Appeals

Taxpayers have the right to appeal the examiner's proposed changes by contacting the Appeal Office of the IRS. In most cases, differences are settled without expensive and time-consuming court trials.

Your appeal rights are explained in detail in the following publications:

Publication 5, Your Appeal Rights and How To Prepare a Protest If You Don't Agree,

Publication 556, Examination of Returns, Appeal Rights, and Claims for Refund.

You have the right, in the event that you either disagree with the Appeals office or wish to bypass the Appeals Office, to take your case directly to either the U.S. Tax Court, U.S. Court of Federal Claims, or the U.S. District Court in your place of residence. In the case that your case is taken to court, the IRS will have the burden of proof. The IRS will have to provide certain facts if and only if you kept adequate records illustrating your tax liability, your cooperation with the IRS, and also that other conditions were meet. In the case that the court agrees with you on most issues in the case, and in the event that the court finds that the position taken by the IRS was largely unjustified, you can recover a percentage of your administrative and litigation costs. To qualify for eligibility for cost recovery for litigations and administrative costs, you must prove that you attempted to resolve your case administratively, including providing the IRS with the information necessary to resolve your case in addition to going through the appeals system.