The IRS has made a significant yet "common sense" policy change that will end the majority of unauthorized agent visits to taxpayers' homes, primarily due to security concerns.
This change in policy, which became effective right away, breaks with decades of IRS revenue officer practice of unexpectedly knocking on taxpayers' doors to discuss unpaid taxes.
The purpose of the modification, according to a statement from the agency, is to lessen the possibility that nerve-wracking surprise home visits by tax enforcement agents could get out of hand and endanger both taxpayers and agency field officers.
The IRS claims that agents frequently encounter "hazards and uncertainty" when making surprise visits and that experience indicates that unannounced door knocks at residences and places of business are high-risk encounters.
Unannounced visits also put taxpayer safety at risk and caused "public confusion," according to the IRS.
According to a statement from IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel, "These visits added to taxpayers' already high levels of apprehension about potential con artists." "Also, the stress that IRS employees experienced as a result of not knowing what to expect when they visited these homes. The time is right to end it, and this is the right thing to do.
The IRS claims that the rise in con artists posing as IRS agents in recent years has contributed to the issue by confusing both taxpayers and local law enforcement.
The adjustment coincides with the IRS's recent adoption of a new Strategic Operating Plan, which aims, among other things, to humanize the tax collection organization.
Making this change is a common-sense move, according to Mr. Werfel. "We are taking a fresh look at how the IRS operates to better serve taxpayers and the nation," he said. "Changing this established procedure will boost trust in our tax administration efforts and enhance overall security for taxpayers and IRS personnel."
The union for tax agents, the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), praised the decision to shift policy regarding unannounced door knocks.
Tony Reardon, president of the NTEU, said in a statement: "We applaud Commissioner Werfel's prompt action after hearing the safety concerns raised by NTEU leaders and IRS Field Collection employees who faced hazardous situations that put their safety at risk."
He attributed the increased risk to "false, inflammatory rhetoric about the agency and its workforce."
Although Mr. Reardon did not go into further detail, it is possible that he was alluding to Republican claims that a portion of the recent funding boost of about $80 billion would be used to hire a "army" of new IRS agents who would target lower-income Americans with audits.
When the proposed increase in IRS funding dominated headlines in August 2022, then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) warned that "Democrats' new army of 87,000 IRS agents will be coming for you—with 710,000 new audits for Americans who earn less than $75k."
Both the IRS and the Treasury Department have repeatedly denied that audit rates for people making less than $400,000 would increase above historical levels, claiming that new hires would concentrate on bettering taxpayer services and that seasoned auditors would pursue corporate and high-end tax evaders.
On July 24, Mr. Werfel reiterated this idea and stated that the agency is increasing personnel and resources for compliance work that focuses on important areas like high-income taxpayers with tax problems.
He declared, "We have the resources necessary to successfully collect revenue without raising anxiety with unauthorized visits.
"Scammers posing as the IRS are the only losers with this change in policy."
The change only applies to the IRS's unarmed division; its criminal investigations unit, which handles serious tax offenses and has armed officers who can conduct raids, is unaffected.
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Instead of unannounced door knocks, IRS agents will send letters to taxpayers to schedule in-person meetings. Unannounced visits will only take place in "extremely limited" circumstances, according to the agency.
The IRS said in a statement that these "rare instances" included serving summonses and subpoenas as well as sensitive enforcement actions involving the seizure of assets, particularly those that might otherwise be beyond the reach of the government.
Less than several hundred unexpected door knocks on taxpayers' doors per year, on average, are of this nature, according to the agency. In contrast, thousands of unannounced IRS agent visits to taxpayers' homes per year occurred under the previous policy.
The IRS Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI) unit, a division whose agents look into crimes like fraud and tax evasion, is unaffected by the policy change.
In a recent high-profile raid on a Florida company, armed IRS-CI agents made headlines. According to Fox 29, last week, at least 25 to 30 IRS-CI agents dressed in tactical gear carried out a search warrant at a company in Stuart, Florida. An unnamed witness told the outlet, "It was like a scene from a movie." They had heavy, tactical equipment because, most likely, they had no idea what they were getting into. According to Carissa Cutrell, a public affairs officer at IRS-CI, there are currently about 2,100 agents in the criminal investigations division.
According to Ms. Cutrell, "IRS-CI's mission includes not only looking into criminals for the crimes they've committed but also preventing potential criminals from committing new crimes."
The unit had about 3,500 special agents in the middle of the 1990s, and according to her, it loses 150 to 175 agents yearly due to retirements and attrition. For a net gain of between 150 and 175 agents, Ms. Cutrell stated that the unit plans to hire about 350 agents this fiscal year.
