This IRM provides a general overview of the program, policy, or process in the first subsection, and include:

Purpose: Taxpayer Services (TS) and Small Business/Self Employed (SB/SE) Business Operating Divisions (BODs) handle taxpayer contacts by:

Audience: The primary users of this IRM are IRS employees in areas who are in contact with taxpayers by telephone, correspondence, in person or Live Chat.

Policy Owner: The policy owner of this IRM is the Director of Accounts Management

Program Owner: The program owners of this IRM is Taxpayer Services, Customer Account Services, Accounts Management, Policy and Procedures IMF (PPI) Individual Adjustments.

Primary Stakeholders: The primary stakeholders are organizations with responsibilities outlined in this IRM and are divided into three subordinate units:

Program Goals: The program goals for this type of work are:

All functional areas of the IRS are committed to achieving excellence in the service provided to all taxpayers. Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) are trained to communicate with taxpayers and to be knowledgeable of tax law and related IRS operational procedures. CSRs must help taxpayers, practitioners and other third parties, in a manner that warrants the highest degree of public confidence.

The IRS does not tolerate discriminatory treatment of taxpayers by its employees in any programs or activities supported by the Service. No taxpayer is to be subjected to discrimination in education programs or activities based on sex, race, color, national origin, disability, reprisal, religion, or age.

To ensure quality service for our customers, all work performed by CSRs is subject to review. Work is reviewed by:

Managers, or qualified designees, will share evaluative and non-evaluative reviews with CSRs. While sharing the review, managers will provide feedback to identify successes and opportunities for improvement:

Employee must use the Servicewide Electronic Research Program (SERP) resources while working telephone contacts, live chat and paper cases to improve quality and performance:

A CSR (referred to throughout this section) includes, but is not limited to, the following named positions:

The duties of a CSR are varied. Many hours are spent on the telephone, live chat, working paper cases, or helping taxpayers at a TAC counter. Paper cases include both incoming taxpayer correspondence and internally generated cases.

The duties of a CSR may include, but are not limited to:

Taxpayer inquiries include telephone calls, live chat, correspondence, and personal contacts about:

Tax law assistance includes responding to inquiries about:

See IRM 21.1.1.3.2, Out of Scope and Limited Service, for information about the services CAS Accounts Management does not provide.

Calls regarding any international issue(s) in Exhibit 21.1.1-1, Out-of-Scope Topics and Forms, cannot be transferred. Advise the caller you cannot assist with the issue and direct the caller to the appropriate toll-free number below.

Field Assistance representatives refer to IRM 21.3.4.9, Tax Law Assistance, for overall guidance on responding to tax law inquiries and IRM 21.3.4.9.2.2, Out-of-Scope Tax Law Referrals, to determine if the question is considered in-scope or out-of-scope.

Field Assistance (FA) has implemented the FA Appointment Services in Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs). AM employees answer these calls on a designated toll-free line, and schedule appointments only after trying to resolve the issue (if certified or trained) and offering other alternatives (self-help) to the taxpayer. If the taxpayer refuses to have the issue resolved over the phone and would like an appointment, transfer to App 55/56, transfer numbers 1055/1056. See IRM 21.1.3.2.5, Initial Authentication Transfer Procedures/Transfer PIN. Also, provide the taxpayer with the toll-free number (844-545-5640) and Hours of Operation.

AM employees NOT staffing the TAC appointment line must attempt to resolve the taxpayer’s issue before transferring to App 55/56, transfer numbers 1055/1056.

AM does not answer out-of-scope (OOS) tax law questions. Topics listed in the TTG (as well as those listed in Exhibit 21.1.1-1, Out-of-Scope Topics and Forms) under extension 3013 and 3014 are OOS tax law topics. DO NOT TRANSFER THESE CALLS. Taxpayers must be referred to the self-help options on OOS tax law questions. See Exhibit 21.1.1-2, Out-of-Scope Communications, for further instructions.

The Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TBOR) adopted by the IRS in June of 2014, provides that taxpayers have the right to receive prompt, courteous and professional help in their dealings with the IRS. They are to be spoken to in a manner that is understood and any correspondence from the IRS must be clear and understandable. They have the right to speak to a supervisor whenever quality service is not received.

In every interaction with taxpayers and/or authorized third party, whether you are interacting with a taxpayer via face-to-face, telephone, written correspondence, email, or Live Chat, you must always interact with them in a professional and courteous manner. Below is a chart of the do’s and don’ts of professional communication.

Employees’ personal cell phones and other electronic devices (iPads, tablets, etc.) may be brought into the workplace, but are to be used ONLY during breaks and lunchtime, or prior to or after an employee's official tour of duty. Employees should not interrupt their calls and conversations with taxpayers, third parties, and/or other IRS employees to take an incoming call on their personal cell phones. This also includes incoming and outgoing phone media such as text messages and emails. All personal cell phones must be silenced to avoid distractions and disturbances during working hours. Additionally, Microsoft Teams must only be used for work related matters.

The IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (IRS RRA 98), section 3705(a), provides identification requirements for all IRS employees working tax related matters. You must provide, in a professional and courteous manner to each taxpayer, authorized representative, or caller with whom you speak, the information below.

You must address all pertinent taxpayer/customer authentication probes, when necessary. See IRM 21.1.3.2.3, Required Taxpayer Authentication.

When staffing Live Chat, assistors may receive both authenticated and unauthenticated inquiries. It is important to be able to identify between the two, see IRM 21.1.3.2.2, Authorized and Unauthorized Disclosures, for more information.

Listen carefully and be attentive to the customer to identify the type of inquiry.

If transferring a customer to another application, (this applies to phone lines, and live chat) always provide the customer with the information to the place you are transferring to (i.e., the name of the department, the direct phone number if available, and the hours of operations if available).

If no one is on the line, first try to determine if it is a technical issue, (i.e., if on phone line can they hear you, if on live chat are they connected). Based on the product line you are staffing (phone lines or live chat), attempt to communicate to verify that there is no one on the line/chat, see below for an example.

For Live Chat,

On a telephone line, allow 30 seconds after greeting and identifying yourself for a response. If no response is received in 30 seconds:

Not trained or certified in a topic:

Use proper hold procedures.

Provide accurate and complete information.

Use of wrap time, Wrap time should be minimal except in rare instances. CSRs are expected to complete calls (account adjustments, tax related research and writing Account Management Services (AMS) notes) while on the line or on hold with the caller. If the taxpayer does not want to be placed on hold while specific actions are being performed on the account, wrap time must be used to close out notes being made to the account. For more information about completing on-line account calls, see IRM 21.1.3.20(2), Oral Statement Authority.

Confirm the caller has already sent the fax and confirm the IRS fax number they sent it to before placing the caller on hold to retrieve the document. Advise caller of expected wait time, never more than five minutes. Return to caller if wait time is longer.

If there are multiple taxpayers on a call who need help with account, (e.g., a married couple who filed FS 3, married filing separate returns), allow one account for each taxpayer on the call.

If caller requests to speak to a supervisor, follow the instructions below:

Closing the conversation.

On the Live Chat application:

Any telephone call not finalized by close of business (COB) may become a written referral.

In the event of a building emergency, such as fire alarms, drills or other emergency evacuation, apologize to the taxpayer and request the caller to contact the office later in the day or on the next business day and end the call. All other circumstances must be discussed with your manager.

If the caller has a tax law related question, and the employee is not tax law trained, transfer the call to the appropriate tax law application.

To ensure that you provide quality service, when helping callers who visit in person, or who call on the telephone with tax law/technical inquiries, you must use the available ITLA Tax Law Categories (TLCs) or the relevant IRMs for account inquiries. Cumulative Authority refers to required topics the remote sites must address. For calls received in remote sites, see Cumulative Authority in the TTG Telephone Transfer Guide.

UsingITLAand taking the actions specified is mandatory on tax law/technical inquiries.

Use the Account Management Services (AMS) or CII case notes, to document outgoing calls and actions taken. Avoid using phrases or wording that would be difficult for the next employee to understand.

When an account related call turns into a tax law/technical inquiry, you must use ITLA.

You can answer questions on taxpayer calls for any tax law application/technical topic you are trained and are certified on, for the current filing season. If you are not certified on that topic, offer the taxpayer a choice to go to IRS.gov or transfer the call to the proper application, using the TTG on SERP. All account issues should be resolved before transferring calls to a Tax Law only application. Advise the caller that you are transferring their call to the area that handles their question (identify the specific area).

Accounts Management has specific applications which are staffed to offer interpreter services for customers who do not speak English or Spanish. For assistors staffing the International Non - Toll-Free telephone line see IRM 21.8.1.2.3.2, Over the Phone Interpreter Service, (OPI) For International Non-Toll-Free calls, for further guidance. IRS employees will contact the Over the Phone Interpreter service. Assistors staffing applications 1033, 1123, 1135, 1137, and 286, have received an OPI PIN and training for interpreter service access. ONLY assistors who are trained and equipped will use the interpreter service. If you receive a call in a language other than English or Spanish and you are not staffing one of the applications that provide OPI service, refer to the Telephone Transfer Guide. Topics containing the headset symbol are available in languages other than English and Spanish. Click the headset to display the transfer application number and transfer the call.

Assistors staffing OPI applications must verify that the caller is properly routed and requires help in a language other than English or Spanish. After greeting the caller, probe to identify if the caller needs an interpreter.

The IRS/OPI contract allows the disclosure of tax information to the OPI Interpreter. The assistor must limit disclosure to only that information which is necessary to resolve the issue. The interpreters are not employees of the IRS so communicate with them exactly as you would communicate with the taxpayer. To use the OPI services, take the following steps:

An interpreter will be connected to the call if available. If an interpreter for the requested language is not available on the first try, don’t wait for an interpreter to become available; advise the taxpayer to call back.

