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Changing A BureaucracyOne ParagraPh at a time

(Improving Written Communication)

Document 11345 (rev. 4-2009) Catalog Number 30954V Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service publish.no.irs.gov

C h a n g i n g a B u r e a u c r a c y O n e P a r a g r a p h at a T i m e


Changing a BureauCraCy One ParagraPh

at a time

Overview

This workbook is designed to accompany the interactive video, Changing A Bureaucracy One Paragraph at a Time. The video has six sections where the instructor pauses to give you time to complete the additional exercises in the workbook. The answers follow each group of exercises.

The workbook also includes an IRS letter that we edit in stages to show how applying some fundamentals of effective written communication improve the quality of the letter. We revise this letter using one fundamental at a time to show the effect of each change. Some of the things we change will be changed again by the time we get to the end of the letter. For example, we may put the existing sentence in active voice but it still contains wordy phrases or false subjects. We have done it this way to help you see the effect of the technique we are working on in that portion of the video. In practice, you would probably start your editing by looking at the organization of the document. For this exercise, we are working with the writer's original organization.

Please allOw fOur hOurs tO watCh the videO and COmPlete the exerCises.

http://irweb.irs.gov/AboutIRS/bu/cl/la/lawr/default.aspx

Please call the Congressional Correspondence Branch at (202) 622-3730 for more information.

C O n g r e s s i O n a l C O r r e s P O n d e n C e a n d

Q u a l i t y r e v i e w B r a n C h C O n t a C t s1111 Constitution Ave., NW • CL:LA, Room 3244 • Washington, DC 20224

(202) 622-3730 phone (202) 622-4733 fax

Changing a BureauCraCy One ParagraPh at a time

intrOduCtiOn

A. Congressional Correspondence and Quality Review Branch Contacts

fOCusing On the readers

A. Identify readers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1. Who will read this? 2. What questions will they want answered? 3. What are their priorities? Concerns? 4. How much explanation do they want? 5. What is the minimum they need to know to do what they need to do? 6. How should we present the information?

B. Write for the readers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1. Remember the 15-second rule. 2. Make the document visually interesting. 3. Write like you speak. 4. Answer their questions, but don't overwrite. 5. Write to communicate, not to impress.

six writing tiPs

A. Use a positive tone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1. Use active voice. (Exercises) 2. Use "I" when you can. (Exercises) 3. Apologize when appropriate. (Exercises)

B. Organize your document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 1. Pick the right organizing pattern. 2. Have only one main idea. 3. Keep the introduction short. 4. Put the most important idea at the beginning. 5. Be brief. 6. Use parallel construction.

C. Format to make the document inviting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 1. Give readers white space. 2. Use headings. 3. Use bold, underlining, italics. 4. Use bullets. (Exercises)

D. Choose words carefully. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 1. Avoid gobbledygook. 2. Use specific, concrete words. 3. Use strong verbs. 4. Avoid false subjects. 5. Remove wordy phrases. 6. Avoid redundancies. (Exercises)

E. Review common grammar rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 1. that/which 2. affect/effect 3. bimonthly 4. principal/principle 5. may/can (Exercises) 6. entitled/titled 7. demonstrative pronoun

F. Review common punctuation rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 1. commas 2. conjunction

Evaluation Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

C h a n g i n g a B u r e a u c r a c y O n e P a r a g r a p h at a T i m e 1

We offer this class on writing to give writers, reviewers, and signers some tools to help lower the frustration level of:

• Writers, because reviewers never seem satisfied with their drafts • Reviewers, because writers don’t always know what reviewers want • Signers, who aren’t satisfied but sign because the document is late

Our goal is to raise awareness about the things that make many IRS documents difficult to read: passive voice, redundant words, wordy phrases. Writers can eliminate them from their writing, thereby shortening the review process and making reviewers and signers happier.

Our agenda for the class:

• Discuss the importance of focusing our documents on the reader. • Introduce you to the six groups of most commonly made mistakes in the letters we see and

show you how to correct or avoid them. • Work through some exercises to help you become familiar with these concepts. • Apply these concepts to an IRS document.

Our readers benefit from good writing and so do we.

IntroductionPlay videO

C h a n g i n g a B u r e a u c r a c y O n e P a r a g r a p h at a T i m e2

Identify The Reader

When you picture the reader, imagine someone who

has too much to do (like most of us) and not enough

time. Imagine someone who is looking for concrete,

straightforward answers to questions and someone

perhaps who thinks of the IRS as a big, bureaucratic,

impersonal organization.

When you write, think of all the people who may read

your document. That list may include IRS employees,

taxpayers, members of the Congress, or newspaper

reporters. Ask yourself, "What do the readers

need to know to do what they need to do?" Think

about their priorities and concerns in general, not just

those related to this document.

Our letters are competing with many other

documents for the short time readers have to give.

We want to make sure our letter is the one they

want to read. If we focus on their needs and

present our information in an inviting format, they

will be more likely to read our documents.

We can’t force anyone to read our documents.

Readers have a choice. They can read our

documents now, later, or never. We want ours in

the now category because the later category

usually ends up in the never category.

Write For Your Reader

Readers spend an average of 15 seconds reading

and trying to understand our documents. To help

them do this, we use headings, bullets, and as few

words as possible. These things combine to make

our document visually interesting. We can also

help readers get the information they need quickly

and easily by writing as we speak. Writing as we

speak is also called plain language. Not only

does plain language make the information easier

for the reader, it also helps us because it is easier

to write in plain language.

We want to answer all our readers’ questions,

giving them what they need to know but not

everything we know. Our goal as writers should be

to have our readers read through the document one

time and understand it perfectly the first time.


twO tiPs tO helP with this:

• If we need to cite code, put the plain language

information first, and then cite the code in brackets

at the end of the sentence or paragraph if the

same citation applies to all the information.

• When we cite court cases, put the citations in

italics. Don’t underline them. The underline

comes from typewriter days when we didn’t have

an easy way to use italics. The underlining told

the printer to italicize the text. Technology has

made it easy for us to do it for ourselves.

Another important tool that goes hand-in-hand with

these six tools is collaboration:

• Ask another person to review your letter for tone,

clarity, and organization. Best of all, ask people

who know nothing about your program area to

read your letter and make sure your explanation

is clear and not too technical.

• Accept their comments with gratitude for the time and

effort they put into the review - don’t be defensive.

• Help the people reviewing your letter by giving

them some guidelines on what you want them to

focus on in your letter.

Remember we write to communicate information.

If our readers can’t understand our message, we

have wasted a lot of time and effort.

Use A Positive Tone

The acceptable tone in business documents has

changed because of the information explosion. We all

have too much to read today. We want to read and

understand the content quickly. To understand long,

complex, technical, legalistic sentences takes time

and energy.

Plain language - language that sounds like ideal

conversation - keeps the tone more informal,

friendly, and personal.

Tone refers to how we make the reader feel by the

words we use. Our tone may be personal or

impersonal, friendly or official, formal or informal. Tone

is different from style. Style refers to the words you

use, for example, pronouns, contractions, jargon.

Your choice of these words creates tone.


When we think of tone, we want words that sound

positive, friendly, personal, and helpful. We want to

communicate the open, straightforward, honest, and

caring attitudes of the people who write the letters.

One more note, readers don’t like legalistic, bureaucratic

jargon. Further, we don’t need to use legal sounding

terms to make our information accurate and legally

appropriate. As Dr. Kimble of the Thomas Cooley Law

School and Clarity* said in the Scribes Journal of

Legal Writing, "Plain language is not subverted by the

need to use technical terms or terms of art. Real terms

of art are a tiny part of any legal document…I invite

anyone to find a case saying that give won’t do in a will

- that it has to be give, devise, and bequeath."

*Clarity is an organization working to bring plain

language to the legal profession.

In normal conversation, we would not use the language

on the left. It sounds bureaucratic and pretentious.

Readers like the straightforward approach on the

right.

Often, people tell us that using the active voice or

using "we" instead of "I" is simply a matter of style.

However, the style of writing we choose is closely

linked to tone. Style refers to the choices we make in

organizing our document, using certain words, being

formal or informal, and deciding the length of sentences

and paragraphs. All of these choices affect the tone

of our document and, ultimately, the feelings or

impressions we leave with the reader.


The tone of the first statement is hostile and angry.

The phrase "As you know" is unnecessary. If they

know, we don’t need to tell them. If we are not sure

they know and think it is important enough to mention,

then just tell them in a straightforward, open way.

Sometimes saying less is much more effective.

Active Voice vs. Passive Voice

We may feel comfortable writing in the passive voice

because so many of our government documents are

written that way. We have simply become accustomed

to the sound, and passive voice becomes a habit.

However, when government documents sound

bureaucratic, passive voice is often the reason.

In one particular sentence, passive voice may not

sound so terrible. When we use passive voice

throughout the document, however, it becomes wordy,

making it difficult to read and understand.

aCtive vOiCe: An active voice sentence has a subject that

does an action to an object.

The Congress (the subject) passed (did this

action) the bill (the object).

Passive vOiCe: In the passive voice, the subject is the receiver

of the action.

The bill (the subject) was passed (was

acted upon) by the Congress.

When we write in the passive voice, we add some

form of the verb to be (am, is, are, was, or were).

Doing this makes our sentence wordy.

Active VoiceThe Congress passed the bill.

Passive VoiceThe bill (was) passed by the Congress.

1. Use the active voice rather than the passive.


Cut Passive

We often use another form of voice called the cut

passive:

The bill was passed.

Using the cut passive often makes it difficult for our

readers to figure out who did the action. When we do

this in our letters, we sound vague and make the

reader think we don’t know what happened. We

reassure the public when we can show we know

exactly what happened to a document entrusted to

our care. For example, we should say "Ogden

Service Center received your return on April 1,

1999" instead of "your return was received on April

1, 1999."

Two occasions when the passive is appropriate are:

• When the doer of the action is unknown

• When the doer of the action is unimportant

Because of the nature of our work, the organization

doing the action is seldom unimportant to the person

asking why they did not get their refund.

Just a caution - Using the active voice is not about

being accusatory; it is simply

about sounding responsible.

Tense vs. Voice

Don’t confuse passive voice with past tense. Passive

voice can be in any tense: present, past, or future.

aCtive vOiCe: Present Tense:

The Congress passes the bill.

Past Tense:

The Congress passed the bill.

Future Tense:

The Congress will pass the bill.

Passive vOiCe: Present Tense:

The bill is passed by the Congress.

Past Tense:

The bill was passed by the Congress.

Future Tense:

The bill will be passed by the Congress.

Regardless of the tense, we want to write in

the active voice.

Cut Passive Voice

The bill was passed.


• Active voice uses fewer words. Fewer words are

easier to read and understand.

Passive:

Your offer in compromise for $1.00 cannot be

accepted by the IRS. (12 words)

Active:

We cannot accept your offer in compromise for

$1.00. (9 words)

• Active voice imitates the way we speak. It is

personal and friendly. We use the active voice

automatically when we’re talking. We should

train ourselves to use active voice in our writing.

Passive:

The letter was written by me this morning.

Active:

I wrote the letter this morning.

• Active voice shows responsibility. We don’t want to

sound accusatory. However, when we avoid

showing responsibility, we often don’t give enough

information to explain the problem and how to fix

it.

Passive:

It was determined that the amount of expenses

claimed for the year 1998 was inaccurate.

Active:

We found you added your expenses incorrectly.

Which version sounds more natural and sincere?

Video Exercises:

Instructions: Choose the sentences that are

written in the active voice.

Exercise 1

A. This letter will be available for public inspection

after identifying information has been deleted

under the Freedom of Information Act.

B. Under the Freedom of Information Act, we will

make this letter available to the public after

deleting identifying information.

Answer: B

Exercise 2

A. A recommendation was made to initiate actions

to collect the potential lost revenue.

B. TIGTA recommended we collect the potential

lost revenue.

Answer: B

Exercise 3

A. IRS records show Mr. Doe defaulted on his

installment agreement on December 1, 1997,


because he filed his 1995 and 1996 returns

showing taxes due.

B. IRS records show Mr. Doe’s installment agreement

was defaulted on December 1, 1997, because his

1995 and 1996 returns were filed showing taxes

due.

Answer: A

Pause video here for additional exercises.

Pause videO


additiOnal exerCises On the aCtive and Passive vOiCe

Instructions: Rewrite each sentence using the active voice.

1. Your examination has been transferred to the Yellow office and assigned to Mr. Joe Doe.

2. If a person does not file a return, a Notice of Deficiency is sent.

3. In recent years, additional emphasis has been placed on providing a higher, more standardized level of

Walk-In service to customers.

4. The problems that occurred early in the filing season were identified and corrected. (NOTE: You found that

Information Systems fixed the problem.)

5. Any expenses incurred in this matter may be claimed as deductions on your tax return.

6. The letter was sent to the primary taxpayer.

7. An identifying number must be included on all federal income tax returns.

8. Copies of both the forms and the publications are enclosed.


9. An explanation was provided by the revenue agent to show why the audit was conducted on Mr. Doe’s tax

return.

