IRS Appeals

Posted by Jeffrey Siegel on April 16, 2014

What Can You Expect from Appeals?

If your case qualifies for an appeal, an Appeals employee will review the issues of your case with a fresh, objective perspective and schedule a conference with you. Appeals conferences are informal and conducted by correspondence, telephone or in person. Most differences are settled in these appeals without expensive and time-consuming court trials. Appeals will consider any reason you have for disagreement, except for moral, religious, political, constitutional, conscientious objection, or similar grounds.

IRS Commitments

  • Explain your appeal rights and the Appeals process
  • Listen to your concerns, be courteous and professional
  • Be timely and responsive
  • Be fair and impartial

Taxpayer Responsibilities

  • In your protest requesting an appeal, list all issues with which you disagree and why, and tell us how you understand the facts and the law.
  • Listen to our explanation of your appeal rights and the Appeals process, including the timeframe to resolve your case.
  • Give us any additional information or documentation that will be helpful to your case within the timeframe specified. If you present new information that you did not provide to the auditor or revenue officer, we may refer that information for further consideration. You will receive their comments, and have an opportunity to respond.
  • Let us know the best time to contact you.

General Timeframe

First Notice from Appeals

Response times from Appeals can vary, depending on the type of case and the time needed to review the file. Normally, you can expect to hear from an Appeals employee within 90 days after you file your request. If it has been more than 90 days since you filed your request, you should contact the office where you sent your appeal request. They can tell you when they forwarded your case to Appeals. Please allow 90 days from when your file was sent to Appeals for a reply. If the IRS office to which you sent your request cannot provide a reason for the delay you have two options: (1) have that office contact Appeals for an approximate date when Appeals might contact you, (2) call the Appeals Account Resolution Specialist (AARS) at 559-233-1267. The AARS can tell you if your case has been assigned to an Appeals employee and how to contact that employee directly.