Practice Before the IRS and Power of Attorney: Tax Bible Series 2016

Book Synopsis: Practice Before the IRS and Power of Attorney It has long been established that the Internal Revenue does not necessarily follow court decisions that are more favorable to the taxpayer. They sometimes take the approach that until a higher court, more specifically a District Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court rules on the matter, the Service will take a more favorable position that more adequately reflects their interpretation of the law. Again, this in interpretation and not law. There has been and will continue to be an enormous amount of litigation concerning the rights of a taxpayer for representation in front of the IRS. The right of representation has several thousand years of precedence going all the way back to any citizen could have it’s Senator represent him in a Roman Quorum. The following discourse is the official position of the IRS and not that of the courts. In too many cases to list, the opposite position has prevailed. Caution would be the best rules to follow in the following discussions;What's New Representative designations. IRS no longer recognizes the registered tax return preparer designation. All unenrolled return preparers must provide a valid PTIN to represent a taxpayer before the IRS. For returns prepared after December 31, 2015, only unenrolled return preparers participating in the Annual Filing Season Record of Completion program may represent a taxpayer, and only with respect to returns prepared and signed by the preparer. Representative signatures. Form 2848 now provides space for the information and signatures of up to four representatives. For more information, see the instructions to Form 2848, Line 2. Representatives(s). Revisions to Circular 230. Amendments to Circular 230 (Rev. 6-2015), the rules governing practice before the IRS, include recent noteworthy changes. •Practitioner's written tax advice. Requirements for certain written tax opinions (known as “covered opinions”) were replaced with principles-based requirements applicable to all practitioners' written tax advice. •Practitioner's general competency requirement. A general competency requirement, under which a practitioner must have or obtain the knowledge, skill, thoroughness, and preparation necessary for whatever matter the practitioner has undertaken for a client has been added to Circular 230. •Negotiation of taxpayer checks. The explicit recognition that a longstanding prohibition in Circular 230 against negotiation of Treasury “checks” issued to taxpayers likewise applies to direct deposits and similar electronic forms of payment that are now commonplace. See Negotiation of taxpayer refund checks , under What Are the Rules of Practice?, later. •Suspension from practice. Circular 230 expands and refines the process for suspension from practice on an expedited basis, which allows the Office of Professional Responsibility to promptly suspend individuals in certain situations using a short form of administrative due process. For further information see Circular 230 (Rev. 6-2015), Regulations Governing Practice before the Internal Revenue Service.Annual Filing Season Program and Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers. The IRS has developed an online searchable database of tax return preparers who participate in the Annual Filing Season Program. The general public can access the database on the IRS website. The IRS developed the directory as part of the Annual Filing Season Program. For further information see below, Annual Filing Season Program . Introduction This . discusses who may represent a taxpayer before the IRS and what forms or documents are used to authorize a person to represent a taxpayer. Usually, attorneys, certified public accountants (CPAs), and enrolled agents may represent taxpayers before the IRS. Enrolled retirement plan agents, and enrolled actuaries may represent with respect to specified Internal Revenue Code sections delineated in Circular 230. Under special a