IRS Chief Counsel goes virtual with national Settlement Days; Helps dozens of taxpayers settle their Tax Court cases
WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service Office of Chief Counsel is expanding its Virtual Settlement Days program after the tremendous success achieved by three offices that took Settlement Days events virtual in May 2020.
Settlement Days events are coordinated efforts to resolve cases in the United States Tax Court (Tax Court) by providing taxpayers not represented by counsel the opportunity to receive free tax advice from Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITCs), American Bar Association (ABA) volunteer attorneys and other pro bono organizations. Taxpayers can also discuss their Tax Court cases and resolve related tax issues with members of the IRS Office of Chief Counsel, the Independent Office of Appeals and Collection. By doing so, unrepresented taxpayers are often able to amicably settle their tax disputes without a trial.
In response to office closures and social distancing requirements, the Office of Chief Counsel quickly shifted its Settlement Days event to a virtual environment. Settlement Days events have traditionally been held in-person, requiring LITC staffers, pro bono attorneys and taxpayers to travel to a designated meeting location. Virtual Settlement Days events take advantage of WebEx audio-visual conferencing software to allow taxpayers to join events from any location, including their homes.
The Office of Chief Counsel first announced its shift to Virtual Settlement Days on May 5, 2020. (See IR-2020-87.) As part of that, Virtual Settlement Days events were held on May 9 in Detroit in conjunction with the University of Michigan Law School LITC, and on May 21 in Atlanta in conjunction with the North Georgia Low Income Taxpayer Clinic.
“The response to these programs has been overwhelming, and it encouraged us to expand this initiative to help more people,” said IRS Chief Counsel Mike Desmond.
The Detroit office expanded its event to eight days. The Atlanta office expanded to two events, one in May and one in June. Between them, the Detroit and Atlanta offices resolved the cases of more than 50 taxpayers. Now, the Office of Chief Counsel is expanding Virtual Settlement Days to other offices and hosting events more frequently.
“Virtual settlement days represent a continuing effort by the IRS to deliver meaningful resolution options to taxpayers, especially during these difficult times,” IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said. “Virtual options represent an addition to traditional methods of communication and resolution, not a replacement. The IRS strives to assist every taxpayer, including many who do not have the ability to interact in a virtual environment. The IRS is open to innovative approaches like the virtual settlement days to help people. We welcome comments from taxpayers and others regarding additional methods by which the IRS can ease the burdens on people of our country facing tax issues.”
The Office of Chief Counsel’s Los Angeles office held its first Virtual Settlement Day on May 26, and now also has events scheduled for June 9, 19 and 23, as well as July 7, 17 and 21. The Los Angeles office is working with six different LITCs to support these events. The Atlanta office also has additional events scheduled for June 16 and 17.
The Office of Chief Counsel’s Washington, D.C., office is inviting more than 60 unrepresented taxpayers to participate in its first Virtual Settlement Day on June 20, in conjunction with Catholic University Law Columbus Community Legal Services Low-Income Tax Clinic, American University Law Janet R. Spragens Federal Tax Clinic, and Morgan Lewis Center for Public Interest Tax Law and Legal Services of Northern Virginia.
“The success of Virtual Settlement Days is only possible thanks to the strong partnership between the Office of Chief Counsel, LITCs and pro bono attorneys,” Desmond said.
The Office of Chief Counsel looks forward to organizing more Virtual Settlement Days in the coming weeks. The IRS encourages unrepresented taxpayers with active Tax Court cases to contact the assigned Chief Counsel attorney or paralegal about participating in a Virtual Settlement Days event. If a taxpayer’s case is currently under consideration by the IRS Independent Office of Appeals, the taxpayer should contact the assigned Appeals Officer to discuss case resolution.
IRS Nationwide Tax Forums go virtual in 2020
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service announced the 2020 IRS Nationwide Tax Forums will be held virtually in 2020 with a series of live-streamed webinars beginning this July.