Brief the interpreter. Summarize what you wish to accomplish and give any special instructions. Click conference to bring in the taxpayer.

The OPI Interpreter is there to help you in communication with the LEP taxpayer regardless of the individual’s preferred language by removing the language barrier between you the caller.

When transferring an LEP taxpayer, ensure the taxpayer and interpreter disconnect at the end of the call. When the caller disconnects, you will automatically move to "available" status and capture the next call. If the system does not place you in available status and the line is still open, make the following statement: "The call is complete, and you may hang up now." After the statement, press the Release key.

All IRS employees who use the OPI service can provide feedback about the service by completing Form 14162, Over-the-Phone Interpreter (OPI) Service Feedback, and submitting it by e-mail to the address on the form.

OPI Assistors Staffing NON-OPI Applications - If you have an OPI PIN but are staffing a non-OPI application, and the caller needs an interpreter for a language other than English or Spanish, transfer the caller to the correct OPI application according to the Telephone Transfer Guide.

Assistors Who Do Not Staff OPI Applications - Not all assistors are assigned to staff OPI applications and will use OPI services. Assistors who are not staffing an OPI application provide help in English and Spanish only. If an LEP taxpayer calls with their own interpreter and completes disclosure authentication, don’t transfer them to an OPI application unless requested by the caller. See IRM 21.1.3.4, Other Third-Party Inquiries. Transfer requests for languages other than English or Spanish following the Telephone Transfer Guide, which includes a list of topics and transfer numbers, identified by the headset icon, to which the taxpayer can be referred. If the taxpayer speaks Spanish, refer the caller to the proper Spanish application per the TTG.

The PSTN is a menu-based, call-routing Voice Response Unit (VRU) application that permits callers to self-direct their calls to designated IRS resources/applications.

The PSTN systemically answers a call and initiates an automated greeting script. Through voice prompts, PSTN then routes the call to a requested destination. If a caller:

The information on e-Service products is now found in IRM 21.2.1.53, e-Services.

Contact Recording is a telephone application/tool/system that records incoming toll-free telephone contacts for the purpose of possible subsequent monitoring.

Incoming calls are answered with an announcement that says, "Your call may be monitored or recorded for quality purposes."

The system is implemented in all Accounts Management and Compliance Services call sites.

Managers and Quality Review use the tool to perform required random reviews (performance and product) of incoming telephone contacts.

While the system provides screen capture of account actions, as well as voice recording of the call, the recordings are NOT accessible by TIN, voice processing personal identification number (VPIN), personal identification number (PIN), or any other TIN.

The system stores data by employees' standard employee identifier (SEID) for a maximum of 45 days. For Infrastructure Upgrade Project (IUP) sites, an Agent Number is used.

There is a procedure, within the system, to disable the recording if a caller says they do not wish to be recorded. Use the Verint Agent Initiated Monitoring icon on the start task bar and select Stop Monitoring to stop recording if the taxpayer requests not to be recorded.

If the caller also asks to record the conversation or the CSR becomes aware of being recorded without being asked, advise the caller they may not record the call. Advise the caller they may request a copy of the call under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Field Collection Action. See IRM 21.1.3.17.3, Taxpayer Request to Tape Record Conversation. Advise the caller this request must be in writing and contain the date, name and ID/badge number of the CSR, and the approximate time of the call. Also, for the IRS to locate and associate the call with the requester, there must be some identification of the taxpayer (name, address, TIN, etc.) during the call. The FOIA request cannot be processed without this information. See IRM 21.1.3.17.1(5), Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), for FOIA recording requests. Conversations from penal institutions should be courteously terminated. Advise the caller they may submit written correspondence or designate an authorized third party to call the IRS on their behalf. See IRM 21.1.3.17.3(2), Taxpayer Request to Tape Record Conversation.

The Customer Satisfaction Survey (CSS) allows the IRS to systemically collect and review satisfaction data from our customers. We solicit feedback from our customers to capture information about the service we provide. The IRS has contracted with outside vendors to receive, compile and report data from the survey. A relatively small number of telephone calls are randomly selected daily to complete the survey.

When the call is selected for the CSS, you will be notified by a display on the IUP display screen.

You will complete the call as usual. However, if the call needs to be transferred to another number or application, do not notify the caller, or offer the survey.

After the call is complete, you will read the following script exactly as written: "This call has been randomly selected for an anonymous IRS improvement survey. It will take under eight minutes. Would you be willing to participate in the survey?"

If the caller declines to participate, thank them and terminate the call. However, if the caller asks questions about the survey, read the following as written:

If the caller agrees to take the survey, thank the caller, and ask them to please wait until the call is transferred. Take the following steps to transfer the call as proper for the telephone system:

Since any CSR may be notified occasionally for a CSS attempt, always have a copy of script readily available.