IRS Correspondence to Taxpayers on Earned Income Credit Recertification
GGD-99-112R
Published: Jul 30, 1999. Publicly Released: Jul 30, 1999.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) implementation of the Earned Income Credit (EIC) recertification requirement, focusing on the purpose of certain form letters that IRS has been sending to taxpayers in conjunction with this recertification process.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Internal Revenue Service | To avert potential taxpayer confusion and avoid unnecessary taxpayer burden, the IRS' Chief Operations Officer should revise letter 3094 by either: (1) making the paragraph relating to reckless or intentional disregard of the law and fraud an optional paragraph to be used only when it is relevant; (2) restricting letter 3094 to cases that do not involve reckless or intentional disregard of the law or fraud, thus negating the need to ever use the paragraph in question, and devising a separate form letter for taxpayers whose EIC claims are disallowed for those reasons; or (3) rewording the paragraph to make it clear that it does not apply to specific audit finding covered by the letter but is being provided to alert taxpayers to the potential consequences if they continue their noncompliant behavior. |
IRS revised letter 3094 to delete the paragraph relating to fraud and negligence.
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| Internal Revenue Service | To avert potential taxpayer confusion and avoid unnecessary taxpayer burden, the IRS' Chief Operations Officer should revise letter 3177 and letter 3183 so that consistent refund issuance timeframes are cited in both letters. |
IRS discontinued letters 3177 and 3183 and replaced them with two other letters that contain consistent refund issuance time frames.
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| Internal Revenue Service | To avert potential taxpayer confusion and avoid unnecessary taxpayer burden, IRS' Chief Operations Officer should make the documentation requirements in letter 3184 and Form 886 H more consistent with the requirements in IRS' internal recertification guidelines. |
Letter 3184 has been discontinued and two new letters are being used that are consistent with the recertification requirements.
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