Basic Tips On Researching Your IRS Account

The IRS account information of taxpayers is neither always readily available nor easy to read. Taxpayers can get their IRS account information by requesting their tax transcripts from the IRS via professionals such as accountants, or tax preparers. The IRS Tax transcripts show information about taxpayer’s income, tax returns, and account. Taxpayers are broadly advised to both seek the assistance of expert as accountants and tax preparers, and authorize them to work with the IRS on their behalf when researching their tax account.

How do taxpayers research his or her IRS account

The IRS maintains taxpayer’s records such as IRS account status (including tax payments made, penalty charges, and any adjustments made), wage and income information; compiled from statements filed with the IRS by employers, banks and other, the details of the tax returns the taxpayer files with the IRS, and any pending IRS actions, such liens or levies should the taxpayer owe taxes. 

The easiest means to quickly obtain information about your IRS account is to request a transcript from the IRS which can be done at IRS.gov or by calling the IRS at (800) 908-9946.

The taxpayer must note that he or she can request three (3) types of transcripts:

• Wage and income transcript
• Account transcripts
• Return transcripts

The wage and income transcript shows income information about the taxpayer’s monthly earnings. It is shown on Forms W-2, Forms 1099, etc.

Account transcript shows information about the financial status of his or her IRS account, such as tax payments, penalty assessments and adjustments made to the account.

Return transcript shows information from a tax return filed with the IRS.

With these pieces of information available, it would be easier for the taxpayer through a professional accountant to address any tax issues with the IRS before such become major problems. Having all the information also helps the taxpayer identify mistakes that may have be from the IRS systems. Because IRS notices come from automated systems, some of them are incorrect. It is therefore imperative that the taxpayers get a true picture of what’s going on before taking any next steps.

The basic tips taxpayers need to know about researching his or her IRS account are:

• Navigating the IRS
• IRS inadequate notices
• Solicit the help of a professional
• NAVIGATING THE IRS: The way of solving any problems whatsoever is knowing how to tackle the problem. Hence, the only way a taxpayer can solve any tax problem is understanding how to access and navigate the IRS. Researching a taxpayer’s IRS account and getting information from the IRS would help the taxpayer fix any IRS issue before it becomes a major challenge.
• IRS INADEQUATE NOTICES: The IRS sends out on a yearly basis millions of tax notices. The purpose of some of these notices are informational. Many notices sent by the IRS needs rather prompt and quick reply. Unfortunately, some IRS notices includes account with discrepancies, which occurs when the information at the disposal of the IRS doesn’t correlate with the taxpayer’s tax return. Some other notices might involve some more complex issues like tax identity theft or audit identity theft.
• SOLICIT THE HELP OF A PROFESSIONAL: Rather than work with the IRS by oneself, the taxpayer would be better off getting assistance of an accountant to help work with the IRS. The taxpayer could even authorize the accountant to work with the IRS in his or her stead. The professional whose expertise is solicited would thus request the taxpayer’s information from the IRS to help with any concern, and even work with the IRS in the taxpayer’s stead. Engaging a professional would always make a huge difference in navigating the IRS. To maximize an appointment with a tax professional; an accountant, a taxpayer should have handy the following;
• A copy of your tax return for the year(s) of assessment in question
• A copy of any IRS notices related to the tax situation
• A copy any transcripts requested. Had the taxpayer not requested, the tax professional can help obtain any such
• A copy of any responses the taxpayer had sent to the IRS