The Freedom of Information Act and You

Government agencies provide you access to records through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). As a government agency, the IRS is subjected to the FOIA. What's the point in doing this?

The information that the IRS has gathered in your file may be of assistance if you are want to determine out how and when your IRS problems began. It'll have the taxes that were assessed to you and penalties and interest that has accumulated. It will contain notes of IRS agents, computations, papers, and opinions. These can be helpful when appealing a tax bill or an audit.

You need to ask for the information in writing and include these elements:

• Specify the information you are requesting.
• Give your name, address, and a copy of any identification, like driver's license, passport, etc.
• State that the request is done under the FOIA.
• State that you will pay for the fees.

Include the document format you prefer and the maximum amount that you're willing to pay, as well as your phone number if they want to contact you.

Download the list of IRS Disclosure Offices from the IRS FOIA webpage and mail your request to the office that is in charge of your records. A copy of the request should be kept in your records.

The information should be requested early if you have a deadline to meet, as it takes about 30 days for the IRS to respond. It takes time for the IRS to gather the information, but you can speed up the process by showing that the information are needed for a "compelling need", which can be found in the IRS FOIA webpage.

The FOIA statute allows the IRS to edit out information that conforms to nine exemptions and 3 exclusions, so the IRS may black out information that you are not entitled to. An appeal to the FOIA Appeals Office is doable, but they are usually behind on their cases, so it may take a long time.

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Originally posted 2007-12-13 04:14:47. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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