This change in policy, which became effective right away, breaks with decades of IRS revenue officer practice of unexpectedly knocking on taxpayers' doors to discuss unpaid taxes.
The purpose of the modification, according to a statement from the agency, is to lessen the possibility that nerve-wracking surprise home visits by tax enforcement agents could get out of hand and endanger both taxpayers and agency field officers.
The IRS claims that agents frequently encounter "hazards and uncertainty" when making surprise visits and that experience indicates that unannounced door knocks at residences and places of business are high-risk encounters.
Unannounced visits also put taxpayer safety at risk and caused "public confusion," according to the IRS.
According to a statement from IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel, "These visits added to taxpayers' already high levels of apprehension about potential con artists." "Also, the stress that IRS employees experienced as a result of not knowing what to expect when they visited these homes. The time is right to end it, and this is the right thing to do.
The IRS claims that the rise in con artists posing as IRS agents in recent years has contributed to the issue by confusing both taxpayers and local law enforcement.
The adjustment coincides with the IRS's recent adoption of a new Strategic Operating Plan, which aims, among other things, to humanize the tax collection organization.
Making this change is a common-sense move, according to Mr. Werfel. "We are taking a fresh look at how the IRS operates to better serve taxpayers and the nation," he said. "Changing this established procedure will boost trust in our tax administration efforts and enhance overall security for taxpayers and IRS personnel."
The union for tax agents, the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), praised the decision to shift policy regarding unannounced door knocks.
Tony Reardon, president of the NTEU, said in a statement: "We applaud Commissioner Werfel's prompt action after hearing the safety concerns raised by NTEU leaders and IRS Field Collection employees who faced hazardous situations that put their safety at risk."
He attributed the increased risk to "false, inflammatory rhetoric about the agency and its workforce."
Although Mr. Reardon did not go into further detail, it is possible that he was alluding to Republican claims that a portion of the recent funding boost of about $80 billion would be used to hire a "army" of new IRS agents who would target lower-income Americans with audits.
When the proposed increase in IRS funding dominated headlines in August 2022, then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) warned that "Democrats' new army of 87,000 IRS agents will be coming for you—with 710,000 new audits for Americans who earn less than $75k."
Both the IRS and the Treasury Department have repeatedly denied that audit rates for people making less than $400,000 would increase above historical levels, claiming that new hires would concentrate on bettering taxpayer services and that seasoned auditors would pursue corporate and high-end tax evaders.
On July 24, Mr. Werfel reiterated this idea and stated that the agency is increasing personnel and resources for compliance work that focuses on important areas like high-income taxpayers with tax problems.
He declared, "We have the resources necessary to successfully collect revenue without raising anxiety with unauthorized visits.
"Scammers posing as the IRS are the only losers with this change in policy."
The change only applies to the IRS's unarmed division; its criminal investigations unit, which handles serious tax offenses and has armed officers who can conduct raids, is unaffected.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM WAYNEDUPREE.COM
Instead of unannounced door knocks, IRS agents will send letters to taxpayers to schedule in-person meetings. Unannounced visits will only take place in "extremely limited" circumstances, according to the agency.
The IRS said in a statement that these "rare instances" included serving summonses and subpoenas as well as sensitive enforcement actions involving the seizure of assets, particularly those that might otherwise be beyond the reach of the government.
Less than several hundred unexpected door knocks on taxpayers' doors per year, on average, are of this nature, according to the agency. In contrast, thousands of unannounced IRS agent visits to taxpayers' homes per year occurred under the previous policy.
The IRS Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI) unit, a division whose agents look into crimes like fraud and tax evasion, is unaffected by the policy change.
In a recent high-profile raid on a Florida company, armed IRS-CI agents made headlines. According to Fox 29, last week, at least 25 to 30 IRS-CI agents dressed in tactical gear carried out a search warrant at a company in Stuart, Florida. An unnamed witness told the outlet, "It was like a scene from a movie." They had heavy, tactical equipment because, most likely, they had no idea what they were getting into. According to Carissa Cutrell, a public affairs officer at IRS-CI, there are currently about 2,100 agents in the criminal investigations division.
According to Ms. Cutrell, "IRS-CI's mission includes not only looking into criminals for the crimes they've committed but also preventing potential criminals from committing new crimes."
The unit had about 3,500 special agents in the middle of the 1990s, and according to her, it loses 150 to 175 agents yearly due to retirements and attrition. For a net gain of between 150 and 175 agents, Ms. Cutrell stated that the unit plans to hire about 350 agents this fiscal year.
