If you’ve received a letter or phone call from IRS ACS Support, you may be wondering what it means and how it affects you. The Automated Collection System (ACS) is a division of the IRS responsible for collecting overdue taxes through notices, phone calls, and enforcement actions like liens or levies. While an ACS notice can be stressful, understanding why they’re reaching out and how to respond can help you avoid serious financial consequences. In this guide, we’ll break down what ACS does, why they might contact you, and the best steps to take if you’re facing tax collection issues.
When an IRS tax liability goes to collections, two pathways for collection exist. It could be assigned to the IRS Automated Collection System (ACS) or to the Collection field function. The latter option involves an assigned Revenue Officer (RO) taking personal control of the collection process. They will attempt to recover the unpaid tax amount through various means. Some delinquent accounts start out assigned to the ACS and are transferred to an RO later if the first method does not work.
These two different options have a significant effect on the experience that a delinquent taxpayer has with the IRS. It can also affect the outcome of their case. Either being assigned to ACS or an RO comes with its own unique set of frustrations. Read on to understand the major differences between them and get insider tips on how to navigate either situation and get the best results.
The Difference Between ACS and an IRS Revenue Officer
The obvious difference between these two outcomes is that, with the IRS ACS, you will speak with multiple people over potentially dozens of phone calls in your quest to resolve your tax bill. This system employs a huge number of people, but you should still expect an extensive wait time when you call their toll-free number. This leads to a lot of irritation, frustration, and sometimes anger. Expect to be placed on hold for 30 or even 60 minutes each time. Occasionally, this will even extend on hold to 1 ½ hours. You may even run into situations where your call is disconnected before you get a chance to speak with anyone.
Expected to take more than one call to ACS to resolve any tax issues. Each time you call, you have to go over the specific details of your case with a new person. The ACS representative will make notes in your file and have access to all your contacts and past call notes. This is your case history. It helps to be as thorough as possible with your first call to get this information in front of all other representatives for subsequent calls.
Even if you do this, the ACS representative will need to take some time to access and make sense of all the notes in your case history. If the person you spoke to in the past did not take good notes, it will be like the prior calls never happened. Be prepared to explain your situation over and over again while clearly stating what you want to accomplish with the specific call. Keep your own notes for each call: the date, time, and content. Write down the employee ID number for every person you speak with. This can come in handy if the ACS representative denies the existence or distorts the information from past calls.
Unfortunately, not every person who works on the ACS line is competent, well-trained, or cares enough about their job to do it well. Of course, people also make mistakes, and the system may not update to the correct status of your situation. A phone call that takes an hour with an IRS representative could end up a waste of time or even hurt your case in the end. For example, after you negotiated terms of your payment plan with one representative, that person has to submit your payment proposal to a manager. When the manager approves this plan, the ACS system will generate a letter reflecting the terms of your Installment Agreement.
This letter should arrive in your mailbox within 10 to 14 days after your call to ACS. What happens if the letter does not come? Then you need to follow up with ACS to check the status of your payment agreements. This can start the whole process all over again. Do not leave things to chance, and do not rely on the representative to follow through. This is the primary reason why you should take careful notes of every phone call you have with the IRS.
Which is Better? ACS or an IRS Tax Revenue Officer?
After reading all of that, you may have some very clear ideas about which is better: having your case with ACS or having an RO. This depends on the type and size of your tax liability, whether this is your first time in collections, your personal finance circumstances, and whether you are lucky enough to get a good RO or a bad one. To a certain degree, it also depends on your personal preferences. Would you prefer to sit on hold and deal with different people all the time, or would you prefer to take your chances with a single individual who may demand face-to-face meetings and stop by unannounced whenever they feel like it?
In many cases, you won’t have a choice. If you call ACS to try to resolve your liability and they tell you that your case is been transferred to the nearest collection office, you cannot insist that they handle things instead. You will be assigned a revenue officer. This can be frustrating, as it often takes many months before you hear from your RO. You cannot do anything to resolve the tax liability other than pay it off completely or set up a voluntary payment plan. You just have to wait for the RO to contact you.
If your case is assigned to ACS, but you do not wish to deal with them, you can request a transfer to an RO. However, they do not have to honor this request. Once you have an RO, you cannot get your case transferred back to ACS.
If you want to improve your chances of having a successful ACS experience, there are several things you should be aware of. First, pay attention to the ACS representative’s tone of voice, how they ask questions, and how they respond to you. This will help determine their mood and whether they might be helpful or sympathetic to your situation. It can also let you know if they intend to do as little as possible for you during the call.
Perhaps you just spent an hour on hold, and you feel like you have to talk to whatever person picks up the call because you do not want to waste any more time. That could be a mistake. Some ACS employees are difficult to understand, rude, or incompetent. You should consider hanging up and trying all over again if you get one of these representatives. You can do this at any point of the call when you are not getting anywhere.