10. A response dated August 5, 1999, was received stating she was an American citizen.

11. The 1999 federal tax return filed by the Does was processed at the Blue Service Center.

12. Changes were made that resulted in additional taxes and balances due from you. These assessments were made

by the Examination Division.

13. Our records indicate that your deposit was located and applied to your tax year 1999 liability on August 28,

2000.

14. Under the rules governing shareholders’ interests, Mr. Doe’s shares may not be sold or otherwise transferred.

15. Training was provided to data gatherers, and the case record/check sheet was used as a plan for the review.


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suggested answers

1. I transferred your examination to the Yellow office where they assigned it to Mr. Doe.

2. If a person does not file a return, the IRS sends a Notice of Deficiency.

3. In recent years, we have worked to give quality Walk-In service to customers.

4. Information Systems corrected the problems that occurred early in the filing season.

5. You can deduct your expenses incurred in this matter on your tax return.

6. We (or I if you sent it) sent the letter to the primary taxpayer.

7. You must include an identifying number on all federal income tax returns.

8. I have enclosed copies of the forms and publications.

9. The revenue agent explained why he audited Mr. Doe.

10. She responded to us on August 5, 1999, saying she was an American citizen.

11. The Blue Service Center processed the Doe’s 1999 federal tax return.

12. The Examination Division made assessments that increased your taxes and balances due.

13. We located your deposit and applied it to your tax year 1999 liability on August 28, 2000.

14. The rules governing shareholders’ interest do not allow Mr. Doe to sell or transfer his

shares.

15. We trained the data gatherers and used the case record/check sheet as a plan for the

review.


Letter 1: Original IRS Letter

Applying some fundamentals of effective written communication to our letters improves

their quality. We will revise this IRS letter using one fundamental at a time to show the

effect of each change. Some of the things we change will be changed again by the time

we get to the end of the letter. For example, we may put the existing sentence in active

voice but it still contains wordy phrases or false subjects. We have done it this way to

help you see the effect of the technique we are working on in that portion of the video.

In practice, you would probably start your editing by looking at the organization of the

document. For this exercise, we are working with the writer's original organization.

The first fundamental we will apply is changing passive voice sentences to the active

voice. Many government documents are good examples of why writers should avoid the

passive voice. Passive voice is vague, wordy, and, in the case of the cut passive, fails to

show responsibility.

lett

er 1

: Or

igin

al

irs

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tte

r


The Honorable YY ZZ

Member, U.S. House of Representatives

Local Street Address

Suite

City, State Zip

Dear Congressman ZZ:

This is in response to your inquiry dated March 15, 2000, on behalf of your constituent, Mr. J. Doe. Mr. Doe has raised a number of concerns; namely that he had been subjected to needless audits, and in general, that his case has been mishandled. On December 14, 1999, Mr. Doe filed an Application for Taxpayer Assistance Order, Form 911, with the National Office, requesting relief from the hardship he was experiencing. The National Office transferred his request to the local office in State to better serve your constituent.

Upon receipt of his request for relief, the case was assigned to Mary YY, a caseworker. This specific relief requested by Mr. Doe was: "...immediate reinstatement of my deductions and exemptions for 1995 and withdrawal of the Notice of Deficiency and its interest and penalty in its entirety for 1995. Additionally, I order the IRS to cease its abuse and persecution of me." This required that the Examination Division review the file. Mr. Doe requested that Examination begin the process immediately. A review of the file was completed, as requested, and it was determined that Mr. Doe was unable to substantiate the expenditures he had claimed on his Individual Income Tax Return, Form 1040 for tax year 1995. Specifically, it was determined that he was not entitled to a deduction for mortgage interest, as the mortgage was not held in his name but in the name of a private investor that he was paying. In addition, there were no allowances for contributions to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) because the financial institution that he said held the IRA did not acknowledge the existence of the IRA.

With regard to the exemptions, Mr. Doe was not allowed to deduct the exemptions for the children, A and B Doe, as they were claimed on another party’s return, and he was unable to substantiate that more than half of their support was provided by him. The other exemption, C. Doe, was disallowed because the child was 21, and Mr. Doe could not verify that more than half the support was provided by him. While the IRS realizes that C. Doe is handicapped, normal examination procedures require that information be requested regarding all sources of support including items such as Social Security benefits, payments from social service agencies, as well as the taxable sources of income.

Jim XX, of my staff, contacted Mr. Doe and explained the above. Although Mr. Doe was unhappy with the outcome, he understood why the deductions and exemptions were disallowed. The issue of repetitive audits was also raised by Mr. Doe. The files were reviewed and it was determined that we did not contact him for tax years 1991, 1992, and 1993. Additional tax was proposed by the Underreporter Program for tax year 1994. The tax was assessed after we did not receive a response from him. The audit notification for tax year 1995 was sent from Franklin

letter 1

• The original letter

has large blocks of

text, lots of passive

voice, wordy

phrases, and no

formatting to make it

user friendly.

• In this first version of

the letter, we

highlighted in blue

those sentences that

have the passive

voice.


Service Center because this was Mr. Doe’s last known address and the one the constituent used on the return. When the IRS was contacted and informed of his address change, his request for the transfer to the local IRS office in City, State, was complied with. The continuation of the audit was conducted in City, State, and Mr. Doe was offered the opportunity to provide substantiation for the deductions. He was unable to do so. When an audit is conducted, every effort is made to bring the taxpayer into full compliance. This usually requires that the auditor include subsequent years' returns. In this case, the1995 tax year was closed separately due to statute concerns while the 1996 and 1997 tax years remained open to allow Mr. Doe to have the opportunity to provide documentation to substantiate deductions claimed on these returns. Mr. Doe informed Mr. XX that due to his financial circumstances he could not pay the balance due. A review of his financial statement indicated that this was accurate. The option of submitting an Offer-in-Compromise to settle the debt was discussed. In the meantime, his account has been placed in currently-not-collectible status. It was explained to Mr. Doe that while the account is in currently-not-collectible status, interest continues to accrue; and any subsequent refunds due him will be applied to the open balance.

With regard to Mr. Doe’s allegations of harassment, please be assured that the IRS takes these matters very seriously. There is an independent organization to investigate these complaints. Matters such as these are referred to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). Generally, the IRS is not notified of the outcome of the investigation and subsequent corrective action because of employee privacy issues.

Once again, we want to apologize for any inconvenience or frustration Mr. Doe may have experienced in trying to resolve this matter. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at (111) 222-2222.

Sincerely,

Local Office

• In the passive voice,

the object of the

action is the subject

of the sentence and

the writer uses a

form of the verb to

be.

• In letter 2, we

changed the passive

voice sentences to

the active voice.

• The letter still has

lots of problems. We

will highlight and

correct other

problems in the

letters that follow.


IRS Letter 2: Passive Voice Changed to Active Voice

In letter 2, we changed the passive voice examples highlighted in the first letter to the

active voice, making the subject the doer of the action and getting rid of the verb to be.

The letter still has many problems, but we have taken the first step.

In our next segment of the video, we talk about using I instead of we as often as possible.

To prepare for the next segment, in the last paragraph of letter 2, we highlighted the

words we and us. Writers should use the singular personal pronouns I and me as often

as possible in letters to give them a more personal tone even if they are preparing the

letter for someone else to sign. Sometimes, we use the plural when talking about a

group effort, but we should make an effort to use I instead of we as often as possible.

lett

er 2

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OiC

e C

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O a

Cti

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OiC

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er


The Honorable YY ZZ



Suite

City, State Zip


This is in response to your inquiry dated March 15, 2000, on behalf of your

constituent, Mr. J. Doe. Mr. Doe has raised a number of concerns; namely that the

IRS subjected him to needless audits, and in general, that the IRS mishandled his

case. On December 14, 1999, Mr. Doe filed an Application for Taxpayer Assistance

Order, Form 911, with the National Office, requesting relief from the hardship he was

experiencing. The National Office transferred his request to the local office in State

to better serve your constituent.

Upon receipt of his request for relief, the local office assigned the case to Mary YY,

a caseworker. Mr. Doe requested "...immediate reinstatement of my deductions

and exemptions for 1995 and withdrawal of the Notice of Deficiency and its interest

and penalty in its entirety for 1995. Additionally, I order the IRS to cease its abuse

and persecution of me." This required that the Examination Division review the file.

Mr. Doe requested that Examination begin the process immediately. We completed

a review of the file, as requested, and determined that Mr. Doe could not

substantiate the expenditures he had claimed on his Individual Income Tax Return,

Form 1040 for tax year 1995. Specifically, we determined that he was not entitled to

a deduction for mortgage interest, as he was paying a private investor who was

holding the mortgage he claimed. In addition, there were no allowances for

contributions to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) because the financial

institution that held the IRA did not acknowledge the existence of the IRA.

With regard to the exemptions, the IRS did not allow Mr. Doe to deduct the

exemptions for the children, A and B Doe, as another party claimed them on a tax

return, and he was unable to substantiate that he provided more than half of their

support. The IRS disallowed the other exemption, C. Doe, because the child was

21, and Mr. Doe could not verify that he provided more than half the support. While

the IRS realizes that C. Doe is handicapped, normal examination procedures require

that we request information regarding all sources of support including items such as

Social Security benefits, payments from social service agencies, as well as the taxable

sources of income. Jim XX of my staff, contacted Mr. Doe and explained the above.

Although Mr. Doe was unhappy with the outcome, he understood why the IRS

letter 2

• To help you review

this change in the

letter, we underlined

the parts of the

sentence where we

changed the passive

voice to the active

voice.


disallowed the deductions and exemptions. Mr. Doe also raised the issue of

repetitive audits. We reviewed our files and found that we did not contact him for

tax years 1991, 1992, and 1993. The Underreporter Program proposed additional

tax for tax year 1994. We assessed the tax after we received no response from

him. The Franklin Service Center sent an audit notification for tax year 1995

because this was Mr. Doe’s last known address and the one the constituent used

on the return. When he contacted the IRS and informed us of his address change,

we complied with his request for the transfer to the local IRS office in City, State.

The IRS continued the audit in City, State, and offered him the opportunity to

provide substantiation for the deductions. He could not do so. When the IRS

conducts an audit, we make every effort to bring the taxpayer into full compliance.

This usually requires that the auditor include subsequent years’ returns. In this

case, the IRS closed the 1995 tax year separately due to statute concerns while the

1996 and 1997 tax years remained open to allow Mr. Doe to have the opportunity

to provide documentation to substantiate deductions claimed on these returns. Mr.

Doe informed Mr. XX that due to his financial circumstances he could not pay the

balance due. A review of his financial statement indicated that this was accurate.

The IRS discussed with Mr. Doe the option of submitting an Offer-in-Compromise

to settle the debt. In the meantime, the IRS has placed his account in currently-

not-collectible status. We explained to Mr. Doe that while the account is in

currently-not-collectible status, interest continues to accrue; and we will apply any

subsequent refunds due him to the open balance.

With regard to Mr. Doe’s allegations of harassment, please be assured that the IRS

takes these matters very seriously. There is an independent organization to

investigate these complaints. We refer matters such as these to the Treasury

Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). Generally, TIGTA does not notify

us of the outcome of the investigation and subsequent corrective action because of

employee privacy issues.

Once again, we want to apologize for any inconvenience or frustration Mr. Doe may

have experienced in trying to resolve this matter. If you have any questions or

concerns, please contact us at (111) 222-2222.

Sincerely,

Local Office

• The person signing

the letter is taking

responsibility for the

content of the letter

so using I or me is

appropriate.

• We will change these

words in the next

letter to give it a

personal tone.

Play videO


Using “I”

Use "I" instead of "we" as often as possible so our

readers:

• Feel IRS letters are personal.

• Know we are being accurate.

• Understand a real person, not a machine, is

writing the letter.

Use "I" instead of "we" when writing unless you are

referring to specific work performed by a group. Using

"we" when you could use "I" makes your letter sound

anonymous and unresponsive. Using "I" makes the

reader feel you have read his or her letter, taken it

seriously, and made an effort to answer the

questions.

To keep a personal tone, use names if you know them.

Instead of using "your constituent" or "the taxpayer,"

use the name. Instead of "If you or your constituent

have questions" use "If you or Mr. Doe have

questions."

Video Exercises:Instructions: Choose the sentence that uses I/We

appropriately.

Exercise 1

A. We regret any inconvenience this transaction

may have caused Mr. Doe.

B. I regret the inconvenience this transaction

caused Mr. Doe.

Answer: B

This sentence removes the word ANY and MAY

HAVE. We know it did inconvenience the

reader. And we apologize.

Exercise 2

A. I am writing in response to your letter dated

May 30, 2000.

B. We are writing in response to your letter

dated May 30, 2000.

Answer: A

The introductory first paragraph is a good

place to use I.

Exercise 3

A. Should you need to contact my office, you

may contact Joe Doe at (111) 222-3333.

B. Please call me at (111) 222-3333 or Joe Doe

at (111) 222-3333.

Answer: B

If your are writing to a congressman, give

your telephone number as well as the number

of whoever is working the case.

