portal. And again, a big thank you to our speaker for a great webinar. For
sharing her expertise with us, or experiences and for answering your question. If you're
attending today's webinar for at least 50 minutes after the official start time, you will receive
a certificate of completion that you can use with your credentialing organization for one possible
CE credit. If you attended for at least 100 minutes after the official start time, you will
receive a certificate of completion for two possible CE credit. So again, the time we spent
chatting before the webinar started, doesn't count toward the 50 and 100 minutes. If you're
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be posted in your PTIN account. If you qualify and have not received your certificate or credit
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would just take a few minutes to complete a short evaluation before you exit. If you'd like to
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well check to make sure you've disabled your pop-up blocker. It has been a pleasure to be with
you. And on behalf of the Internal Revenue Service and our presenter Erin Collins. We want to
thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to attend today's webinar. It's really
important for the IRS to stay connected with the tax professional community, individual taxpayers,
industry associations along with federal, state and local government agencies. You make our job a
lot easier by sharing the information that allows for proper tax reporting. Thanks again for your
time and attention and for just being with us today. We wish you much success in your business or
practice and you may exit the webinar at this time. Thanks again.