“Given restrictions on large gatherings and difficulties with travel, we’ve made the decision to present the IRS Nationwide Tax Forums in a virtual format this year,” IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said. “While we’re unable to meet in person, tax professionals will still be able to choose from a wide variety of virtual seminars on tax law. Many will be able to fully satisfy their annual continuing education requirements by registering and attending.”
Held each summer for the past 30 years, the IRS Nationwide Tax Forums are the IRS’s marquee outreach event to the tax professional community. The forums were scheduled to take place in six cities around the country this summer. Those in-person events are canceled. However, the change to a virtual format allows experts from the IRS and its association partners to still educate and update the tax professional community on tax law, cybesecurity, ethics and other topics.
Seminar dates and agenda
The 2020 Nationwide Tax Forums will begin on July 21 and continue through Aug. 20 with live-streamed webinars broadcast on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Registration enables attendees to participate in all of the live webinars and earn up to 30 Continuing Education Credits at one price.
As in previous years, the Nationwide Tax Forums agenda will feature a plenary session with tax law and publications update, as well as multiple sessions on high-interest topics such as qualified business income, exam and enforcement priorities, due diligence, cybersecurity and more. Presentations are made by both IRS experts and partner associations.
This year several seminars, including the plenary session, will be provided in Spanish.
Further details, including course titles, dates and times, will be available beginning in early June.
2020 registration and fees
Tax professionals who register by June 15 at 5 p.m. ET qualify for an Early Bird rate of $240 per person. The standard rate, starting June 16, will be $289.
Initial registration for the in-person 2020 forums began in March. Those who have already registered may transfer their registration to the virtual format at no additional cost. Refunds are available for those who choose not to participate. Registration information, as well as information on transfers and cancelations, is available at www.IRSTaxForum.com.
Discounts for national association members
Members of partner associations listed below qualify for a discount of $10 off the Early Bird rate, but only if they register by June 15. Participating association members should contact their association directly for more information:
American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Taxation
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA)
National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP)
National Society of Accountants (NSA)
National Society of Tax Professionals (NSTP)
Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITC)
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA)
IRS announces Form 1040-X electronic filing options coming this summer; major milestone reached for electronic returns
WASHINGTON- The Internal Revenue Service announced on May 28th that later this summer taxpayers will for the first time be able to file their Form 1040-X, Amended U.S Individual Income Tax Return, electronically using available tax software products.
Making the 1040-X an electronically filed form has been a goal of the IRS for a number of years. It’s also been an ongoing request from the nation’s tax professional community and has been a continuing recommendation from the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council (IRSAC) and Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC).
Currently, taxpayers must mail a completed Form 1040-X to the IRS for processing. The new electronic option allows the IRS to receive amended returns faster while minimizing errors normally associated with manually completing the form.
“This new process is a major milestone for the IRS, and it follows hard work by people across the agency,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “E-filing has been one of the great success stories of the IRS, and more than 90 percent of taxpayers use it routinely. But the big hurdle that’s been remaining for years is to convert amended returns into this electronic process. Our teams have worked diligently to overcome the unique challenges related to the 1040-X, and we look forward to offering this new service this summer.”
About 3 million Forms 1040-X are filed by taxpayers each year.
The new electronic filing option will provide the IRS with more complete and accurate data in an easily readable format to enable customer service representatives to answer taxpayers’ questions. Taxpayers can still use the “Where’s My Amended Return?” online tool to check the status of their electronically-filed 1040-X.
When the electronic filing option becomes available, only tax year 2019 Forms 1040 and 1040-SR returns can be amended electronically. In general, taxpayers will still have the option to submit a paper version of the Form 1040-X and should follow the instructions for preparing and submitting the paper form. Additional enhancements are planned for the future.
“Adding amended returns to the electronic family also complements our partnership with the tax software industry, which continues to work with us to provide better ways to help taxpayers,” said Ken Corbin, Commissioner of the IRS Wage and Investment division