Exercise 4

A. We are sorry we lost your return.

B. I am sorry we lost your return.

Answer: B

Even when we personally were not responsible,

we apologize.


2. Use “I” instead of “we” as often as possible.

Pause videO


additiOnal exerCises using i and we

Instructions: Change we to I whenever you can to give our letters a more personal tone. Also use we instead of the

IRS when you can.

1. We apologize for the IRS’s error.

2. We are sorry your check did not arrive on time.

3. The IRS addressed the response to Mr. Joe Doe instead of Ms. Jane Doe.

4. On November 10, 1999, the IRS submitted an unauthorized disclosure report.

5. If we can do anything else to help you in this matter, please call me or Joe Doe at (111) 222-3333.

6. We are enclosing a price list, page count, and a separate publication.

Instructions: Use I and we as often as possible in the following paragraphs to make the tone conversational.

7. This letter responds to your request of June 6, 2000, endorsing City as a location for an Offer-in-Compromise

(OIC) processing site. The IRS has not made a decision regarding the location of the site but expects to do so

soon.

8. The IRS appreciates your taking the time to express your support for having the OIC site in City. The information

you have enclosed will be taken into consideration as a determination is made concerning the site.


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1. I apologize for our error.

2. I am sorry your check did not arrive on time.

3. We addressed our response to Mr. Joe Doe instead of Ms. Jane Doe. (You didn’t do it

yourself, so we is fine.)

4. On November 10, 1999, we submitted an unauthorized disclosure report. (Again, you didn’t

do it yourself.)

5. If I can do anything else to help you in this matter, please call me or Joe Doe at

(111) 222-3333.

6. I am enclosing a price list, page count, and a separate publication.

7. Thank you for your letter of June 6, 2000, suggesting City as a location for an Offer-in-

Compromise (OIC) processing site. We have not made a decision yet but expect to do so

soon.

8. I appreciate your taking time to express your support for having the OIC site in City. We will

use your information as we decide where to put the new site.


IRS Letter 3: Using I instead of We when Appropriate

In letter 2, we highlighted two words, we and us. Changing two words may seem

insignificant, but this small change contributes to giving the letter a more personal,

friendly tone. We made another change using I to give the opening of our letter more

personal tone.

We frequently see the following opening in IRS letters:

Not this: This is in response to your inquiry dated March 15, 2000, on behalf of your

constituent, Mr. J. Doe.

We don't want to use this opening because This is in response uses an undefined

demonstrative pronoun*, a pronoun that does not tell the reader what this refers to. A

way to improve this opening is to say:

This: This letter is in response to your inquiry dated March 15, 2000, on behalf of

your constituent, Mr. J. Doe.

Even better, we could personalize the letter with I and say:

Or this: I am responding to your letter dated March 15, 2000, on behalf of your

constituent, Mr. J. Doe.

As a general rule, when this refers to something that might not be obvious to the reader,

put the noun it refers to right after it.

* We included information on demonstrative pronouns in the grammar section of this

workbook.

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I am responding to your letter dated March 15, 2000, on behalf of your constituent, Mr.

J. Doe. Mr. Doe has raised a number of concerns; namely that the IRS subjected him

to needless audits, and in general, that the IRS mishandled his case. On December 14,

1999, Mr. Doe filed an Application for Taxpayer Assistance Order, Form 911, with the

National Office, requesting relief from the hardship he was experiencing. The National

Office transferred his request to the local office in State to better serve your constituent.

Upon receipt of his request for relief, the local office assigned the case to Mary YY, a

caseworker. Mr. Doe requested "...immediate reinstatement of my deductions and

exemptions for 1995 and withdrawal of the Notice of Deficiency and its interest and

penalty in its entirety for 1995. Additionally, I order the IRS to cease its abuse and

persecution of me." This request required that the Examination Division review the file.

Mr. Doe requested that Examination begin the process immediately. We completed a

review of the file, as requested, and determined that Mr. Doe could not substantiate the

expenditures he had claimed on his Individual Income Tax Return, Form 1040 for tax

year 1995. Specifically, we determined that he was not entitled to a deduction for

mortgage interest, as he was paying a private investor who was holding the mortgage

he claimed. In addition, there was no allowance for contributions made to an Individual

Retirement Account (IRA) because the financial institution that held the IRA did not

acknowledge the existence of the IRA.

With regard to the exemptions, the IRS did not allow Mr. Doe to deduct the exemptions

for the children, A and B Doe, as another party claimed them on a tax return, and he

could not substantiate that he provided more than half of their support. The IRS

disallowed the other exemption, C. Doe, because the child was 21, and Mr. Doe could

not verify that he provided more than half the support. While the IRS realizes that C.

Doe is handicapped, normal examination procedures require that we request

information regarding all sources of support including items such as Social Security

benefits, payments from social service agencies, as well as the taxable sources of

income.

Jim XX, of my staff, contacted Mr. Doe and explained the above. Although Mr. Doe was

letter 3

• We changed this

opening using I to

make our letter more

personal.


unhappy with the outcome, he understood why the IRS disallowed the deductions and

exemptions. Mr. Doe also raised the issue of repetitive audits. We reviewed our files

and found that we did not contact him for tax years 1991, 1992, and 1993. The

Underreporter Program proposed additional tax for tax year 1994. We assessed the

tax after we received no response from him. The Franklin Service Center sent an audit

notification for tax year 1995 because this was Mr. Doe’s last known address and the

one he used on the return. When he contacted the IRS and informed us of his address

change, we complied with his request for the transfer to the local IRS office in City,

State. The IRS continued the audit in City, and offered him the opportunity to provide

substantiation for the deductions. He could not do so. When the IRS conducts an

audit, we make every effort to bring the taxpayer into full compliance. This effort

usually requires that the auditor include subsequent years' returns. In this case, the

IRS closed the 1995 tax year separately due to statute concerns while the 1996 and

1997 tax years remained open to allow Mr. Doe to have the opportunity to provide

documentation to substantiate deductions claimed on these returns. Mr. Doe informed

Mr. XX that due to his financial circumstances he could not pay the balance due. A

review of his financial statement indicated that this was accurate. The IRS discussed

with Mr. Doe the option of submitting an Offer-in-Compromise to settle the debt. In the

meantime, the IRS has placed his account in currently-not-collectible status. We

explained to Mr. Doe that while the account is in currently-not-collectible status, interest

continues to accrue, and we will apply any subsequent refunds due him to the open

balance.


takes these matters very seriously. There is an independent organization to investigate

these complaints. We refer matters such as these to the Treasury Inspector General for

Tax Administration (TIGTA). Generally, TIGTA does not notify us of the outcome of the

investigation and subsequent corrective action because of employee privacy issues.

Once again, I want to apologize for any inconvenience or frustration Mr. Doe may have

experienced in trying to resolve this matter. If you have any questions or concerns,

please contact me at (111) 222-2222.

Sincerely,

Local Office

• The letter still has

lots of problems but

using I instead of we

helps.

• In letter 3, we

highlighted the

apology. The writer

of the letter decided

an apology is

needed. We will

make changes to

improve the apology

in letter 4 after the

next segment of the

video.

Play videO


A Few Tips On Apologies:

• If we made an error, apologize.

We don’t want to sound defensive. If an IRS employee

made a mistake, we should apologize even though we

ourselves did not cause the problem. When we

respond to a letter written to the IRS, our response

speaks for the entire organization.

• If we provided a service, don’t apologize.

If we have simply answered a question about tax law

or sent the reader a publication or form, we do not

need to apologize. Use instead a sentence like, "I

hope this information is useful in responding to Mr.

Doe."

• If we should apologize, make a sincere apology

appropriate for the situation.

Instead of "I am sorry for the inconvenience," be more

specific with "I am sorry we applied your payment to

the wrong account."

Don’t build "wiggle room" in your apology. Avoid

terms that imply we aren’t sure we did anything wrong

like, "any inconvenience we may have caused." If we

need to apologize for a mistake we made, we must do

it in a straightforward, open manner: "I am sorry for the

inconvenience we caused you." Also, don’t "like to

apologize." Just do it: "I apologize…"

If we decide an apology is appropriate for our letter,

make the apology in a open and straightforward

manner. For example, "I apologize for the poor service

Mr. Doe received."

3. Apologize when appropriate.


Video Exercises:Instructions: Choose the apology you would like to

receive if you were in a similar

situation.

Exercise 1

A. Please apologize to your constituent for the poor

service that was provided to him and ensure him

that this incident is not an example of the service

we strive to insure taxpayers.

B. Please apologize to Mr. Doe for the poor service he

received.

Answer: B

Exercise 2

A. We are so sorry Mr. Doe received such poor service

in his 5 attempts to contact the IRS. Our goal is to

provide optimal service world wide, and we hope

his contacts in the future meet his high

expectations.

B. I am sorry Mr. Doe received such poor service. Our

goal is to provide good customer service, and I

hope his contacts with us in the future are positive.

Answer: B

Exercise 3

A. We certainly want to apologize for any delay and

frustration experienced by you in trying to get your

refund.

B. I apologize for the delay and frustration you

experienced in trying to get your refund.

Answer: B

Exercise 4

A. Please extend our sincere apologies to your

constituent for any inconvenience we may have

caused. His patience and cooperation are

appreciated.

B. Please tell Mr. Doe I am sorry for the inconvenience

we caused him and appreciate his patience and

cooperation.

Answer: B


Pause videO


additiOnal exerCise On aPOlOgiesInstructions: In Letters 1 and 2, assume you need an apology. Write an apology, keeping the tone conversational;

and fix any other problems you find.

Letter 1 (Our response was late.)

This letter is in response to your inquiry dated June 1, 2000 on behalf of your constituent, Ms. Jane Doe. She is

concerned that she still has not received her $4,653.98 refund for 1999.

We have found that the Red Service Center processed your constituent’s return in March, and through an oversight

the check was not mailed to her. When she spoke with Mr. Smith, he could find no record of her refund. We

discovered the problem was in his database. We have resolved the problem and are sending the check to her today.

It will include the interest due as well.

If I can help in any way, please call me at (111) 222-3333.

Letter 2 (Our response was late.)

I am responding to your letter of November 3, 1999, on behalf of your constituent Mr. John Doe. Mr. Doe, an IRS

employee, contacted your office about personnel problems he was having.

We resolved Mr. Doe’s problems to his satisfaction in July. He was selected for a temporary promotion into a higher

graded position, and he was retroactively promoted for the period prior to his selection.

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any questions, please call me at (111) 222-3333.


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Letter 1

I apologize for the delay in responding to your inquiry dated June 1, 2000 on behalf of

your constituent, Ms. Jane Doe. She is concerned that she still has not received her

$4,653.98 refund for 1999.

We found the Red Service Center processed Ms. Doe’s return in March, and through an

oversight did not mail the check to her. When she spoke with Mr. Smith, he could find no

record of her refund. We discovered the problem was in his database. We have resolved

the problem and are sending the check to her today. It will include the interest due as

well.

I am very sorry Ms. Doe had to wait six months for her check. I am also sorry for the

inconvenience the incorrect information caused. If I can help in any way, please call me at

(111) 222-333.

Letter 2

I apologize for the delay in responding to your letter of November 3, 1999, on behalf of

your constituent Mr. John Doe. Mr. Doe, an IRS employee, contacted your office about

personnel problems he was having.

We resolved Mr. Doe’s problems to his satisfaction in July. His manager selected him for

a temporary promotion into a higher graded position and retroactively promoted him for

the period prior to his selection.

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any questions, please call me at

(111) 222-3333.


IRS Letter 4: Apology Improved by Removing Wiggle Room

In this letter, we changed phrases like I would like to apologize, any inconvenience, and

might have caused. Also, if we should apologize, let’s just do it and not want to do it.

If we can identify a specific error we made or a delay in responding, we should make our

apology as specific as possible to the situation.

For example, if we believe the individual did not receive good customer service, we can

use a more specific apology such as:

I am sorry Mr. Doe received poor customer service from an IRS employee.

We will follow-up on his complaints so that other taxpayers do not

experience similar problems.

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J. Doe. Mr. Doe has raised a number of concerns; namely that the IRS subjected him

to needless audits, and in general, that the IRS mishandled his case. On December 14,

1999, Mr. Doe filed an Application for Taxpayer Assistance Order, Form 911, with the

National Office, requesting relief from the hardship he was experiencing. The National

Office transferred his request to the local office in State to better serve your constituent.

Upon receipt of his request for relief, the local office assigned the case to Mary YY, a

caseworker. Mr. Doe requested "...immediate reinstatement of my deductions and

exemptions for 1995 and withdrawal of the Notice of Deficiency and its interest and

penalty in its entirety for 1995. Additionally, I order the IRS to cease its abuse and

persecution of me." This request required that the Examination Division review the file.

Mr. Doe requested that Examination begin the process immediately. We completed a

review of the file, as requested, and determined that Mr. Doe could not substantiate the

expenditures he had claimed on his Individual Income Tax Return, Form 1040 for tax

year 1995. Specifically, we determined that he was not entitled to a deduction for

mortgage interest, as he was paying a private investor who was holding the mortgage

he claimed. In addition, there was no allowance for contributions made to an Individual

Retirement Account (IRA) because the financial institution that held the IRA did not

acknowledge the existence of the IRA.

