IRS Enforcement in 2021 and Beyond: A Review of the IRS’s Priorities and Enforcement Programs

Author: Eric L Green

2020 saw the start of the Coronavirus which brought all sorts of new challenges to both the IRS and taxpayers. Meanwhile, TIGTA reported in May of 2020 that the IRS had identified over 10 million non-filers, many of whom are high income earning, and urged the IRS to take action against them, which it has indeed started doing. The CARES Act was enacted by Congress, and new payment plan options were rolled out to make it easier for taxpayers to get into payment agreements. 2020 saw the IRS start using artificial intelligence to review financial information submitted by taxpayers, and it formed the new Office of Fraud Enforcement. In the first quarter of 2021 the referrals from IRS collection to Criminal Investigation are up 42%. This program will review the current landscape for IRS enforcement and priorities and what practitioners need to know to help their taxpayers.

Publication Date: May 2021

Topics Covered

• The Current State of IRS Collection
• IR 2020”248: What Changed and What Didn't
• Non”Filers
• IRS Use of Data Analytics
• What Comes Next

Learning Objectives

• Identify the new IRS programs designed to help taxpayers
• Recognize and explain the IRS's use of artificial intelligence in its enforcement programs and its impact on taxpayers
• Describe the process for bringing non-filers back into the tax system
• Identify the approximate number of accounts in collection in 2018
• Recognize up to how many days the IR 2020-248 provides for a short-term payment plan
• Identify what is generally issued after the IRS creates an SFR
• Identify the form issued by the IRS with respect to its intent to levy

Level
Basic

Instructional Method
Self-Study

NASBA Field of Study
Taxes (2 hours)

Program Prerequisites
None

Advance Preparation
None