Obtaining and Understanding Your Client’s IRS Account Information (Currently Unavailable)

Author: Jim Buttonow

Over 70 million taxpayers each year have to interact with the IRS outside of filing a tax return. Many of these taxpayers need their account information at the IRS for a variety of reasons -including resolving an IRS notice or tax problem or getting their tax information for other uses, like applying for financial aid or a loan. Tax professionals are repeatedly called on by clients to help both obtain and understand their IRS information. Also, effective tax problem solving requires that the tax professional conduct effective due diligence which includes understanding their client’s IRS account information. This course will go into the importance of understanding taxpayer account information, including how to obtain, analyze, and use the five types of IRS transcripts. We will also cover how to interview the IRS to get other critical tax account information.

Publication Date: January 2022

Designed For
Tax professionals and tax firm leaders who want to be able to understand how to obtain, understand, and use IRS account information to answer client questions and resolve common tax issues with the IRS.

Topics Covered

• The need for IRS account information
• Interviewing the IRS
• IRS transcripts
• Client access to IRS account information
• Third-party authorizations
• 7 uses for IRS transcripts
• Best practices and tips on obtaining and analyzing tax account information
• IRS account information and resolving a tax problem
• Real-time access to client IRS account information

Learning Objectives

• Identify what information you can obtain from the IRS about your client and where to obtain IRS account information
• Recognize how to execute the proper authorization (Form 2848 or 8821) to obtain your client's account information at the IRS
• Describe how to effectively conduct due diligence to identify and resolve a client's tax issue with the IRS
• Identify how to interview IRS Practitioner Priority Service and campus compliance units to obtain important information about your client
• Recognize how to obtain, analyze, and use the five type of IRS transcripts to answer client questions and resolve tax problems and issues
• Describe how to initiate access to the IRS e-Services Transcript Delivery System platform to obtain client transcripts
• Utilize IRS transcripts to identify future tax problems and notices and to double check the accuracy of prior year filed returns
• Identify the approximate number of taxpayers with a tax problem each year
• Identify which January 2022 IRS notices relates to advance child tax credit payments
• Recognize what is included as one of the three primary sources of information from the IRS
• Recognize which online IRS tools is used to release a tax return refund after receiving IRS Letter 5071C/5747C/6331C/5447C
• Identify types of taxpayers who would ordinarily not have a mismatch resulting in a CP2000
• Identify the final step in the three-step process for tax problem solving

Level
Basic

Instructional Method
Self-Study

NASBA Field of Study
Taxes (2 hours)

Program Prerequisites
None

Advance Preparation
None