With regard to the exemptions, the IRS did not allow Mr. Doe to deduct the exemptions

for the children, A and B Doe, as another party claimed them on a tax return, and he

could not substantiate that he provided more than half of their support. The IRS

disallowed the other exemption, C. Doe, because the child was 21, and Mr. Doe could

not verify that he provided more than half the support. While the IRS realizes that C.

Doe is handicapped, normal examination procedures require that we request

information regarding all sources of support including items such as Social Security

benefits, payments from social service agencies, as well as the taxable sources of

income.


letter 4

• In letter 4, we

highlighted three

topics we can use as

headings in letter 5.

In the next segment

of the video, we will

talk about the value

of headings in our

letters.








one the constituent used on the return. When he contacted the IRS and informed us of

his address change, we complied with his request for the transfer to the local IRS office

in City, State. The IRS continued the audit in City, and offered him the opportunity to



This effort usually requires that the auditor include subsequent years' returns. In this


1996 and 1997 tax years remained open to allow Mr. Doe to have the opportunity to

provide documentation to substantiate deductions claimed on these returns. Mr. Doe

informed Mr. XX that due to his financial circumstances he could not pay the balance

due. A review of his financial statement indicated that this was accurate. The IRS

discussed with Mr. Doe the option of submitting an Offer-in-Compromise to settle the

debt. In the meantime, the IRS has placed his account in currently-not-collectible

status. We explained to Mr. Doe that while the account is in currently-not-collectible

status, interest continues to accrue; and we will apply any subsequent refunds due him

to the open balance.






Once again, I apologize for the inconvenience and frustration Mr. Doe experienced in

trying to resolve this matter. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me

at (111) 222-2222.

Sincerely,

Local Office

• We took out words

like any and might.

Once we decide an

apology is

appropriate we

should avoid words

that imply, “I’m not

sure I really want to

apologize”

Play videO


Organize Your Document

Readers want to read the main idea followed by the

supporting details, stacked in neat layers. Each layer

supports the layer above it. The way you organize

your document determines how easily your reader will

be able to follow the logic of your message.

Writers write differently than readers read. Writers will

meander through a maze of information until they

reach the conclusion. The reader doesn’t want to go

down that path with the writer. Because readers don’t

have a lot of time, they want the bottom line up front.

That means after we have done our research and

analysis, we should turn our document upside down

and put the answer at the top.

To help us remember, we use Joe Florian’s analogy

from his book on writing:

Bottom Line Up Front

We don’t want to lose our readers by making them

wait too long for the main idea.


Use as few words as possible, and put the code

citations in brackets at the end of the sentence or

paragraph.

Parallel construction means we use the same

grammatical construction for all the items in a set. For

example, "I came, I saw, I conquered" uses the

grammatical construction of noun/verb. In the example

above, the bulleted statements are in a question

format and are complete sentences.

Use Format To Make Documents Inviting

We use format to get the reader’s attention.


Using bolded headings, bullets, and short paragraphs

adds white space. White space invites the reader to

read now, not later.

Headings summarize a section of our document.

They let the reader skim the document quickly and

find the parts they want to read. They also help the

reader follow the logic of our information.

Bold, underlining, and italics draw our reader’s attention

to the parts of the document we don’t want them to

miss.

One emphatic technique we never want to use is all

caps. USING ALL CAPS MAKES THE READER FEEL

LIKE WE ARE YELLING.

Bulleted lists are easier to read than lists embedded in

a paragraph. Keep punctuation for bullets simple:

• Put a period at the end of each complete

sentence.

• Put no punctuation at the end of incomplete

sentences.

A set of bullets will be either all complete sentences or

all incomplete sentences.

Keep bullets parallel by using the same grammatical

construction.


Pause videO


additiOnal exerCises On Bullets and headings

Instructions: Put a general sentence as the first line of each paragraph, and then:

• Add the supporting sentences as bulleted lists.

• Begin each bullet with a capital letter.

• Put a period at the end if the bulleted words form a sentence. (To decide if the words are a sentence, when it’s

not obvious, look only at the bulleted words, not the tag line. If the bulleted statement gives a command or

makes a request, it is called an imperative sentence and you would put a period at the end of it.)

• Put nothing at the end if the words don’t form a sentence.

• Use a verb, when possible, to begin each bullet.

Example A: (incomplete sentences)

The law allows you to file by:

• Using a tax professional

• Filing through a personal computer

• Calling taxes in over the phone

• Submitting a paper return

Example B: (complete sentences)

The law allows you to:

• Use a tax professional.

• File through a personal computer.

• Call taxes in over the phone.

• Submit a paper return.

1. Compliance for transfer pricing is based on several principles. The appropriateness of taxpayers’ transfer pricing

practices must be verified along with the reasonableness of the transfer pricing practice. Contemporaneous

documentation must show the reasonableness of their transfer prices and be available to the IRS.

(topic sentence)

•

•

•

•


2. The 1993 amendments to the Act made the net adjustment penalty apply where a taxpayer did not try to

comply with the arms length standard. Also the penalty applied if contemporaneous documentation was

not written or if a taxpayer failed to provide that documentation to the IRS within 30 days of the request.

(topic sentence)

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

•

•

•

3. Distributions from a qualified plan must begin by the 60th day after the close of the plan year in which the latest

of certain events occurs: When the participant attains the earlier of age 65 or the normal retirement age under

the plan, or the 10th anniversary of the year the participant began to participate in the plan, or the date the

participant terminates service with the employer [section 401(a)(14) of the Code].

(topic sentence)

•

•

•

4. The ABC specialists offer both case-related experience and tax law expertise. Memoranda are issued to provide

guidance of specific issues. The ABC specialists teach training classes and participate in writing and reviewing

training materials in their areas of expertise in cooperation with the IRS Corporate Education International

Institute. Finally, the ABC specialists act as liaisons among local, area, and national office counsels.

(topic sentence)

•

•

•

•

•


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1. A. Compliance for transfer pricing is based on four principles. Taxpayers can do this by:

• Verifying the appropriateness of their transfer pricing practices

• Using reasonable transfer pricing practices

• Keeping contemporaneous documentation showing their transfer pricing is reasonable

• Making their contemporaneous documentation available to the IRS

or

B. Compliance for transfer pricing is based on four principles. Taxpayers must:

• Verify the appropriateness of their transfer pricing practices.

• Use reasonable transfer pricing practices.

• Keep contemporaneous documentation showing their transfer pricing is reasonable.

• Make their contemporaneous documentation available to the IRS.

2. The 1993 amendments to the Act made the net adjustment penalty apply if taxpayers did

not:

• Try to comply with the arms length standard.

• Write contemporaneous documentation.

• Give the documentation to the IRS within 30 days of the request.

3. Distributions from a qualified plan must begin by the 60th day after the close of the plan year

in which the latest of three events occurs:

• The participant attains the earlier of age 65 or the normal retirement age under the

plan.

• The participant reaches the 10th anniversary of the year he/she began to participate in

the plan.

• The participant terminates service with the employer [section 401(a)(14) of the Code].

4. The ABC specialists do the following things:

• Offer both case-related experience and tax law expertise.

• Issue guidance on specific issues.

• Teach training classes.

• Participate in writing and reviewing training materials in their areas of expertise with the

IRS Corporate Education International Institute.

• Act as liaisons among local, area, and national office counsels.


additiOnal exerCises On headings

Instructions: This exercise has two letters, each with several paragraphs. Read the paragraph under the line, and

then write a heading that summarizes it.

Letter 1

I am responding to your letter of August 18, 2000 to Charles Rossotti, Commissioner of Internal Revenue about

section 457 of the Internal Revenue Code (the Code).

(heading 1) _________________________________________________________________________

Section 457 is a deferred compensation plan, an arrangement between an employer and employees in which the

payment of compensation is postponed. The section regulates the income tax treatment of compensation for

services deferred by an individual under an eligible deferred compensation plan of an eligible employer, such as a

state or local government entity or a tax-exempt organization. The section also says the IRS taxes the compensation

deferred under an eligible plan and the income assigned to this deferred compensation only for the year the deferred

amounts are "paid or made available" to the participant or beneficiary, not for the year deferred.

(heading 2) _________________________________________________________________________

The Constructive Receipt Doctrine shown in section 451 of the Code and shown, for public and tax-exempt

employers, in section 457 governs the tax consequences of the deferred compensation plans. Under the

Constructive Receipt Doctrine of income, taxpayers pay tax on an item of income if they have an unrestricted right

to decide when that item of income is paid. This principle was expressed in a 1930 Supreme Court case, Corliss

v. Bowers, 281 U.S. 376 (1930) in a statement by Justice Holmes that "[i]ncome that is subject to a man’s

unfettered command and that he is free to enjoy at his own option may be taxed to him as his income, whether he

sees fit to enjoy it or not." Taxpayers constructively receive income in the year it is available even though they do

not actually receive it. But they could receive it any time they ask for it.

Letter 2

I am responding to your letter dated August 22, 2000, on behalf of your constituent, Mr. John Doe. Mr. Doe questions

the legality of the tax Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) and certification. He also asks us

to investigate ABC, a collection agency in State.

(heading 1) _________________________________________________________________________

Individuals or businesses (payors) file a Tax Form W-9 with the IRS to give us the following information:

• Verification the TIN given to the payor is correct

• Certification the payee is not subject to backup withholding

• Certification the payee is an exempt recipient

The payor can change the Form W-9 as long as the substitution is similar and still gives the above

information. Also, the payor does not have to send the form to us. For your information and convenience, I

have enclosed our form for you.


(heading 2) _________________________________________________________________________

Usually we do not investigate a business unless we have firm evidence of noncompliance with the federal tax laws.

We welcome information that may show noncompliance; however, Mr. Doe would have to give us additional

information showing noncompliance. Once we received information from him, we would review it. But because of

IRS disclosure restrictions, we then could not tell him whether or not we would investigate the company (section

6103 of the Internal Revenue Code).


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Letter 1

Heading 1: Explanation of Section 457 of the Code

Heading 2: Explanation of the Constructive Receipt Doctrine

Letter 2

Heading 1: The Legality of Tax Form W-9

Heading 2: The IRS Policy on Investigating a Business


IRS Letter 5: Headings Added to Help the Reader Follow the Information

In letter 5, we added headings taken from the introductory paragraph and other

paragraphs throughout the letter, which tell the reader the three major topics we planned

to answer in this letter. Using headings helps our readers skim through the document to

find the information they need. The headings also bring to our attention the fact that

some of the paragraphs have more than one idea. To avoid ambiguity, we want to make

sure we have only one idea in each:

• Letter

• Paragraph

• Sentence

• Word

The heading should be an umbrella statement that covers all the information that follows.

Or, in other words, everything in the paragraph following the heading should support that

one idea. Also, all of our headings should use parallel construction. In other words, use

the same grammatical construction. For example, each heading below begins with a

noun.

• Denial of Deductions and Exemptions on 1995 Tax Return

• Audits Yearly Since 1990

• Allegations of Harassment

Because headings stand out on their own, we did not underline the change in letter 5.

We added the headings, but now we can see the information in the paragraphs that

follow the headings do not always support our main idea. Headings help us see places

where our message does not flow logically.

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Suite

City, State Zip


I am responding to your letter dated March 15, 2000, on behalf of your constituent, Mr. J. Doe. Mr. Doe has raised a number of concerns; namely that the IRS subjected him to needless audits, and in general, that the IRS mishandled his case. On December 14, 1999, Mr. Doe filed an Application for Taxpayer Assistance Order, Form 911, with the National Office, requesting relief from the hardship he was experiencing. The National Office transferred his request to the local office in State to better serve your constituent.

Upon receipt of his request for relief, the local office assigned the case to Mary YY, a caseworker. Mr. Doe requested "...immediate reinstatement of my deductions and exemptions for 1995 and withdrawal of the Notice of Deficiency and its interest and penalty in its entirety for 1995. Additionally, I order the IRS to cease its abuse and persecution of me." This request required that the Examination Division review the file. Mr. Doe requested that Examination begin the process immediately. We completed a review of the file, as requested and determined that Mr. Doe could not substantiate the expenditures he had claimed on his Individual Income Tax Return, Form 1040 for tax year 1995. Specifically, we determined that he was not entitled to a deduction for mortgage interest, as he was paying a private investor who was holding the mortgage he claimed. In addition, there was no allowance for contributions made to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) because the financial institution that held the IRA did not acknowledge the existence of the IRA.

Denial of Deductions and Exemptions on 1995 Tax ReturnWith regard to the exemptions, the IRS did not allow Mr. Doe to deduct the exemptions for the children, A and B Doe, as another party claimed them on a tax return, and he could not substantiate that he provided more than half of their support. The IRS disallowed the other exemption, C. Doe, because the child was 21, and Mr. Doe could not verify that he provided more than half the support. While the IRS realizes that C. Doe is handicapped, normal examination procedures require that we request information regarding all sources of support including items such as Social Security benefits, payments from social service agencies, as well as the taxable sources of income.