It might be in your best interest to just start over. Someone else will pick up the phone on your next call and they might be more helpful. Of course, you always run the risk of getting another bad representative. Considering the importance of resolving your tax liability and the incredibly negative potential outcomes, such as wage levies or frozen bank accounts, this might be a chance worth taking.
Another thing you can consider if you have trouble dealing with an ACS representative is to request to speak with a Collection Manager. There is usually one available immediately or one that will return your call within 24 hours. Although this option exists, I would not get your hopes up that you will have more luck with an ACS manager than you would with a simple representative.
The IRS Office of Appeals Option
Since you cannot transfer your case to an RO, you can file a Request for a Collection Due Process (CDP) hearing. The moment you file this type of appeal, all further collection activity from ACS will cease. Your case will be forwarded to an IRS Office of Appeals, where you will work with a Settlement Officer to come up with terms for your tax liability handling. In my experience, Settlement Officers tend to be more professional, knowledgeable, reasonable, and objective than ACS representatives. While there is always a chance you could draw a bad one, your chances are very good that it will be easier than dealing with ACS directly.
Unfortunately, you cannot choose to file a CDP request anytime you want. In general, you can only do this after receiving a Notice of Federal Tax Lien or a Final Notice of Intent to Levy. You will have a very limited amount of time to request a Collection Due Process Hearing before the levy actually occurs. If you wait too long, the damage will be done. If you received one of these notices, it will include instructions for requesting a CDP hearing. It will usually take a few months or even up to a full year to get your scheduled hearing. This could be a drawback or a benefit depending on your perspective.
If you are assigned to a Revenue Officer, there are several things you can do to improve your chances of success. First, since you will deal with the same RO until your case is resolved, try to establish a positive professional relationship from the start. This is easier said than done, especially with RO’s who like to make things difficult.
Your RO will constantly judge you in terms of your demeanor, honesty, attitude, and commitment to resolving your tax liability. They will form opinions based on your financial competency, responsibility levels, and your ability to follow through on commitments. There are so many other things that the individuals may take into account when dealing with you. Do not attempt to brown nose your way into their good graces. Experienced officers are used to this type of thing, and it may actually work to your detriment. On the other hand, if you are too confrontational, you run the risk of angering them. If you act like a pushover, you will probably end up getting pushed over.
My best advice is to remain polite, respectful, but not overly friendly. Follow your RO’s instructions until the point where you have to stand up for yourself if necessary. You can pick a limited number of battles, but make sure they make sense to your specific case and are not merely fueled by your lack of desire to pay your full tax liability. If you fight everything all of the time or have a generally uncooperative attitude, you run the risk of making someone angry that can make your life miserable.
If you are having a very difficult time resolving your case with your RO, consider requesting a conference with their Group Manager (GM). These GM’s have a strong tendency to support the actions and decisions of their RO’s, so this may not help you much in the end. Sometimes, however, having another person take a look at your situation and hear your side of things is enough to get past some roadblocks. In extreme cases, you may go above the GM’s head to the Territory Manager. Do not attempt to do this unless you have an extremely good reason. Also, consult with a tax attorney or other qualified professional to see if your reason is good enough to warrant this.
Filing a Request for a Collection Due Process Hearing
Taking this action can put your RO on hold while you take your tax liability case to appeals. This can be a very effective method of resolving your case if your assigned RO and their GM do not agree to the terms that you offer and will not compromise sufficiently. If your RO is threatening enforcement action, you may also want to request a Collection Due Process Hearing.
This is also a great opportunity to exercise your right to bring in a tax attorney or other authorized tax representative. This means that you will not have to deal with your RO or with ACS at all. Instead, all communication and contact will go to your attorney directly. As long as you choose a professional tax attorney with experience in handling collection cases, you can remove a ton of stress. This expert will know how to choose your battles wisely, defend your rights to the fullest extent, and negotiate better terms than you can secure on your own. They may even be able to work out a settlement amount much lower than your original tax liability. This depends on various eligibility requirements, which an attorney can determine much more easily than you can. Never believe that the RO will explain them to you.
Whether your tax liability case goes to ACS or you are assigned an RO for collections, I strongly recommend speaking with a tax professional before you make any attempts to fix things on your own. Fortress Tax Relief and other tax resolution service firms offer a free initial consultation to go over the details of your case and determine the right path forward.
You may have a very straightforward case that does not really require legal representation. However, your case may include many tricky twists and turns and unknown options that can lead to terrible outcomes. Chances are, you do not have the knowledge, skills, or experience to handle these yourself. If you choose to have a professional on your side, it can mean the difference between a relatively quick resolution and a financial disaster that can include terms you cannot live with, garnished wages, seized bank accounts, or worse.
Be aware that there are disreputable tax resolution firms out there who will tell you that you need representation when you really don’t. They may take your money and failed to solve your problems. Before making that call, do yourself a favor and check out their company name with the Better Business Bureau. Set your mind at ease by going with one that has an “A” rating or better with the BBB. You know you can trust them to take care of your tax liability case professionally.
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