Controls Over Offset Bypass Refunds Processed by the Taxpayer Advocate Service Should Be Improved to Reduce the Risk of Abuse and Allow for More Consistent Treatment of Taxpayers

The National Taxpayer Advocate should supplement the current manual refund training requirements with additional TAS-specific training that addresses factors to consider under TAS authority to issue direct deposit manual refunds for hardships. This should include whether the taxpayers requested a direct deposit on their tax return and requirements for documenting the decision for issuing an OBR via paper check or direct deposit.

The National Taxpayer Advocate should reinforce the requirement for TAS employees to obtain approval for OBRs from the IRS function controlling the account.

The National Taxpayer Advocate should reinforce the requirement for all TAS employees to document the issuance of manual refunds on the TAMIS closing screen.