The IRS Appeals Office

The IRS Independent Office of Appeals (“IRS Appeals”) was established to provide an “independent” IRS function that is separate and independent from the IRS’s compliance functions that maintain responsibility for collecting and assessing taxes.  By statute, its function is to resolve tax controversies without litigation on a basis that: (1) is fair and impartial to both the IRS and the taxpayer; (2) promotes a consistent application and interpretation of, and voluntary compliance with, federal tax laws; and (3) enhances public confidence in the integrity and efficiency of IRS.

IRS Appeals has been around—by one name or another—for almost a century.   Section 1001 of the 2019 Taxpayer First Act renamed the IRS Office of Appeals to the IRS Independent Office of Appeals. But most of its operations remained the same.

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