The appeals conference ordinarily concludes with a mutually agreed settlement negotiation that takes place face to face with the Appeals Officer on the spot. The Appeals Officer then proceeds to write up the terms negotiated on IRS Form 870, Consent to Proposed Tax Adjustment. It can often take several months before this documents is received in the mail by the taxpayer.
Once you sign IRS Form 870, you agree to pay the amount of the settlement and are prohibited from subsequently challenging the included settlement terms in Court. If you feel the Form 870 was prepared in error in that it does not contain the terms you agreed to, don’t sign it. You can then proceed to litigate the issue if need be in Tax Court.
GROUNDS FOR AN APPEAL THAT THE IRS APPEALS OFFICE WILL NOT GIVE CONSIDERATION
Appeals will consider any reason you have for disagreeing, except for moral, religious, political, constitutional, conscientious objection, or similar grounds. Our goal is to provide a forum for us to work together to resolve the tax dispute.
