IRS Preparing For Health Reform Tax Appeals

The Internal Revenue Service Office of Appeals is preparing for the new cases that it anticipates will result from the new tax law provisions included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to a report released by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). The ACA contains $438 billion in revenue provisions that are in the form of new taxes and fees and about 42 of its provisions add to or amend the Internal Revenue Code.

“Because of the potential for the ACA to affect most taxpayers, effective planning is critical to ensuring Appeals’ readiness to prepare for this legislation and resolve taxpayer requests in a timely and effective manner,” said Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George.

As Appeals moves forward with its planning efforts, TIGTA believes management should develop a more formal approach to its ACA planning activities to ensure they are ready to resolve taxpayer requests regarding ACA-related issues in a timely and effective manner. This should include outlining the key objectives and tasks that need to be addressed to prepare for the ACA-related impact on Appeals, establishing who should be responsible for conducting these activities, and developing time-lines for completing these actions over the next several years.