IMRS Monthly Overview - June 2011
NEW IMRS ISSUES
Campus
IMRS 11-0001480 – Limit to Practitioner Priority Service assistance
Issue: A tax practitioner is frustrated that he cannot resolve all taxpayer account and transcript issues in one call to the Practitioner Priority Service hotline. The practitioner would like clarification as to whether there is a limit to the number of taxpayer accounts and/or transcript requests per call.
IMRS 11-0001482 – Problems processing tax returns of H2-A visa workers
Issue: A tax practitioner with a low income tax clinic repeatedly receives notices assessing self-employment tax on H2-A visa workers. H2-A visa workers are exempt under IRC 3121(b)(1). The practitioner requests guidance on how to prepare these returns to alert IRS of the exemption.
RECENTLY CLOSED ISSUES
Campus
IMRS Issue 10-0001303 – Incorrect processing of Form 943 deposit record
Issue: The taxpayer is a Form 943 depositor, with a tax liability below $50,000 every year. Although he completes Form 943 listing the monthly record of tax liability as required by the instructions, he has consistently received notices to file F 943-A, Agricultural Employer's Record of Federal Tax Liability. When he calls the IRS, he is advised that there is no record of a tax liability in the system. He is concerned that the monthly record of tax liability as shown on the return is being overlooked when the return is processed.
Response: We have reviewed the returns in question and determined that an error was made during processing. The information on line 17 was overlooked during transcription and this resulted in issuance of Notice 207. This notice instructs taxpayers to submit a completed Form 943-A if they wish to appeal the proposed penalty amount. This instruction is the same for monthly schedule depositors or semi-weekly schedule depositors. The notice asks monthly schedule depositors to complete the 943-A rather than the monthly schedule on line 17 because receipt of a completed monthly schedule could be interpreted at the campus as an amended return.
We apologize for the inconvenience caused and have taken corrective actions to minimize future processing errors of Form 943.
Communication and Outreach
IMRS Issue 10-0001316 – Request for listing of active servicewide surveys
Issue: An internal stakeholder recommended a new landing page on IRS.gov for all active Servicewide customer satisfaction surveys. A single point of control identifying surveys for both internal as well as external stakeholders will provide survey recipients a resource to verify the authenticity of the survey.
Response: The IRS conducts customer satisfaction surveys by telephone, by mail and online to capture taxpayer and tax practitioner opinions and suggestions for improving our products and services. The surveys are administered by contractors who have passed a rigid security screening process to maintain respondent confidentiality. An IRS survey will never ask for personal information like a Social Security number, taxpayer identification number or any credit card or bank information, but respondents still question whether surveys are phishing schemes.
As a result of the IMRS issue, a new page that provides a listing of current and recent IRS sponsored surveys was created on IRS.gov, and there is a process in place to make sure the page is maintained. Respondents can now search “customer satisfaction surveys” if they question the authenticity of a survey. Future survey letters will direct respondents to the new page on IRS.gov.
NOTE: Current and previous reports are also available on this site. The Monthly Overviews are posted for the prior two years through the current month. You can also access reports for Issues Closed in Prior Years on the same page.
We invite you to raise your issues/concerns with your local stakeholder liaison.
