Tax Collection is Subject to Federal Fair Debt Collection Regulations

Excerpted from the Internal Revenue Manual (IRM § [5.1] 1.7  05/27/99)

The Internal Revenue Code requires the IRS to comply with certain sections of the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). These deal with:

2. This law applies to contacts with all taxpayers, including corporations and partnerships.

3. Violations of IRC 6304 could subject the IRS to civil action (IRC 7433) by the taxpayer.

Specifically -

1. IRC 6304 requires the IRS to comply with certain sections of the Fair

Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). These deal with:

2. This law applies to contacts with all taxpayers, including

corporations and partnerships.

3. Violations of IRC 6304 could subject the IRS to civil action (IRC

7433) by the taxpayer.

 

Contacting Taxpayers

1. Some contacts require the taxpayer's consent, first. These include:

A. contacting the taxpayer at any unusual time or place, or a time or

place an employee knows or should know, is inconvenient to the taxpayer,

B. contacting the taxpayer at work, if there is reason to believe the

employer does not allow this,

C. directly contacting a taxpayer who has a known, authorized

representative or one that can be readily identified.

Exceptions:

D. If the representative does not respond in a reasonable time, they can

be bypassed. See Section 1.10 of this chapter. Also the taxpayer can be

contacted directly if the representative consents to the employee's

direct contact.

E. If the contact is authorized by a court.

2. Employees can generally assume that it is convenient to contact the

taxpayer after 8:00 a.m. and before 9:00 p.m. local time at the

taxpayer's location, unless there is reason to know otherwise.

 

Awareness that the Taxpayer has a Representative

1. An IRS employee is considered to know about the representative if the

taxpayer says there is one. This can be written or oral. If the taxpayer

is represented:

A. ask for a written power of attorney or disclosure authorization form,

or

B. ask the taxpayer to provide the name and address of the representative

 

2. There may be doubt whether a person still represents the taxpayer or

an issue is covered. If so contact the representative and ask.

CAUTION:

If the IRS employee does riot have the power of attorney or some other

written authorization, the representative may be contacted, but no more

can be disclosed than what is authorized in IRC 6103(k)(6).

 

Promoting Public Confidence

1. It is IRS policy not to use methods which are threatening or harassing

to the public. See Policy Statement P-1-1. IRC 6304 prohibits employees

from harassing, oppressing, or abusing any person in connection with the

collection of any unpaid tax.

2. The following actions are considered violations:

A. the use or threat of use of violence or other criminal means to harm

the physical person, reputation, or property of any person,

B. the use of obscene or profane language to abuse the hearer or reader,

C. causing a telephone to ring or engaging any person in telephone

conversation with the intent to annoy, abuse or harass any person at the

called number,

D. placing telephone calls without meaningful disclosure of the caller's

identity, except as similar to rules in Section 804 of the FDCPA.

 

EXCEPTION:

If the telephone call is only for the purpose of acquiring location

information about the taxpayer, the employee cannot:

 

E. tell any third party that they are an employee of the IRS, or

F. provide their title (R/O, TE, etc.) to the third party unless , that

information is requested by the third party. "Location information" is

defined as the taxpayer's place of abode and phone number at such place,

or place of employment.