Audits Yearly Since 1990



letter 5

• We will work on

organizing the

information in letter 6

and later versions.

• In this letter we

highlighted some

ideas we can format

as bullets in letter 6.

• Headings help us

identify information

that does not belong

in this paragraph.







one the constituent used on the return. When he contacted the IRS and informed us of

his address change, we complied with his request for the transfer to the local IRS office

in City, State. The IRS continued the audit in City and offered him the opportunity to



This effort usually requires that the auditor include subsequent years' returns. In this


1996 and 1997 tax years remained open to allow Mr. Doe to have the opportunity to

provide documentation to substantiate deductions claimed on these returns. Mr. Doe

informed Mr. XX that due to his financial circumstances he could not pay the balance

due. A review of his financial statement indicated that this was accurate. The IRS

discussed with Mr. Doe the option of submitting an Offer-in-Compromise to settle the

debt. In the meantime, the IRS has placed his account in currently-not-collectible


status, interest continues to accrue; and we will apply any subsequent refunds due him

to the open balance.

Allegations of Harassment






Once again, I apologize for the inconvenience and frustration Mr. Doe experienced in

trying to resolve this matter. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me

at (111) 222-2222.

Sincerely,

Local Office

• Headings help us

see places where are

information does not

flow logically.


IRS Letter 6: Use Bullets to Highlight Information

In letter 6, we formatted some of the information using bullets and hanging indents. This

technique highlights the information and makes it easier and faster to read.

When using bullets and headings, we want to make sure we use parallel construction for

all the items in the set. Using parallel construction means we use the same grammatical

construction in each bullet.

We use a tag line to introduce our bullets:

We began a number of improvements last year that have continued this

year by:

Then, each bullet begins with an ing form of the verb:

• Expanding our telephone service to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

• Hiring and training additional staff

• Introducing new technology that allows us to direct calls to the next

available assistor in any of our call sites

Again, because our bullets draw attention to the information, we did not underline that

change in the letter.

lett

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hig

hli

gh

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fOr

ma

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The Honorable YY ZZMember, U.S. House of RepresentativesLocal Street AddressSuite City, State Zip


I am responding to your letter dated March 15, 2000, on behalf of your constituent, Mr. J. Doe. Mr. Doe has raised a number of concerns; namely that: • The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) denied deductions and exemptions on his 1995

return. • The IRS has subjected him to annual audits since 1990. • An IRS auditor harassed him.

On December 14, 1999, Mr. Doe filed an Application for Taxpayer Assistance Order, Form 911, with the National Office, requesting relief from the hardship he was experiencing. The National Office transferred his request to the local office in State to better serve your constituent.

Upon receipt of his request for relief, the local office assigned the case to Mary YY, a caseworker. Mr. Doe requested "...immediate reinstatement of my exemptions for 1995 and withdrawal of the Notice of Deficiency and its interest and penalty in its entirety for 1995. Additionally. I order the IRS to cease its abuse and persecution of me." This request required that the Examination Division review the file. Mr. Doe requested that Examination begin the process immediately.

Denial of Deductions and Exemptions on 1995 Tax ReturnMs. YY asked the Examination Division to review Mr. Doe’s case. It found that Mr. Doe could not substantiate the deductions and exemptions he claimed on his Individual Income Tax Return for tax year 1995: • He could not take a deduction for mortgage interest, as he was paying a private

investor who was holding the mortgage he claimed. • He could not claim contributions made to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA)

because there was no record of his IRA with the financial institution. • He could not deduct the exemptions for the children A and B, as another party had

claimed them on a return, and he could not verify that he provided more than half of their support.

• He could not claim C. Doe because the child was 21, and Mr. Doe could not verify that he provided more than half of his support.

While the IRS realizes that C. Doe is handicapped, normal examination procedures require that we request information regarding all sources of support including items such as Social Security benefits, payments from social service agencies, as well as the taxable sources of income.

letter 6

• In the first

paragraph, we

expanded on our

headings from letter

5 and put them into

3 bullets to help

organize the

information. THis

preview helps the

reader by telling

him or her what

they can expect in

this letter.

• In letter 6, we

highlighted some

wordy phrases

where we can

substitute strong

verbs in letter 7.


Jim XX, of my staff, contacted Mr. Doe and explained the above. Although Mr. Doe was unhappy with the outcome, he understood why the IRS disallowed the deductions and exemptions.

Audits Yearly Since 1990 Mr. Doe also raised the issue of repetitive audit. We reviewed our files and found that we did not contact him for tax years 1991, 1992, and 1993. The Underreporter Program proposed additional tax for tax year 1994. We assessed the tax after we received no response from him. The Franklin Service Center sent an audit notification for tax year 1995 because this was Mr. Doe’s last known address and the one the constituent used on the return. When he contacted the IRS and informed us of his address change, we complied with his request for the transfer to the local IRS office in City, State. The IRS continued the audit in City and offered him the opportunity to provide substantiation for the deductions. He could not do so. When the IRS conducts an audit, we make every effort to bring the taxpayer into full compliance. This usually requires that the auditor include subsequent years' returns. In this case, the IRS closed the 1995 tax year separately due to statute concerns while the 1996 and 1997 tax years remained open to allow Mr. Doe to have the opportunity to provide documentation to substantiate deductions claimed on these returns. Mr. Doe informed Mr. XX that due to his financial circumstances he could not pay the balance due. A review of his financial statement indicated that this was accurate. The IRS discussed with Mr. Doe the option of submitting an Offer-in-Compromise to settle the debt. In the meantime, the IRS has placed his account in currently-not-collectible status. We explained to Mr. Doe that while the account is in currently-not-collectible status, interest continues to accrue; and we will apply any subsequent refunds due him to the open balance.

Allegations of HarassmentWith regard to Mr. Doe’s allegations of harassment, please be assured that the IRS takes these matters very seriously. There is an independent organization to investigate these complaints. We refer matters such as these to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). Generally, TIGTA does not notify us of the outcome of the investigation and subsequent corrective action because of employee privacy issues.

Once again, I apologize for the inconvenience and frustration Mr. Doe experienced in trying to resolve this matter. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at (111) 222-2222. Sincerely,

Local Office

Play videO


Choose Words Carefully

Words are symbols that represent things, people,

actions, and ideas. They also represent us when we

choose them for our documents. Sometimes, using the

wrong word can confuse our reader or misrepresent us.

We want our writing to be open, straightforward, and

honest so that our readers will have confidence in the

service we give.

We can improve our choice of words when we do the

following:

• Avoid gobbledygook.

• Use specific, concrete words.

• Use strong verbs.

• Avoid false subjects.

• Eliminate wordy phrases.

• Avoid redundancies.

Avoid Gobbledygook

Gobbledygook is unclear, wordy jargon that makes

readers uncomfortable. This type of writing takes time

and energy.

Which version is easier and more likely to get the

results we want?

"By copy of agreement, we are requesting that our XX

Service Center effect corrections on records. To

ensure proper distribution of future notification

regarding your tax information, please return the

enclosed request card to the address stated therein."

Or

"Please update your answers to the questions on the

enclosed card so we will have the correct address if

we need to contact you about your return."

Here is another example of gobbledygook taken

from an IRS letter:

"The current Protection Program processes provide

statistics valuable to improving the program and

measuring levels of success within the currently

known universe of fraud as well as direction toward

emerging areas. Based on the additional data derived

by your methodology and capabilities, we cannot

make a quantitative determination of the value-added

prospect toward improvement in the Protection

Program. Our current processes deal with resubmission

of rejected forms, whether through electronic filing or

paper, to the same fraud detection criteria as the

original submission. These criteria are tested and

supported quantitatively, and they are regularly

reviewed and adjusted, as necessary."

What does this mean? It's so full of buzzwords and

jargon that it has lost its meaning. We need to make

our writing work for us; this type of writing does not

work for anyone.

Our

Choice Of Wordssets the tone.


We should use words that help us get our message

across in the most effective way possible.

Use Specific, Concrete Words

We want our writing to be as clear and unambiguous

as possible. Below in the left column are some

commonly used words we should replace with the

concrete ones in the right column.

Don’t Use:

Correspondence

Necessitate

Proceed

Render

Ramification

Demonstrate

Apprise

Additional

Provide

Determine

Activate

Aggregate

Formulate

Effectuate

Requisite

Financial resource

Utilization

Commence

Component

Fabricate

Use:

Letter

Need

Go

Give

Results

Show

Tell

More

Give, Says (The law says)

Decide

Start

Whole

Make

Cause

Needed

Money

Use

Begin

Part

Lie, Build


Maybe the first sentence means, "We wanted to

emphasize customer service first and compliance

second."

Maybe the second means, "Employees weren’t

working because something interrupted their tasks."

But we are only guessing. We don’t want our readers

to have to guess at our meaning.

We would never remember the first version of this

proverb. We remember the second version because it

is simple, straightforward, and uses parallel

construction.

Use Strong Verbs

Verbs are the power words in English. The more we

use verbs that show action, the clearer we make our

writing. Below are some examples of strong verbs.

Not This:

Has applicability to

Make improvements to

Give emphasis to

Make an assessment

Make a suggestion

Avoid False Subjects

False subjects usually begin with one of the examples above. They often occur at the beginning of a

This:

Applies to

Improve

Emphasize

Assess

Suggest


sentence and displace the true subject. For example:

There is a part of your return that is illegible.

It’s better to say:

Part of your return is illegible.

False subjects can also appear within sentences:

We decided that there were some deductions that we could not allow.

The false subject there weakens the sentence and adds unnecessary words. The sentence is stronger this way:

We could not allow some deductions.

Avoid Redundancies

Unnecessary words get in the way of good

communication. Here are some more examples of

how you can eliminate wordy phrases.

Not This:

Afford an opportunity

Based on the fact

Due to the fact that

During which time

For the purpose of

Involves the necessity of

Since the time when

Making a purchase

Owing to the fact that

Subsequent to

Get Rid Of Wordy Phases

Redundant words add no value to our documents. Try

to eliminate them from your documents. Here are

some more examples:

Not This:

Unsolved problem

Total of ten

Surrounding circumstances

Resultant effect

Separate and distinct

Important essentials

Combine together

Advance planning

Attached hereto

Consequent results

Eight (8)


This:

Let, Allow

Based on

Due to

When

For, To

Needs to

Since

Buy

This:

Problem

Ten

Circumstances

Result

Separate, Distinct

Essentials

Combine

Planning

Attached

Results

Eight, 8

Pause videO

Because

After


additiOnal exerCises On gOBBledygOOk

Instructions: Rewrite these sentences in plain language.

1. The persons in charge must provide for the expenditure of the funds in a manner consistent with charitable

purposes.

2. Sufficient documentation must be gathered by the applying organization to allow a determination that the applying

organization meets all of the statutory requirements for recognition of tax-exempt status.

3. I have reviewed this situation with Mr. Doe today and have conveyed to him the substance of the

correspondence.

4. Upon receipt of your inquiry, our research indicated that on May 22, 2000, a refund in the amount of $541.35

should have been scheduled to be issued to you.

5. Our records demonstrate that your constituent has rendered his quarterly deposits as overdue four times in the

last three years.


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suggested answers

1. The people in charge must spend the funds for charitable purposes.

(NOTE: Persons is seen in legal documents, but we don’t have to use it even when we are

explaining the law. In conversational English, use person in the singular only. You could

also just say "Those in charge . . ." and get rid of the problem.)

2. The applying organization must have enough documentation to show it meets the requirements

for tax-exempt status.

3. I talked with Mr. Doe today and told him what the letter said.

4. We should have refunded $541.35 to you on May 22, 2000.

5. Our records show Mr. Doe paid his quarterly deposits late four times in the last three years.


additiOnal exerCises On sPeCifiC, COnCrete wOrds

Instructions: Rewrite the sentences using simple, specific, concrete (not abstract, vague) words.

1. We will apprise you of the commission’s determination on or before December 1, 2000.

2. The law provides that you must satisfy certain requirements.

3. I trust that this information will be of assistance to you in addressing your concerns.

4. To secure this waiver, IRS Form 5329 must be filed by the taxpayer.

5. The State Program is described as a taxpayer if it issues or receives bonds that purport to be tax-exempt.

6. We must receive your payments in a timely manner if you desire to abstain from penalties.

7. You are permitted to deduct a certain amount for your vehicular conveyance when it is used for occupational

purposes.


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suggested answers

1. We will tell you the commission’s decision by December 1, 2000.

2. The law says you must meet certain requirements.

3. I hope this information is helpful.

4. To get the waiver, you (or Mr. Doe) must file Form 5329.

(NOTE: Secure can mean many things. Use a word that means exactly what you want to say.)

5. The State Program is considered a taxpayer if it issues or receives tax-exempt bonds.

6. We must receive your monthly payments by the 15th of each month if you want to avoid

penalties.

7. You can deduct a certain amount for your automobile when you use it for work.


additiOnal exerCises On strOng verBsInstructions: Rewrite the sentences using strong verbs and plain language.

