Can the IRS Revenue Officer Visit My Home?
The IRS Revenue Officer can visit your home or place of business and in fact, the IRS encourages the Revenue Officer to pay you a visit. If you have serious tax debt or unfiled returns…you should expect it.
Background
There are two types of direct “collectors” that work for the IRS.
A. ACS Employees
Automated Collection Services Employees (ACS Employees) are the IRS' first “Collectors”; they deal with Taxpayers by mail and phone. There are several ACS Offices throughout the U.S., but there isn't one in Arizona. So when a notice is issued by ACS and you respond, you are dealing with someone out of State.
Despite the fact that ACS Employees are out of state, they have the ability and the will to garnish a paycheck or levy a bank account and they do so every day. They also have the authority to issue Notices of Federal Tax Lien.
B. IRS Revenue Officers
Revenue Officers are local. There are Revenue Officers in every state and major City. They have some serious training from the IRS and are usually very experienced.
The IRS has access to a number of databases. It is possible as a result that this well trained IRS Revenue Officer knocking on your door… knows more about your financial situation than you do.
Dealing with the Revenue Officer
The Revenue Officer's goal is two-fold. The first goal is to make sure you are in “compliance”. Generally, IRS Compliance means that you have filed your tax returns. The Revenue Officer's second goal is to collect money to pay the tax debt.
If you are cooperative, the Officer will typically work with you to obtain disclosures about assets, earnings and budget. In most cases, an attempt will be made to reach an agreement about how much can be paid each month to pay the debt off. You might also qualify for a partial payment program, or non- collectible status.
If you file an IRS Offer in Compromise or a Bankruptcy case, the file will be removed from the Officer and will only be returned to the local office if debt remains after the Offer or Bankruptcy is completed.
Revenue Officers have the authority to seize most assets and levy wages and bank accounts. If you don't cooperate in disclosing your financial situation, they won't hesitate to use that authority.