Fiscal Year 2020 Review of Compliance With Legal Guidelines When Conducting Seizures of Taxpayers’ Property

The Director, Collection Policy, Small Business/Self-Employed Division, should through training or guidance, emphasize procedures that require revenue officers to (a) complete pre-seizure checklist items, specifically the determination whether a taxpayer has an offer in compromise or installment agreement pending, and (b) check the Integrated Data Retrieval System prior to conducting a seizure to confirm that there have been no changes to the status of the taxpayer's account.

The Director, Collection Policy, Small Business/Self-Employed Division, should ensure that revenue officers include detailed documentation of their discussions with the Property Appraisal and Liquidation Specialists function about the identification of encumbrances.

The Director, Collection Policy, Small Business/Self-Employed Division, should take appropriate action to ensure that the proceeds from cases identified in this report are applied to the taxpayers' accounts immediately.

The Director, Collection Policy, Small Business/Self-Employed Division, should through training or guidance, remind employees of their responsibilities as included in IRM 5.10.4.8 to ensure that a Notice of Sale is issued within 90 days (for personal property) or 180 days (for real property) from the date of a Notice of Seizure.

The Director, Collection, Small Business/Self-Employed Division, should issue IRM guidance consistent with the following: (i) revenue officers should avoid principal residence seizures from taxpayers who appear to be experiencing economic hardships and (ii) revenue officers should have more discretion to avoid seizures for cases in which taxpayers are already experiencing economic hardships and have de minimis equity in other property and for cases in which taxpayers with some equity in assets are seeking installment agreements above the streamlined procedure amount and (based on compliance history and other factors) may be able and willing to make a good faith effort to comply with the terms of an installment agreement to avoid seizure of assets.