When a revenue officer is assigned: contact rules, the first interview and deadlines

Who revenue officers are

Revenue officers work balance due and delinquent return cases assigned to Field Collection through the Integrated Collection System. Pub 594 describes them as employees who “help resolve taxes owed as part of the collection process” and notes “Unannounced visits are rare.” Once a case is assigned (status 26), the taxpayer cannot use the online payment agreement tool for those balances; IRM 5.14.1.2 says status 26 cases “cannot set-up a payment plan in Online Payment Agreement (OPA) or Individual Online Account (IOLA).” Everything goes through the revenue officer.

The IRS does not publish its criteria for assigning cases to the field. The IRM procedures cover individual and business cases alike, including unpaid employment taxes, delinquent returns and trust fund recovery penalty investigations. After financial analysis, IRM 5.15.1.2 lists the decisions a revenue officer makes: request payment from available assets, make a lien determination, start enforcement if the taxpayer will not convert assets, enter into an installment agreement, report the account currently not collectible, or explain the offer in compromise provisions.

How first contact happens

IRM 5.1.10.3 requires the revenue officer to attempt initial contact by phone or by appointment within 55 calendar days of ICS assignment, 25 days for FTD alerts, and 70 days for CIP leads. “Issuing an appointment letter itself is not a timely initial contact action”; it must schedule a meeting.

The appointment letters and their enclosures:

“Do not schedule the initial contact at a taxpayer or representative’s location.” The first meeting is at an IRS office or by phone. For a business with no prior revenue officer history, the officer may make one phone attempt and, if contact is made and no safety concerns exist, schedule the interview at the business location (IRM 5.1.10.3).

The initial investigative interview

IRM 5.1.10.3.2 opens: “An effective initial investigative interview is the cornerstone to a timely and appropriate case resolution.” During that interview the revenue officer is told to:

• Request immediate full or partial payment of all delinquent accounts, including those still in notice status.
• Request immediate filing of all delinquent returns.
• Verify filing and payment, including EFTPS acknowledgment numbers to confirm deposits.
• Address any unresolved installment agreement request (TC 971 AC 043) and any unprocessed CDP or equivalent hearing request received before assignment.
• Give the taxpayer a chance to fix an incorrect liability by amended return, adjustment or payment tracer.
• Determine compliance with current filing, payment and deposit requirements, and the reason for the delinquency.
• Instruct the taxpayer to file returns through the revenue officer and provide proof of current estimated payments or deposits until the case is resolved.
• Ask whether the taxpayer is a federal contractor.
• Attempt to secure, review and discuss a collection information statement, or at least basic asset information.

If the case is not resolved in that meeting, the officer documents a realistic plan for resolving it, such as full payment by a date or an installment agreement, and sets follow-up dates. Financial analysis follows IRM 5.15.1, which tells revenue officers to request full payment first and, if an asset could pay the balance, to ask the taxpayer to liquidate it.

Business cases and field visits

For businesses, the IRM expects the revenue officer to see the operation. IRM 5.15.1.2: “The on-site physical verification of the business assets is required at some point early in the financial statement verification process”, in the presence of the taxpayer or representative, absent safety concerns. If a represented business case is unresolved after the first interview, the revenue officer must schedule a meeting at the business location; a non-local representative may be asked to travel or join by phone with the taxpayer present.

For corporations with unpaid trust fund taxes, the revenue officer identifies potentially responsible persons, explains the TFRP and gives Notice 784, then begins the investigation with Form 4180 interviews if full payment is not secured. The IRM cautions: “At this point, do not state that the IRS has decided who is liable for the TFRP, only that whoever is liable is subject to it.” See the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty and Letter 1153. For LLCs, the officer first determines the classification to decide whether the LLC or its owner is liable.

Deadlines and enforcement warnings

When the taxpayer must act, IRM 5.1.10.3.2 requires the revenue officer to explain and document the action, the deadline, and the specific type of enforcement that may follow. In face-to-face meetings, Form 9297, Information and Document Request, lists the items and the due date; the taxpayer gets the original. Generic notes like “WOEA” are not enough; the history must name the specific enforcement action.

Revenue officers often deliver Letter 1058 (the final notice with CDP rights) when a deadline is set, though the IRM says to “Use discretion when issuing the L-1058 on initial contact with an IMF-only balance due taxpayer.” The 30-day CDP window then runs from that letter. See LT11 and Letter 1058 and the CDP deadline calculator.

Representation rules

IRC 6304(a)(2) bars direct contact with a taxpayer represented by a person authorized to practice before the IRS. IRM 5.1.10.7.2 applies it this way: if a valid Form 2848 covers all open periods, the revenue officer must contact the representative. If the 2848 does not cover every open period, the revenue officer may contact the taxpayer to validate representation and get an updated form, using Letter 725-B with Letter 5427, without Form 9297 and without warning of enforcement.

Even when the 2848 covers only some periods, the revenue officer will ask the representative about current compliance (current income or payroll, estimated tax or deposits due, and whether they have been paid) while taking care not to disclose information for uncovered periods. A Form 8821 designee can receive information but cannot represent. See Form 2848, 2848 versus 8821 and when the IRS contacts a client directly.

Rights during interviews

• Stopping to consult. If a taxpayer wants to consult a representative, the interview is suspended, and “If the interview is suspended, allow a minimum of 10 business days for the consultation with an authorized representative.” This does not apply to an interview under summons (IRC 7521(b)(2)).
• Recording. Taxpayers may audio record in-person interviews, but not telephone interviews, and “The taxpayer does not have a right to make a video recording of an in-person interview.”
• Payments and receipts. Taxpayers generally may designate voluntary payments and are entitled to receipts (IRM 5.1.10.7.3).
• Transfer and TAS. Taxpayers may ask for a transfer to another office, generally honored for a valid reason, and may contact TAS at any time; the revenue officer must provide Form 911 and explain the right.
• Third-party contacts. Before contacting third parties, the revenue officer must have given advance notice (Letter 3164), and taxpayers may request a list of third-party contacts (IRM 5.1.1.12.1; 5.1.10.7.3).

How to prepare

1. Fix the 2848 first. Cover every open period and type of tax, including current-year periods if compliance is in question.
2. Get compliant. File what can be filed and make the current quarter's estimated tax payments or deposits before the interview.
3. Bring the financial package. A completed Form 433-A or 433-B, three to six months of bank statements, pay records, loan statements and a list of assets with values.
4. Have a proposal. Full pay date, simple payment plan, installment amount, or a documented hardship position.
5. Ask about liens and levies. Ask whether an NFTL determination will be made and whether any levy is planned, and when.
6. Confirm every deadline in writing and calendar the CDP date if Letter 1058 is delivered.

Questions practitioners ask