1. I cannot make a comment on matters involving specific organizations.

2. Mr. Doe asked when the IRS would make the decision to accept or deny his Offer in Compromise.

3. The allowable deductions for medical expenses are different from the ones for business expenses.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

4. We provided an issuance of the prepayment regulations under section 148.

5. He sent a request for a private letter ruling.

6. He must make a report of any disability pension he may secure from any source.

7. An individual can have a deduction for the cost and upkeep of work clothes.

8. I will make the suggestion that the example be clearer in the next printing.

9. Mr. Doe has inquired as to whether these vouchers would be available to all taxpayers.

10. We will give a summary of our report on the topic.


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suggested answers

1. I cannot comment on matters involving specific organizations.

2. Mr. Doe asked when the IRS would accept or deny his Offer in Compromise.

3. The allowable deductions for medical expenses differ from the ones for business expenses.

4. We issued the prepayment regulations under section 148.

5. He requested a private letter ruling.

6. He must report any disability pension he receives from any source.

7. An individual can deduct the cost and upkeep of work clothes.

8. I will suggest the example be clearer in the next printing.

9. Mr. Doe asked if these vouchers would be available to all taxpayers.

10. We will summarize our report on the topic.


additiOnal exerCises On false suBjeCts

Instructions: Rewrite the sentences below, removing the false subjects (subjects that carry no meaning, like

There was/It is) and using plain language.

1. There are times when the IRS is obligated to contact third parties.

2. It should be understood, however, that the persons owning the remainder interest in the property cannot claim a

deduction.

3. There is the possibility that the partnership has other options.

4. There are additional limitations applicable to both defined benefit plans.

5. It has been discovered that Mr. Doe’s application is not on file.

6. There are several revenue rulings that allow you a deduction the cost of the program.

7. There was a penalty charged for the underpayment when the second installment was posted to the wrong

account.


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suggested answers

1. The IRS must contact third parties in some situations.

2. The people owning the remainder interest in the property cannot claim a deduction.

3. The partnership may have other options.

4. Additional limitations apply to both defined benefit plans.

5. Mr. Doe’s application is not on file.

6. Revenue rulings allow you to deduct the cost of the program.

7. We charged a penalty for the underpayment when we posted the second installment to the

wrong account.


additiOnal exerCises On wOrdy Phrases

Instructions: Rewrite the sentences below removing the wordy phrases.

1. The newly issued final regulation augments currently existing guidance with respect to the taxability of tax-

exempt organizations offering tours.

2. We are still in the process of gathering information from the non-requesting spouse.

3. It would appear from the Internal Revenue Service’s administrative file that the Does’ 1992 and 1993 federal

income tax returns were selected for audit in November 1994.

4. After the exchange of a large amount of information and several attempts at resolution, the parties were unable

to reach a mutually agreeable settlement.

5. A review of the evaluation reflects that Mr. Doe’s supervisor used a variety of techniques, none of which are

mandated or precluded if they assist her to credibly determine the level of performance by Mr. Doe.

6. I assure you that throughout this matter, it has been this office’s goal to collect only the proper amount of tax

from Mr. and Mrs. Doe. Just as important, it is also the government’s goal to do this with the highest degree of

integrity, efficiency, and fairness.

7. We do possess the Tax Year (TY) 1997 state individual income tax return data that was used to tabulate income

revenue collection contributions.

(NOTE: Avoid lists of nouns strung together.)


8. According to the law, scholarships or grants received by individuals who accept these gifts for the purpose of a

program for qualified tuition in conjunction with other expenses at an institution of higher education are excluded

from the gross income of the recipient.

9. As regards the payment of interest by the IRS on estimated payments, there are no provisions in the federal tax

law that provide the means for the IRS to make a payment of interest on estimated payments prior to the due

date of the federal tax return; however, interest will be paid on a taxpayer’s overpayment of tax if the refund is

not processed within 45 days from the date the return was filed.


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suggested answers

1. The final regulation gives more guidance on the taxability of tax-exempt organizations

offering tours.

2. We are getting information from the non-requesting spouse.

3. We selected the Does’ 1992 and 1993 federal income tax returns for audit in November

1994.

4. After several attempts to resolve the case, the parties were unable to agree.

5. Mr. Doe’s supervisor used several allowed techniques to help her decide Mr. Doe’s

performance level.

6. Our goal is to collect the proper amount of tax from Mr. and Mrs. Doe with integrity, efficiency,

and fairness.

7. We have the 1997 tax data we used to tabulate revenue collections by state.

8. Mr. Doe can exclude from his gross income the amount of his scholarship or grant from a

program for qualified tuition and expenses at an institution of higher education.

9. The law does not let the IRS pay interest on estimated payments received before the due

date of the federal tax return; however, we pay interest on tax overpayments if we do not

process the refund within 45 days from the due date of the tax return.


Additional Exercises on Redundancies

Instructions: Remove the redundant words.

1. It is absolutely essential that the Code define the contribution plans clearly.

2. Mr. Doe’s subchapter S corporation now currently provides services in the capacity of an independent

contractor.

3. If Ms. Doe does not send the information in the period of time designated above, she will incur penalties.

4. We found five (5) returns with the same error.

5. In our advanced preplanning, we started with the idea of checking 500 returns from that center.


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suggested answers

1. The Code must define the contribution plans clearly.

2. Mr. Doe’s subchapter S corporation provides services as an independent contractor.

3. If Ms. Doe does not send the information by the above date, she will incur penalties.

4. We found five returns with the same error.

5. We started with the idea of checking 500 returns from that center.

(NOTE: We can only plan, not preplan.)


IRS Letter 7: Use Strong Verbs

Using strong verbs in our documents:

• Reduces the number of words in our sentences

• Avoids a bureaucratic tone

• Improves clarity

• Saves time for our readers

For example:

Weak use of verb Strong verb made improvements in improved

conduct further studies study

give emphasis to the result emphasize the result

made use of used

has application to our program applies to our program

We underlined the strong verbs we used to replace the wordy phrases we highlighted in letter 6.

lett

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Bs


The Honorable YY ZZMember, U.S. House of RepresentativesLocal Street AddressSuite City, State Zip


I am responding to your letter dated March 15, 2000, on behalf of your constituent, Mr. J. Doe. Mr. Doe has raised a number of concerns, namely that: • The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) denied deductions and exemptions on his 1995

return. • The IRS has subjected him to annual audits since 1990. • An IRS auditor harassed him.On December 14, 1999, Mr. Doe filed an Application for Taxpayer Assistance Order, Form 911, with the National Office, requesting relief from the hardship he was experiencing. The National Office transferred his request to the local office in State to better serve your constituent.

Upon receipt of his request for relief, the local office assigned the case to Mary YY, a caseworker. Mr. Doe requested "...immediate reinstatement of my exemptions for 1995 and withdrawal of the Notice of Deficiency and its interest and penalty in its entirety for 1995. Additionally, I order the IRS to cease its abuse and persecution of me." This required that the Examination Division review the file. Mr. Doe requested that Examination begin the process immediately.

Denial of Deductions and Exemptions on 1995 Tax ReturnMs. YY asked the Examination Division to review Mr. Doe’s case. It found that Mr. Doe could not substantiate the expenses he claimed on his Individual Income Tax Return for tax year 1995:

• He could not deduct the mortgage interest, as he was paying a private investor who was holding the mortgage he claimed.

• He could not claim contributions made to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) because there was no record of his IRA with the financial institution.

• He could not deduct the exemptions for the children A and B Doe, as another party had claimed them on a return, and he could not verify that he provided more than half of his support.

• He could not claim C. Doe because the child was 21, and Mr. Doe could not verify that he provided more than half of his support.

While the IRS realizes that C. Doe is handicapped, normal examination procedures require that we request information regarding all sources of support including items such as Social Security benefits, payments from social service agencies, as well as the taxable sources of income.

letter 7

• To prepare for the

next segment of the

video, in letter 7, we

highlighted some

examples of false

subjects.


Jim XX, of my staff, contacted Mr. Doe and explained the above. Although Mr. Doe was unhappy with the outcome, he understood why the IRS disallowed the deductions and exemptions.

Audits Yearly Since 1990Mr. Doe also raised the issue of repetitive audits. We reviewed our files and found that we did not contact him for tax years 1991, 1992, and 1993. The Underreporter Program proposed additional tax for tax year 1994. We assessed the tax after we received no response from him. The Franklin Service Center sent an audit notification for tax year 1995 because this was Mr. Doe’s last known address and the one the constituent used on the return. When he contacted the IRS and informed us of his address change, we complied with his request and transferred his case to the local IRS office in City, State. The IRS continued the audit in City and offered him the opportunity to substantiate the deductions. He could not do so. When the IRS conducts an audit, we make every effort to bring the taxpayer into full compliance. This usually requires that the auditor include subsequent years' returns. In this case, the IRS closed the 1995 tax year separately due to statute concerns while the 1996 and 1997 tax years remained open to allow Mr. Doe to have the opportunity to substantiate the deductions claimed on these returns. Mr. Doe informed Mr. XX that due to his financial circumstances he could not pay the balance due. A review of his financial statement indicated that this was accurate. The IRS discussed with Mr. Doe the option of submitting an Offer-in-Compromise to settle the debt. In the meantime, the IRS has placed his account in currently-not-collectible status. We explained to Mr. Doe that while the account is in currently-not-collectible status, interest continues to accrue; and we will apply any subsequent refunds due him to the open balance.

Allegations of HarassmentWith regard to Mr. Doe’s allegations of harassment, please be assured that the IRS takes these matters very seriously. There is an independent organization to investigate these complaints. We refer matters such as these to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). Generally, TIGTA does not notify us of the outcome of the investigation and subsequent corrective action because of employee privacy issues.

Once again, I apologize for the inconvenience and frustration Mr. Doe experienced in trying to resolve this matter. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at (111) 222-2222.

Sincerely,

Local Office


IRS Letter 8: With False Subjects Removed

False subjects carry no meaning. We should avoid using:

There is There are

There was There were

It is It was

In letter 8, we rewrote the sentences to get rid of false subjects. We underlined the

replacements for the false subjects.

In letter 8, we also highlighted wordy phrases; extraneous words; long, complicated

words; and the word that, an overused word. If the sentence is clear without using the

word that, please leave it out.

For example:

We researched his accounts and found that Mr. XX had non-employee

compensation for tax years 1998 and 1999.

Instead use:

We researched his accounts and found Mr. XX had non-employee compensation

for tax years 1998 and 1999.

Another example:

Our records show that the IRS sent a letter to the taxpayer on June 15, 1998.

Instead use:

Our records show the IRS sent a letter to the taxpayer on June 15, 1998.

We will remove or replace these words in letter 9.

Also, the Commissioner's Secretariat recently sent out a memo saying we no longer need

to spell out the Internal Revenue Service the first time we use it in a letter. We will also

make that change in letter 9.

lett

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: wit

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e s

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jeC

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em

Ov

ed


The Honorable YY ZZ



Suite

City, State Zip


I am responding to your letter dated March 15, 2000, on behalf of your constituent,

Mr. J. Doe. Mr. Doe has raised a number of concerns, namely that:

• The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) denied deductions and exemptions on his

1995 return.

• The IRS has subjected him to annual audits since 1990.

• An IRS auditor harassed him.

On December 14, 1999, Mr. Doe filed an Application for Taxpayer Assistance

Order, Form 911, with the National Office, requesting relief from the hardship he

was experiencing. The National Office transferred his request to the local office in

State to better serve your constituent.

Upon receipt of his request for relief, the local office assigned the case to YY, a

caseworker. Mr. Doe requested "...immediate reinstatement of my exemptions for

1995 and withdrawal of the Notice of Deficiency and its interest and penalty in its

entirety for 1995. Additionally, I order the IRS to cease its abuse and persecution

of me." This request required that the Examination Division review the file. Mr.

Doe immediately requested that Examination begin the process.

Denial of Deductions and Exemptions on 1995 Tax Return

Ms. YY asked the Examination Division to review Mr. Doe’s case. It found that Mr.

Doe could not substantiate the expenses he claimed on his Individual Income Tax

Return for tax year 1995:

• He could not deduct the mortgage interest, as he was paying a private investor

who was holding the mortgage he claimed.

• He could not claim contributions made to an Individual Retirement Account

(IRA) because the financial institution had no record of his IRA.

• He could not deduct the exemptions for the children A and B Doe, as another

party had claimed them on a return, and he could not verify that he provided

more than half of their support.

letter 8


• He could not claim C. Doe because the child was 21, and Mr. Doe could not

verify that he provided more than half of his support.

While the IRS realizes that C. Doe is handicapped, normal examination procedures

require that we request information regarding all sources of support including

items such as Social Security benefits, payments from social service agencies, as

well as the taxable sources of income.

Jim XX, of my staff, contacted Mr. Doe and explained the above. Although he was

unhappy with the outcome, he understood why the IRS disallowed the deductions

and exemptions.


