86 FR 47367: Comments on Form 911
Background:
On August 24, 2021, a notice was published in the Federal Register (86 FR 47367, Proposed Extension of Information Collection Request Submitted for Public Comment; Comment Request on Burden Related to Form 911, Request for Taxpayer Advocate Service Assistance (and Application for Taxpayer Assistance Order)):
The Internal Revenue Service, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning the burden related to Form 911, Request for Taxpayer Advocate Service Assistance (And Application for Taxpayer Assistance Order).
The notice stated that written comments should be received on or before October 25, 2021 to be assured of consideration and directed all written comments to Kinna Brewington, Internal Revenue Service, Room 6529, 1111 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20224.
Analysis of the Written Comments:
Changes requested by the Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School via letter to Kinna Brewington, Internal Revenue Service, dated October 20, 2021.
Suggested Revision to Form 911 |
Determination |
Form 911 should include an "Important Things to Know" section. We recommend that this information appear at the beginning of the Form, preceding Section 1, in a manner similar to Form 8857. Alternatively, we recommend that a box similar in style to that appearing on Form 8857 appear at the top of the Instructions page (page 3 of the current Form), preceding the section headed "Form 911 Filing Requirements." The box should include the following information: Instructions for When and How to Contact LITC; Additional Resources to Get Help in Completing Form 911; a reminder to attach pertinent documents; a reminder that the taxpayer advocate will call you and the circumstances under which such a call would take place. |
Partially Accept - agree to include an Important Things You Should Know section at the beginning of the instructions to include a reminder to furnish documentation, a reminder that the taxpayer can expect a call from TAS, and information on LITCs. |
Box 1 should request "Taxpayer Name" instead of "Your Name" |
Accept |
Box 2a should indicate when spousal information is required - recommend changing "(if applicable)" to "(if joint return)" |
Accept |
Boxes 6 and 7 should be moved below Boxes 8, 9, 10, and 11. |
Accept |
Box 8 should replace "Section II" with "authorized representative" |
Accept, but replace Section II is not being used with "no authorized representative" |
Box 12a Request for Information - this is a
fairly broad prompt, suggest the following: |
1. Accept. |
Box 12b instructions should provide more specific guidance about types of relief offered. Provide a common list of the types of relief granted. Not necessarily on the Form 911, but perhaps on Pub 1546 and could consist of a short, bulleted list describing common types of relief granted. This should be reference on Form 911. |
The type of relief can vary based on the specific circumstances of the taxpayer. TAS does not want a taxpayer to view the listing and decide that because the relief he or she is seeking is not listed, that TAS cannot provide assistance. TAS prefers the taxpayer describe the relief/assistance to the best of his or her ability. |
The Box 14a prompt be amended to read "Signature of spouse (if joint assistance request)" to clarify when a spousal signature is necessary. |
Accept. |
Section III should be removed from Form 911 or make the statement "To be completed by the IRS" more prominent. |
IRS employees prepare this form on behalf of taxpayers; therefore, we do not want this section removed. We do agree to make the statement more prominent. |
Page 3 of the Form 911 includes a section
entitled “Where to Send this Form.” The instructions
provide that the quickest way to file the form is by fax.
Additionally, taxpayers may mail their Form 911, but to do so,
they must look up their nearest Taxpayer Advocate office online
or in Publication 1546. As written, the instructions combine into
one directive both how and where to file the form. |
1. We believe that the Where to Send this
Form is clear in that the taxpayer can either fax or mail the
Form 911 to TAS. |
Changes requested by the Section of Taxation American Bar Association dated October 25, 2021 sent to Hon. Charles P. Rettig, Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service, 1111 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20224. Although this was sent to a recipient other than the designated recipient stated on 86 FR 47367, the letter clearly indicated that it was regarding Comments on IRS Form 911.
Suggested Revision to Form 911 |
Determination |
Provide a checkbox and related instructions
on Form 911 specifically pertaining to taxpayer requests for an
Offset Bypass Refund (OBR), and expedited procedures for handling
a Form 911 where the checkbox is checked. Insert OBR Checkbox on
line 12c. Insert the following language next to the OBR checkbox:
Check here if you are facing a financial hardship, such as an
inability to pay for rent, food, or medical expenses, and you need
your federal tax refund bur are concerned that it will be taken to
pay past-due federal tax debts. Update the instructions to the
Form 911 to include additional information pertaining to OBRs as
follows: |
TAS assists taxpayers with a wide range of tax administration issues. We believe that singling one issue out in this manner could cause some taxpayers to be confused that to obtain TAS assistance is dependent upon an OBR issue or that OBR issues have greater priority over other taxpayer issues. Therefore, we will not implement this recommendation. |
When TAS received Form 911 with the OBR checkbox marked, TAS should provide expedited processing and contact taxpayers within three business days. |
This recommendation pertains to TAS procedures and not the Form 911 in and of itself. Taxpayers requesting OBRs are experiencing an economic burden and as such qualify for TAS expedited processing. Per IRM 13.1.18.5(1), Initial Actions (Aug. 25, 2021), TAS's policy is that cases involving economic burden will be worked sooner than other cases. |
File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
Author | Clifford Laura L |
File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
File Created | 2022-03-08 |