The IRS has announced that conferences with the IRS Office of Independent Appeals will now be offered by videoconference at the request of the taxpayer. See AP-08-0321-0009: Memorandum for Required Use of Virtual Conferences. IRS Appeals will use WebEx and ZoomGov platforms.
Pursuant to the new IRS Appeals policy:
[Taxpayers] may request an in-person conference (which Appeals may not be able to accommodate) or they may request a virtual conference. This deviation requires ATEs [Appeals Technical Employees] to offer and conduct a virtual conference, if the [taxpayer] agrees. Currently, ATEs may voluntarily choose to use virtual conferencing or conduct conferences via telephone, correspondence or in person.The videoconference does not replace in-person conferences that the taxpayer may request and if the IRS can feasibly provide under its rules.[1]
Current practice in Montana. For at least the past five years, my experience in Montana is that conferences with IRS Appeals have all been done by telephone conference call. I suppose the taxpayer can offer to travel to the location of Appeals, often in Denver, if an in-person conference is desired, though this would significantly add to the legal costs of the tax appeal. Pre-pandemic, I once asked an Appeals Officer about the prospects of an in-person conference in Montana and was told in could take several years before Appeals was able to schedule to be in-person in Montana.
What is Next? Move past the fax machine? This step forward to video conference meetings compels one to wonder whether the IRS’s embracing of new technology may eventually lead to other tech developments, such as permitting more e-fling and transmittal of information by email rather than by fax machine, which is common when dealing with Revenue Agents, Revenue Officers, Appeals, and other branches within the IRS.
Practice Point. They say the eyes are the window to the soul. Perhaps visual communication, and looking each other in the eye, between Appeals and the Taxpayer/and legal counsel will aid in a thorough discussion of the appeals issues and reaching an agreeable tax resolution. Since I have not yet been involved in an Appeals Conference by video, stay tuned for my review of the process once I have experienced the videoconference.
About the Author. Jared M. Le Fevre is a Partner in the Tax, Trusts and Estates Practice Group of Crowley Fleck PLLP. Mr. Le Fevre represents taxpayers before the IRS, IRS Independent Office of Appeals, Tax Court, Federal District Court and state tax agencies throughout Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, Idaho, and Utah. Mr. Le Fevre is involved in federal, state and local tax audits, appeals, and tax resolution throughout these western states. Mr. Le Fevre also advises clients on the tax effects of business and real estate transactions.
[1] Id.