More Top 10 Tax Lists From the Taxpayer Advocate and David Letterman

About this time last year, I compared the National Taxpayer Advocate’s 2022 Top 10 list of most serious problems taxpayers encountered with some of my favorite David Letterman Top 10 lists, see What Do The National Taxpayer Advocate and David Letterman Have In Common?

On January 10th, the Advocate released and delivered her 2023 Annual Report to Congress, which once again includes a Top 10 list of the most serious problems encountered by taxpayers. Before we get to the Advocate’s Top 10 list, a tax related Top 10 list from David Letterman.

Top 10 Tax Tips

1. IRS deadlines are just suggestions. File your taxes whenever you want.
2. Warlocks may not claim trolls as dependents.
3. Make filing more personable by naming your calculator. Mine is named “Owen”.
4. Make sure your accountant went to a real school and not a phony internet college like I did.
5. H Block: Good guy, R Block: complete greaseball.
6. Getting a refund? Log on to IRS.gov to spin the wheel and play “double or nothing”.
7. If you don’t remember your social security number, make one up.
8. Do not use Wesley Snipes’ accountant.
9. Not really a tax tip, but accountants are wild in the sack.
10. Take it from me, prison’s not so bad.

Now onto the Taxpayer Advocate’s Top 10 list of the most serious problems encountered by taxpayers.

1. Processing. Ongoing processing delays burden and frustrate taxpayers awaiting refunds and other account actions.
2. IRS Hiring, Recruitment, and Training. Shortcomings in the IRS’s employee hiring, retention, recruitment, and training programs adversely affect the quality of taxpayer service the IRS provides and undermine effective tax administration.
3. IRS Transparency. The IRS still does not provide sufficient clear and timely information to the public, causing confusion and frustration and complicating agency oversight.
4. Telephone and In-Person Service. Taxpayers continue to experience difficulties and frustration obtaining telephone and face-to-face assistance to resolve their tax issues and questions.
5. Return Preparer Oversight. Taxpayers are harmed by the absence of minimum competency standards for return preparers.
6. Identity Theft. Lengthy issue resolution delays and inadequate notices burden taxpayers who are victims of identity theft or whose returns the IRS has flagged for possible identity theft.
7. Online Account Access for Taxpayers and Tax Professionals. Digital services remain inadequate, impeding efficient case resolution and forcing millions of taxpayers to call or send correspondence to the IRS.
8. International. The IRS’s approach to international information return penalties is draconian and inefficient.
9. Compliance Challenges for Taxpayers Abroad. Taxpayers abroad continue to be underserved and face significant challenges in meeting their U.S. tax obligations.
10. Appeals. Despite some improvements, many taxpayers and tax professionals continue to perceive the IRS Independent Office of Appeals as insufficiently independent.

For questions regarding this blog post or any other civil or criminal tax related matter, please feel free to contact me at jcrouch@meadowscollier.com.