Mr. Doe also raised the issue of repetitive audits. We reviewed our files and found

that we did not contact him for tax years 1991, 1992, and 1993. The

Underreporter Program proposed additional tax for tax year 1994. We assessed

the tax after we received no response from him. The Franklin Service Center sent

an audit notification for tax year 1995 because this was Mr. Doe’s last known

address and the one he used on the return. When he contacted the IRS and

informed us of his address change, we complied with his request and transferred

his case to the local IRS office in City, State. The IRS continued the audit in City

and offered him the opportunity to substantiate the deductions. He could not do

so. When the IRS conducts an audit, we make every effort to bring the taxpayer

into full compliance. This effort usually requires that the auditor include

subsequent years' returns. In this case, the IRS closed the 1995 tax year

separately due to statute concerns while the 1996 and 1997 tax years remained

open to allow Mr. Doe to have the opportunity to substantiate deductions claimed

on these returns. Mr. Doe informed Mr. XX that due to his financial circumstances

he could not pay the balance due. A review of his financial statement indicated

that this was accurate. The IRS discussed with Mr. Doe the option of submitting

an Offer-in-Compromise to settle the debt. In the meantime, the IRS has placed

his account in currently-not-collectible status. We explained to Mr. Doe that while

the account is in currently-not-collectible status, interest continues to accrue; and

we will apply any subsequent refunds due him to the open balance.



takes these matters very seriously. The Congress established an independent


organization to investigate these complaints. We refer matters such as these to

the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). Generally, TIGTA

does not notify us of the outcome of the investigation and subsequent corrective

action because of employee privacy issues.

Once again, I apologize for the inconvenience and frustration Mr. Doe experienced

in trying to resolve this matter. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact

me at (111) 222-2222.

Sincerely,

Local Office

Play videO


Basic Grammar Rules for Editing Your Document

After writing your first draft, allow the document to

cool for a while. Take a break from the document to

clear your mind. Then, apply some basic grammar

rules. We will look at the following commonly confused

words:

That and Which

Affect and Effect

Bi-words, such as bimonthly, biweekly

Principal and Principle

May and Can

Entitled and Titled

We will also look at demonstrative pronouns.

That and Which

Video Exercises:Instructions: Choose the sentence that correctly

uses that or which.

Exercise 1

A. The Congress passed a law today that will permit

new deductions.

B. The Congress passed a law today which will

permit new deductions.

C. The Congress passed a law today, which will

permit new deductions.

Answer: A

Exercise 2

A. Your refund, which remains unclaimed from your

1990 return, is the one we wrote about.

B. Your refund that remains unclaimed from your

1990 return is the one we wrote about.

Answer: B

Exercise 3

A. We follow the laws that have a lot of history

around them.

B. We follow the laws, which have a lot of history

around them.

Answer: B

We use this sentence to help us remember when to

use that and which:

People that live in glass houses

shouldn’t throw stones.

If we took out "that live in glass houses," we would

change the meaning of the sentence. The sentence

doesn’t mean "people shouldn’t throw stones." Only

a special category of people, those that live in glass

houses shouldn’t throw stones. Therefore, the clause

"that live in glass houses is essential.” (Note: The

sentence should read, "People who live in glass

houses," but the example is an easy way to remember

the rule.)


In general, we overuse the word that. If the clause

makes sense without that, please leave it out.

Some examples:

Unnecessary that:

The IRS records showed that we reviewed

and closed out tax years 1995, 1996, and

1997 as satisfied.

That removed:

The IRS records showed we reviewed and

closed out tax years 1995, 1996, and 1997

as satisfied.

Unnecessary that:

What documentation is needed to show

that the debtor cannot pay the debt?

That removed:

What documentation is needed to show the

debtor cannot pay the debt?

Affect and Effect

Video Exercise:

Instructions: Choose the sentence that correctly

uses effect/affect.

A. The new law also affected the Earned Income Tax

Credit.

B. The new law also effected the Earned Income Tax

Credit.

Answer: A

With affect and effect, there are actually four words,

which is why there is so much confusion around them.

Two of them are the common ones we use everyday.

Here’s how to tell them apart:

Affect = verb

The new law affected the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Effect = noun

The new law will have an effect on the number of

people who qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Use this rule for the commonly used affect and effect,

and you will be right 99% of the time.

The other two uses of effect and affect are rarely used

in our everyday correspondence.


They are the use of effect as a verb – as in effect a

change. It means to bring about.

The other use of affect is as a noun. It is used in

psychology and refers to our ability to feel emotions.

The word affection comes from it.

Bi-Words

Video Exercise:

Instructions: Choose the correct sentence.

A. You must send your payments bimonthly.

B. You must send your payments biweekly.

C. You must send your payments semimonthly.

Answer: ? Don’t use bi-words; they are too

confusing.

Don’t use the bi-words. We don’t want our readers to

wonder whether they have to do something twice a

month or every other month.

Principal and Principle

Video Exercise:

Instructions: Choose the sentence that correctly

uses principal/principle.

A. The principal reason for the lien was nonpayment of

back taxes.

B. The principle reason for the lien was nonpayment of

back taxes.

Answer: A

The word principal confuses some writers because it

also means the person who is the head of a school.

The principal is our pal. Teachers used this technique

to help us spell the word. It may help to remember

that the principal of a school is the main teacher. Over

the years we dropped teacher and were left with

principal, which means main.

Principle with the "le" is a noun meaning "belief, moral

standard, or law governing the operation of

something."


Can and May

Video Exercises:Instructions: Choose the sentence that correctly

uses can/may.

A. Mr. Doe may pay the money he owes in monthly

installments.

B. Mr. Doe can pay the money he owes in monthly

installments.

Answer: B

When referring to what the law allows, it is better to

say, "The taxpayer can pay electronically or send in a

paper copy." Using may sounds like we are granting

them permission.

An example of an appropriate use of may is:

"A taxpayer may be eligible for penalty abatement in

certain circumstances."

(These next two sections on entitled and titled and

demonstrative pronouns are not covered in the video,

but we thought you might find them helpful.)

Entitled and Titled

Entitled and titled are also commonly confused words.

Use entitled to mean a right to do or have something.

Do not use it to mean titled as in the title of a book or

report.

Correct use of entitled:

She was entitled to the deductions.

Correct use of titled:

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to

your report titled "The IRS Needs to Improve

Customer Service."

Or you could just say:

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to

your report, "The IRS Needs to Improve

Customer Service."

Demonstrative Pronouns

Try to avoid vague uses of demonstrative pronouns

(usually when the pronoun is used without the noun it

is describing). In letters we review, we often see the

pronoun this used to refer to the complete sense or

meaning of the previous sentence. Unfortunately, the

word isn’t strong enough to carry the full meaning and

leaves our readers confused about what we are

referring to.

Below is an example of the vague use of a demonstrative

pronoun we often see in our letters:

This is in reply to your letter dated…

RULE 6Demonstrative Pronouns

The demonstrative pronouns are: This These That Those

Avoid using a demonstrative pronoun without defining the noun it refers to.


This what? This letter, this report, this discussion, this

answer, this argument…

A much better opening to a letter is:

This letter is in reply to your inquiry

dated…

An even better and more personal opening is:

I am responding to your letter dated…

Another example of the vague use of a demonstrative

pronoun:

This is a nationwide scheme, which has

resulted in false claims totaling millions of

dollars.

It’s better to say:

This nationwide scheme has resulted in

false claims totaling millions of dollars.

Basic Punctuation Rules for Editing Your Document

The final step in preparing your document is to review

common punctuation rules. Punctuation supports

structure, logic, and meaning. It makes our writing

easier to follow. Punctuation shows the pauses and

stresses of everyday speech. Let’s look at the rules for

some commas that give us so much trouble.

Using Commas

Video Exercises:Instructions: Choose the sentence with the correct

use of the comma.

Exercise 1

A. Because of disclosure restrictions we cannot

comment on specific actions we take regarding

your constituent.

B. Because of disclosure restrictions, we cannot

comment on specific actions we take regarding

your constituent.

Answer: B

Put in a comma to separate an introductory phrase

from the main sentence.

Exercise 2

A. Mr.Doe retired but he is working as a contractor for

the company.

B. Mr. Doe retired, but he is working as a contractor for

the company.

Answer: B

Separate two sentences joined by a coordinating

conjunction with a comma. What are coordinating

conjunctions? We use a memory device to help keep

them straight. We call them the BOYFANS.

Coordinating conjunctions often join two independent

clauses. When you use them to join two independent

clauses, put a comma before the conjunction unless


the clauses are short and closely related. You can also

use a semi-colon in place of the coordinating

conjunction.

Exercise 3

A. To deduct the ordinary expenses which they are

entitled to they must keep records.

B. To deduct the ordinary expenses, which they are

entitled to, they must keep records.

Answer: B

Just as we learned in the exercise on that and which, put

commas around nonessential information.

Exercise 4

A. To deduct the ordinary expenses, they must keep

records of the cost, date, place and purpose of each

trip.

B. To deduct the ordinary expenses, they must keep

records of the cost, date, place, and purpose of each

trip.

Answer: B

In a list or series of items, put a comma before the and.

Some of you may have learned the comma before the

and in a series of items is optional. Some punctuation

rules have changed over time, and this is one of those

rules. A court case in Washington, DC, emphasized the

importance of that comma before the and. A woman

died and left her property to her four children: Joan, Eric,

Jenny and Joseph with no comma before the and. The

Court ruled the property should be split three ways: one

portion to Joan; one portion to Eric; and one portion split

between Jenny and Joseph. The judge used the

analogy of toast, bacon and eggs. He said toast, bacon,

and eggs are three items on a plate. While toast, bacon

and eggs are two items, toast and an omelet.

You should use the comma before the and to prevent

the reader from misunderstanding the document.

Exercise 5

A. The 401(k) plans were then "frozen," and the receiver

terminated the plans.

B. 401(k) plans were than "frozen", and the receiver

terminated the plans.

Answer: A

Put commas inside quotation marks. That rule is the

same for periods too. This convention is now standard

in the United States. British usage places commas and

periods inside or outside the quotation marks, depending

on whether or not they are part of the quotation.

Semicolons and colons are always placed outside of

closing quotation marks.

Place dashes, question marks, and exclamation marks

inside of the quotation marks if they are part of the

quotation. Otherwise, place them outside of the

quotation marks.


Pause videO


additiOnal exerCises On that and whiCh

Instructions: Circle the correct word. Then, if you choose which, put in the commas.

1. A. It was part of a law that/which the Congress passed last year to help small businesses. (You are giving them

"nice to know but not necessary to know" information.)

B. It was part of a law that/which the Congress passed last year to help small businesses. (You are referring to

a law the Congress passed last year, as opposed to a law the Congress passed three years ago.)

2. Employers can choose the calculations that/which work best for their situations.

3. The adjustments that/which Mr. Doe made to the return, may be incorrect.

4. "Some people believe with great fervor preposterous things that/which just happen to coincide with their self-

interest."

5. The Code sets minimum funding standards that/which qualified retirement plans must meet.


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suggested answers

1. A. It was part of a law, which the Congress passed last year, to help small businesses.

B. It was part of a law that the Congress passed last year to help small businesses.

(NOTE: You can just drop that so the sentence reads "It was part of a law the Congress

passed last year to help small businesses.")

2. Employers can choose the calculations that work best for their situations. (The phrase explains

what calculation to choose.)

3. The adjustments that Mr. Doe made to the return may be incorrect. (The clause explains what

adjustments may be incorrect.)

4. "Some people believe with great fervor preposterous things that just happen to coincide with

their self-interest." (The phrase explains what things.)

5. The Code sets minimum funding standards that qualified retirement plans must meet. (The

phrase defines what minimum funding standards.)



additiOnal exerCises On affeCt and effeCt

Instructions: Circle the correct word.

1. The law will not affect/effect your case.

2. We don’t know the long-term affect/effect of the law on our objectives.

3. The bill will affect/effect a change in school construction bonds.

4. Affect/effect is a feeling or emotion, not a thought or action.

5. The law had an unexpected affect/effect on the tax credits available to working mothers.

6. They tried to pass the bill for the affect/effect it would have on elections.

7. They tried to pass the bill in time to affect/effect the elections.

8. The affect/effect of the debate was to show the benefits and disadvantages of the bill.

9. The new regulations will take affect/effect January 1.

10. The controversial section would affect/effect health care providers.


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suggested answers

1. The law will not affect your case.

2. We don’t know the long-term effect of the law on our objectives.

3. The bill will effect a change in school construction bonds. (In your letter, you would just say

“The bill will change school construction bonds.”)

4. Affect, in psychological jargon, is a feeling or emotion, not a thought or action (with the

accent on the first syllable).

5. The law had an unexpected effect on the tax credits available to working mothers.

6. They tried to pass the bill for the effect it would have on elections.

7. They tried to pass the bill in time to affect the elections.

8. The effect of the debate was to show the benefits and disadvantages of the bill.

9. The new regulations will take effect January 1.

10. The controversial section would affect health care providers.


additiOnal exerCises On Bi-wOrds

Instructions: Rewrite these sentences so you don’t have to use the bi-word.

