In 2014, the IRS implemented a policy under which it is only answering tax-law questions during the filling season (January through mid-April). It also narrowed the scope of questions it is answering during the filing season by expanding its list of “out-of-scope” topics.
The IRS justified these restrictions as a cost-saving step. The National Taxpayer Advocate criticized this decision, maintaining that providing taxpayers with timely and accurate answers to their tax-law questions is a core IRS function, and she has urged the IRS to reverse its policy. The report highlights that the IRS does not collect information when it receives calls asking questions about topics deemed out-of-scope. As a consequence, it does not know when a large number of taxpayers may be confused about a topic and additional guidance should be provided.
Last Spring, the IRS said it would answer tax-law questions relating to the recently passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) throughout the year.
To assess the customer experience with respect to tax-law questions, TAS developed and tested a series of questions relating to (i) issues deemed in-scope that did not change under the TCJA, (ii) issues deemed out-of-scope, and (iii) issues impacted by the TCJA. TAS callers encountered inconsistent service, even when asking questions about the TCJA that the IRS had indicated it would answer. In the Fall, several TAS callers were read the same script: “There is no tax law personnel at this time due to budgetary cuts. This tax topic cannot be answered at this time. The employees that will be able to answer this question will be available beginning Jan. 2, 2019, through April 15, 2019.”
On many calls, the answering employee told the caller the call would be transferred; the transfer ended with a pre-recorded message stating the question was out-of-scope and the call was then disconnected. On other calls, answering employees told callers they had not yet received any or much training on the TCJA and apologized for being unable to help. (To assist taxpayers, TAS developed a Tax Reform Changes website addressing common TCJA questions.)
The report recommends the IRS answer tax-law questions year-round; that it deem all questions relating to major new tax legislation as “in scope” for at least two years; and that it track calls and contacts about out-of-scope topics, so it can provide additional guidance on frequently raised issues.
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