Your Collection Due Process Hearing (CDP) rights can be extremely valuable when properly utilized to administratively resolve your tax issues.  

Forensic accounting can help you investigate your collection alternatives and solve your collection issues. 

Forensic accounting can identify what notices have been issued and if your rights have been violated.  Forensic accounting can identify where in the collection process your IRS tax problems are, what tax periods are involved and what you need to do to solve the problems. 

IRS must follow notice procedures before they can take collection action against a taxpayer.  Forensic accounting can analyze your account and determine if IRS has followed notice procedures.

A Collection Due Process Hearing (CDP) should not be confused with a Collection Appeals Hearing (CAP).  Both a Collection Due Process Hearing and a Collection Appeals Hearing are conducted by IRS Appeals.  The important difference is that a Collection Due Process Hearing allows you to petition the Tax Court for review of Appeals determination and a Collection Appeal Hearing does NOT allow you to petition the Tax Court for review.

A Collection Due Process Hearing (CDP) pursuant to Internal Revenue Code 6320 and/or 6330 have the most advantages for the taxpayer because you can petition the Tax Court for review of Appeals determination.  A Collection Due Process Hearing is available to you ONLY if you receive one of the following:

• Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing.  This notice is identified as a Letter 1058.  
• Final Notice Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right To a Hearing.  This notice is identified as a CP90 and applies when the IRS intends to levy your Social Security Benefits. 
• Notice of Federal Tax Lien Filing and Your Right to a Hearing Under IRC 6320.  This notice is identified as a Letter 3172.
• Notice of Jeopardy Levy and Right of Appeal
• Notice of Levy on your State Tax Refimd-Notice of Your Right to a Hearing

When you receive one of the Collection Due Process Hearing notices described above you have ONLY 30 days to file a request for a Collection Due Process Hearing.   A Form 12153 is the form used to request a Collection Due Process Hearing.  http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f12153.pdf

Because IRS issues numerous types of notices to taxpayers for various reasons it is IMPORTANT that you do not confuse notices such as a CP504 (example) with a Collection Due Process Hearing notice. 

The CP504 is a notice that states:

Urgent!!

We Intend to Levy on certain assets.  Please respond NOW. 

The CP504 notice is often confused with the Collection Due Process Hearing notice offering you the right to request a Collection Due Process Hearing under IRC 6330.  This notice causes taxpayers to prematurely request a Collection Due Process Hearing before they have received the appropriate letter offering them their rights to a Collection Due Process Hearing. 

The IRS cannot levy with just this notice.  The IRS must first issue the formal Notice of Intent to Levy and that is the next step after the CP504 notice.  http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=160739,00.html

A premature request for a Collection Due Process Hearing will result in your receiving a Collection Appeals Hearing which will waive your rights to judicial review of the Appeals determination.

If you are not certain whether you have received Collection Due Process Hearing rights, we can help you find the answer.

Call 1-800-447-6181 for a free confidential consultation.