1. We have arranged for Mr. Doe to make bimonthly payments.

2. We spend over a month collecting information for the biannual report.

3. We will send out email notices biweekly.


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suggested answers

1. A. We have arranged for Mr. Doe to pay twice a month (or on the 1st and 15th of each month, if you need to be

specific).

B. We have arranged for Mr. Doe to pay every two months (or on the first of January, March, May, July, September,

and November, if you need to be specific).

2. We spend over a month collecting information for the January and July reports.

3. We will send out the email notices twice a week (or every two weeks)


additiOnal exerCises On PrinCiPal and PrinCiPle

Instructions: Circle the correct word.

1. The principal/principle behind the provision is taxpayer privacy.

2. Closing the tax loophole is the principal/principle reason for our decision.

3. One of the principals/principles behind the modernization effort is to give taxpayers better customer service.

4. Doe is doing the principal/principle work on the bill.

5. He wants this payment to go toward the principal/principle, not toward the interest of the loan.

6. They agreed with him in principal/principle.


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suggested answers

1. The principle behind the provision is taxpayer privacy.

2. Closing the tax loophole is the principal reason for our decision.

3. One of the principles behind the modernization effort is to give taxpayers better customer

service.

4. Senator Doe is doing the principal work on the bill.

5. He wants this payment to go toward the principal, not toward the interest of the loan.

6. They agreed with him in principle.


additiOnal exerCises On may and Can

Instructions: Circle the appropriate word.

1. A taxpayer can/may give up to $10,000 a year to an individual.

2. He can/may leave his entire estate to his wife with no estate tax due as long as the value does not exceed

$675,000.

3. You can/may find additional information in the enclosed pamphlet.

4. They can/ may file early if the accountant is available.

5. You can/may apply for an installment agreement.

6. Depending on your circumstances, you can/may qualify for an installment agreement.

7. You can/may call me at (111) 222-3333.

8. You can/may have to leave the money in the account until the case is settled.

9. The law can/may change before the end of the year.


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suggested answers

1. A taxpayer can give up to $10,000 a year to an individual. (A taxpayer has the right to.)

2. He can leave his entire estate to his wife with no estate tax due as long as the value does not

exceed $675,000. (He has the right to.)

3. You can find additional information in the enclosed pamphlet. (You are mentally, physically

able to. You could also use will here.)

4. A. They can file early if the accountant is available. (They have the right to.)

B. They may file early if the accountant is available. (They might decide to.)

5. You can apply for an installment agreement. (You have the right to.)

6. Depending on your circumstances, you may qualify for an installment agreement. (You may

or may not qualify.)

7. You can call me at (111) 222-3333. (You have the right to.)

8. You may have to leave the money in the account until the court settles the case. (You

perhaps will have to.)

9. The law may change before the end of the year. (It possibly will change.)


additiOnal exerCises On PunCtuatiOn

Instructions: Insert punctuation where it is needed.

1. At 8:00 a.m. we will meet with the taxpayer in Room 214.

2. You filed your 1996 return on time and we credited your overpayment to your account for the 1994 tax year.

3. I apologize for the delay however we wanted to be thorough in our investigation.

4. We adjusted Mr. Doe’s liabilities for 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995.

5. Although the courts have already ruled on this issue Mr. Doe and others continue to dispute it.

6. We want to comply with the disclosure provisions of section 6103 which prohibit our disclosing tax information

to third parties without proper authorization.

7. If a second person tries to electronically file a return using the same SSN the computer will reject it.

8. The computer will reject the return if a second person tries to electronically file using the same SSN.

9. We sent the official rejection letter detailing the appeal process to the last address we had for Mr. Doe.

10. "Shall" as used in section 6001 means "must" "must" means "to be required to" and the courts have upheld

this definition.


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suggested answers

1. At 8:00 a.m., we will meet with the taxpayer in Room 214.

(NOTE: The comma is optional for three words or less, unless the reader could

misread it.)

2. You filed your 1996 return on time, and we credited your overpayment to your account

for the 1994 tax year.

3. I apologize for the delay; however, we wanted to be thorough in our investigation.

4. We adjusted Mr. Doe’s liabilities for 1992, 1993, 1994, and 1995.

5. Although the courts have already ruled on this issue, Mr. Doe and others continue to

dispute it.

6. We want to comply with the disclosure provisions of section 6103, which prohibit our

disclosing tax information to third parties without proper authorization.

7. If a second person tries to electronically file a return using the same SSN, the computer

will reject it.

8. The computer will reject the return if a second person tries to electronically file using the

same SSN. (NOTE: Sentence #7 contains an introductory clause, but #8 doesn’t.)

9. We sent the official rejection letter, detailing the appeal process, to the last address we

had for Mr. Doe. (NOTE: Put commas around information that is not essential.)

10. A. "Shall" as used in section 6001 means "must," "must" means "to be required to,"

and the courts have upheld this definition.

B. "Shall" as used in section 6001 means "must." "Must" means "to be required to,"

and the courts have upheld this definition.

C. "Shall" as used in section 6001 means "must"; "must" means "to be required to," and

the courts have upheld this definition.

(NOTE: If you used a comma or period to separate the two "musts," put it inside the

quotes. If you use a semicolon between them, put it outside the quotes.)


lett

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Letter 9 – Use Plain Language to Make Your Message Clear

We avoid wordy phrases that add no value to our written communication. Unnecessary

words take time and often make our documents difficult to read.

In letter 9 we removed wordy phrases; extraneous words; long, complicated words; and

the word that.

In letter 9, we also highlighted the long paragraph under the heading, Audits Yearly Since

1990. Because this paragraph has more than one idea, we broke it into 4 paragraphs on

different topics.


The Honorable YY ZZ



Suite

City, State Zip



J. Doe. Mr. Doe raised several concerns that:

• The IRS denied deductions and exemptions on 1995 return.



On December 14, 1999, Mr. Doe filed an Application for Taxpayer Assistance Order,

Form 911, with the National Office, requesting hardship relief. The National Office

transferred his request to the local office in State. The local office assigned the case to

Mary YY, a caseworker.


Ms. YY asked the Examination Division to review Mr. Doe’s case. It found Mr. Doe

could not substantiate the expenses he claimed on his Individual Income Tax Return for

tax year 1995:

• He could not deduct the mortgage interest, as he was paying a private investor who

was holding the mortgage he claimed.

• He could not claim contributions made to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA)

because the financial institution had no record of his IRA.

• He could not deduct the exemptions for the children A and B Doe, as another party

had claimed them on a return, and he could not verify that he provided more than

half of their support.

• He could not claim C. Doe because the child was 21, and Mr. Doe could not verify

that he provided more than half of his support.

While IRS realizes that C. Doe is handicapped, normal examination procedures require

us to ask for information on all sources of support including items such as Social

Security benefits, payments from social service agencies, as well as the taxable

sources of income.

letter 9


Jim XX, of my staff, contacted Mr. Doe and explained these procedures. Although Mr. Doe

was unhappy with the outcome, he understood why the IRS disallowed the deductions and

exemptions.


Mr. Doe also complained of repetitive audits. We reviewed our files and found we did not

contact him for tax years 1991, 1992, and 1993. For tax year 1994, the Underreporter

Program proposed additional tax. We assessed the tax after we received no response from

him. For tax year 1995, the Franklin Service Center sent an audit notification because this

was Mr. Doe’s last known address and the one used on the return. When he contacted the

IRS with his address change, we complied with his request and transferred his case to the

local IRS office in City, State. The IRS continued the audit in City and offered him the

opportunity to substantiate the deductions. He could not do so. When the IRS conducts an

audit, we make every effort to bring the taxpayer into full compliance. Normally, the auditor

will examine subsequent years' returns. In this case, the IRS closed the 1995 tax year

separately due to statute concerns while the 1996 and 1997 tax years remained open to allow

Mr. Doe time to substantiate deductions claimed on these returns. Mr. Doe told Mr. XX that

he could not pay the balance due. A review of his financial statement confirmed this claim.

Mr. XX discussed with Mr. Doe the option of submitting an Offer-in-Compromise to settle the

debt. In the meantime, the IRS placed his account in currently-not-collectible status. We

explained to Mr. Doe that while the account is in currently-not-collectible status, interest

continues to accrue; and we will apply any future refunds due him to the open balance.


As for Mr. Doe’s allegations of harassment, please be assured the IRS takes these matters

very seriously. We refer matters such as these to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax

Administration (TIGTA). Generally, TIGTA does not notify us of the outcome of the

investigation and any corrective action because of employee privacy issues.

I apologize for the inconvenience and frustration Mr. Doe experienced in trying to resolve this

matter. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at (111) 222-2222.

Sincerely,

Local Office


Letter 10: Final IRS Letter

In the final version of our IRS letter, we broke up the large block of text under the Audits

Yearly Since 1990 heading, removed redundancies, added a few personal pronouns,

and used concrete words. We hope you think this letter is an improvement over the

original one. We will count on you to tell us ways we can make it even better.

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The Honorable YY ZZ



Suite

City, State Zip


I am responding to your letter dated March 15, 2000, on behalf of your constituent,

Mr. J. Doe. Mr. Doe raised the following issues:

• The IRS denied deductions and exemptions on his 1995 return.



On December 14, 1999, Mr. Doe requested hardship relief by filing an Application for

Taxpayer Assistance Order, Form 911. The National Office transferred his request to the

local office in State, which assigned the case to Mary YY, a caseworker.


Ms. YY asked the Examination Division to review Mr. Doe’s case. It found Mr. Doe

could not support the expenses he claimed on his Individual Income Tax Return for

1995. Without supporting information, he could not:

• Deduct mortgage interest, as he was paying a private investor who was holding the

mortgage he claimed.

• Claim contributions made to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) because the

financial institution had no record of his IRA.

• Deduct the exemptions for the children A and B Doe, as another party had claimed

them on a return, and he could not verify that he provided more than half of their

support.

• Claim C. Doe because the child was 21, and Mr. Doe could not verify he provided

more than half of his support.

While the IRS realizes that C. Doe is handicapped, normal examination procedures

require us to ask for information on all sources of income including Social Security

benefits, payments from social service agencies, and taxable sources of income.

Jim XX, of my staff, contacted Mr. Doe and explained these procedures. Although Mr.

Doe was unhappy with the outcome, he understood why the IRS disallowed the

deductions and exemptions.


letter 10: final irs letter

• Almost finAl. We

cAn AlWAys mAke

improvements.



Mr. Doe also complained of repetitive audits. We reviewed our files and found we did

not contact him for tax years 1991, 1992, and 1993. Our Underreporter Program

proposed additional tax for tax year 1994. We assessed the tax after we received no

response from him.

The Franklin Service Center sent the audit notification for tax year 1995 to Mr. Doe’s last

known address, which he used on his return. When he contacted the IRS with his

address change, we complied with his request and transferred his case to the local IRS

office in City, State. The IRS continued the audit in City and offered him the opportunity

to verify his deductions. He could not do so.

When the IRS conducts an audit, we work to bring the taxpayer into full compliance.

This effort usually requires the auditor to examine previous years' returns. In Mr. Doe's

case, the IRS closed the 1995 tax year separately due to statute concerns and left the

1996 and 1997 tax years open to allow him time to support the deductions claimed on

these returns.

Mr. Doe told Mr. XX he could not pay the balance due. Our review of his financial

statement confirmed his claim. Mr. XX discussed with Mr. Doe the option of submitting

an Offer-in-Compromise to settle the debt. I am enclosing information on offers-in-

compromise. In the meantime, the IRS placed his account in currently-not-collectible


status, interest continues to accrue; and we will apply any refunds due him to the open

balance.


As for Mr. Doe’s allegations of harassment, the IRS takes these matters very seriously.

We referred his allegations to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. We

cannot disclose the results of the investigation or any corrective actions because of

employee privacy issues.

I apologize for the inconvenience and frustration Mr. Doe experienced in trying to

resolve this matter. If you have questions, please contact me at (111) 222-2222.

Sincerely,

Local Office

Enclosure


Video Evaluation Form

Please take a minute to give us feedback on the video. Please circle your response and/or write in comments. We appreciate your input to help us improve our program.

Please fax your form to 202-622-4733 or mail to: Internal Revenue Service, Attention: Mary Dash, CL:LA Room 3236,

1111 Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20224

1. Was this type of training useful? 1 2 3 4 5 not helpful very helpful

Comments: ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________

2. Was the length appropriate? 1 2 3 4 5 too long Just right too short

COmments: ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________

3. How does this type of training compare to typical classroom training? 1 2 3 4 5 less BeneficiAl more BeneficiAl

COmments: ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________

4. Did you gain useful information to help you do your job? 1 2 3 4 5 not helpful very helpful COmments: ____________________________________________________________________________________

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5. Do you believe you need more training to improve your written skills? YES NO COmments: ____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

6. Was the workbook helpful? YES NO COmments: ____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

7. What additional information, if any, should we have covered in this video? COmments: ____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

8. What did you like about the class? COmments: ____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

9. What can we do to improve the class? COmments: ____________________________________________________________________________________

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