Fiscal Year 2019 Biannual Independent Assessment of Private Collection Agency Performance

The Director, Collection, Small Business/Self-Employed Division, update PCA operational plans to ensure that the PCAs reduce telephone background noise and potential disclosure of taxpayer PII or tax return information protected under Internal Revenue Code Section 6103.

The Director, Collection, Small Business/Self-Employed Division, should, when applicable, update the PPG and the quality attributes to ensure that PCA scripts requiring cellular phone disclosures require that the disclosure be given before taxpayer authentication and that the PCAs inform the taxpayer of the risks of the conversation.

The Director, Collection, Small Business/Self-Employed Division, should, when applicable, ensure that the PCAs provide training to their assistors to minimize hold times while they calculate monthly payment options.

The Director, Collection, Small Business/Self-Employed Division, should prohibit the PCAs from asking taxpayers to borrow money from friends and/or family.

The Director, Collection, Small Business/Self-Employed Division, should work with the Director, Research, Applied Analytics, and Statistics Division, to implement a consistent payment arrangement calculator that all four PCAs use which is closer in accuracy to the IRS IAT tool.