Now, let’s say you are at the point where you have no more room to argue at offer specialist level. It is officially time to file that appeal and get your offer reconsidered.
Keep in mind that you appeal must be filed within thirty (30) days of the date stamped on the rejection letter. If the IRS does not receive it, you will lose your right to an appeal with the Appeals division.
There is good and bad news about Appeals.
First, the bad news.
- Appeals officers are usually more senior IRS employees.
- They usually have a good knowledge of the offer in compromise program (some are former offer specialists).
- They will almost certainly have a better understanding of the tax code than the offer specialist.
- They will have the full case file from the offer specialist.
- They are going to rely on their findings as a default position unless there is something truly erroneous.
Do not expect them to recalculate anything. Generally speaking, appeals officers are pretty busy people. They will have a limited amount of time to devote to the matter and most will tell you straight up on what their intention is during your appeals conference.
Benefits of the IRS OIC Appeals Division
At this point, you may be saying to yourself, “So, I’m generally dealing with a more experienced person at the IRS who is not going to devote much time to my case file and who may be more inclined to fall back on the default position of the offer specialist…where’s the good news in that?”
Fear not. There are several advantages when dealing with an appeals officer.
First, I have found an appeals officer generally has more latitude to reach a settlement on an offer in compromise. The focus of the appeals office is usually to settle controversies prior to litigation. I have found that appeals officers often come into a matter with a mindset to settle it.
In addition, because appeals officers have a more mediatory role, I have found that the discussions on issues in appeals are a lot less adversarial than on the offer level.
Although it depends on whom you are assigned to, I have found that the appeals officers are more likely to work with you on certain points.
Offer specialists, on the other hand, generally have to justify accepting an offer to their manager. While it rarely happens, I have seen instances where the offer specialist has tentatively approved an offer in compromise only to have it rejected by their manager.
Furthermore, since they often carry a large caseload, they are have little time to spend dissecting the merits of each individual case and often will not fight with you over minor issues.
In fact, most appeals will limit the discussion to issues that you raise during the appeals conference.
Finally, because of their seniority, if appeals officers see from the case file that your position is clearly the right one and that your offer should be accepted, they will often just push the offer through without the need for a formal appeals conference.
Their experience often exposes them to many different controversies and, if your arguments are credible (as they should be since you are appealing), they will often fast track the resolution of your offer in compromise.
To conclude, despite some of the advantages of going to appeals, it is always better to try and resolve an offer in compromise before you get there.
Successful offer in compromises begin at the preparation level by putting together a package that is well-organized and gives the service every opportunity to accept your offer in compromise.
If you are assigned to an offer specialist, do everything you can to get your offer in compromise resolved at their level.
Be communicative and try to engage in negotiations with them before they reject your offer. Oftentimes it is much easier to get an offer accepted than to save an offer when a rejection letter has already gone out.
If an offer gets rejected, you still have a chance! Carefully evaluate the position of the offer and what you can do to strengthen it to make it more favorable to the IRS. If need be, then you can either withdraw it or take the matter up with Appeals.
Offers in compromise are often difficult to get accepted, but if you utilize some of these best practices, they can increase your chances of acceptance.