Blog

The IRS Independent Office of Appeals, led by Chief Liz Askey since last year, is currently navigating significant workforce challenges. At the start of the calendar year, Appeals had about 1,777 employees. However, the office is experiencing notable attrition:

·         Approximately 77 probationary employees are on administrative leave and unable to work.

·         Over 300 employees have signed deferred resignation agreements, with another 100 pending.

·         A substantial portion (43%) of staff are retirement-eligible or early retirement-eligible, contributing to the high number of departures.

As a result, Askey projects that by the end of the current fiscal year, the Appeals workforce will be reduced to around 1,324 employees. Compounding these losses, the office is under a hiring freeze for both internal and external candidates. Askey anticipates that after current workforce reduction and reshaping efforts conclude, Appeals may be able to hire from the IRS compliance function to address short-staffing.

Summary Table: IRS Independent Office of Appeals-Current State

Case Cycle Times: Progress Despite Constraints

Despite these staffing reductions and hiring limitations, Appeals has made measurable progress in reducing case cycle times:

·         The average cycle time for non-docketed cases in fiscal year 2025 is now 274 days, the lowest level in six years.

·         This is a significant improvement from the 2022 National Taxpayer Advocate report, which cited a 365-day average for non-docketed cases-a 103% increase over 2017 cycle times.

·         Askey attributes this improvement to targeted efforts, including analyzing and reducing delays in getting cases to Appeals and implementing a "paperless pilot" for scanning smaller case files upon receipt, streamlining case handling.

Askey remains "cautiously optimistic" that these trends will continue, even as workforce changes persist.

Conference Options: In-Person, Virtual, and Hybrid

Appeals offers taxpayers several ways to resolve disputes, including:

·         In-person conferences

·         Telephone conferences

·         Video conferences (using Microsoft Teams)

·         Correspondence or secure messaging

The office has a longstanding policy of accommodating taxpayer preferences for conference format, especially for larger and more complex cases. While there was a temporary shift to virtual conferences due to recent travel policy changes, a new travel approval process is now in place. Appeals Officers can again travel for in-person conferences, though more lead time is required for approval.

For taxpayers not near an Appeals office, the office continues to use "circuit riding," where Appeals Officers travel to more convenient locations, and is seeking public input on improving accessibility and hybrid conference options.

Have an IRS Tax Problem?

for a FREE Tax HELP Contact us at:
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com
or Toll Free at 888 8TAXAID (888-882-9243)

References:

1.       https://www.irs.gov/appeals/what-to-expect-from-the-independent-office-of-appeals  

2.      https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/improving-nationwide-access-to-irs-appeals-public-input-wanted    

3.      https://www.irs.gov/appeals/appeals-expands-access-to-video-conferences 

4.    https://irstaxtrouble.com/irs-appeals-guidance-on-in-person-conferences/

Read more at: Tax Times blog

According to the DoJ, he U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida issued an injunction on April 28, 2025 against Miami tax return preparer Nia Daniel, which bars her from preparing tax returns for others, having any ownership stake in any tax preparation business, or assisting or training others in tax return preparation through at least Jan. 27, 2028. The court also ordered Daniel to disgorge $446,000 in ill-gotten gains she received from her return preparation business. Daniel agreed to both the injunction and ordered disgorgement.

The complaint alleged that Daniel understated customers’ tax liability and claimed inflated refunds largely by:

• Falsifying or overstating business expenses claimed on a Schedule C;
• Claiming the Work Opportunity Tax Credit for clients who did not qualify for it;
• Falsely claiming other credits, such as the American Opportunity Credit and Residential Energy Credit; and
• Falsifying income and filing status to increase the Earned Income Tax Credit.

According to the complaint, the IRS estimated a tax loss of more than $500,000 in 2023 alone from returns prepared by Daniel. 

The DoJ also did a press release regarding an Accountant Who Pleads Guilty to $8M Tax Fraud where they discussed that A Colorado man pleaded guilty on April 28, 2025 to conspiring to defraud the United States and tax evasion.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Rodney Ermel owned and managed a Colorado-based accounting firm. 

Along with co-defendant Kenneth Bacon, Ermel provided accounting and tax preparation services for Joseph LaForte and his entities. Ermel conspired with LaForte, Bacon, and others to hide approximately $20 million in income. 

He did this through various fraudulent accounting practices, such as fabricating shareholder loans and “bad debt” deductions. Ermel also filed tax returns which he knew underreported taxable income by over $20 million between 2016 and 2018. Ermel’s fraud caused a loss to the United States of over $8 million.

Ermel is the fourth defendant to plead guilty to criminal conduct related to this tax scheme.  Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 3.

Have an IRS Tax Problem?

for a FREE Tax HELP Contact us at:
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com
or Toll Free at 888 8TAXAID (888-882-9243)

Read more at: Tax Times blog

• You Are Tired of Trump 2.0.
• That The Republicans Now Control the House & the Senate.
• Are You Sick of Liberal Democrats Trying to Revise Society or
• Maybe You're A Naturalized U.S. Citizen Or Permanent Resident Who Has Prospered Here, But Would Now Like To Move Back The Old Country For Retirement or toStart A New Venture?

You Might Want to Consider Expatriation?

The Internal Revenue Service said in its notice that the number of people who expatriated from the U.S. increased nearly 24% during the third quarter of 2024 compared with the previous quarter. 

The Number Of People Losing Or Renouncing Their U.S. Citizenship Increased to 1,278 For the 1st Qtr of 2025.

A 200% Increase From The 4th Quarter of 2024.

Included on the list are those who lost U.S. citizenship under Internal Revenue Code Section 877(a) and Section 877A, according to the notice, as well as long-term residents who are treated as losing citizenship under Section 877(e)(2).

According to CNBC the top reason why Americans abroad want to dump their U.S. citizenship include:

• Nearly 1 in 4 American expatriates say they are “seriously considering” or “planning” to ditch their U.S. citizenship, a survey from Greenback Expat Tax Services finds.  
• About 9 million U.S. citizens are living abroad, the U.S. Department of State estimates.
• More than 4 in 10 who would renounce citizenship say it’s due to the burden of filing U.S. taxes, the Greenback poll shows.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Need Advise on Expatriation?

 

Contact the Tax Lawyers at 

Marini & Associates, P.A.   

for a FREE Tax Consultation contact us at:

www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com 
or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888) 882-9243

Read more at: Tax Times blog

According to Law360, a Connecticut federal judge denied a man's attempt to vacate his guilty plea for tax evasion, despite accepting that his lawyers had misled him into believing that if he received no prison time he could avoid mandatory detention and likely deportation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Vishal Dhar's former attorneys didn't testify under oath against his claim that they told him he could avoid deportation if he received noncustodial incarceration, but the attorneys did tell him he faced deportation for pleading guilty to an aggravated felony, according to an order issued on April 16, 2025. Dhar's former attorneys, Scott Ahroni and Kurt Erskine of Polsinelli PC, warned him as early as November 2023 that he faced deportation for tax evasion above $10,000, according to the order by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill, who sentenced Dhar to a year in federal custody in October.

Dhar, who is from India, became a U.S. legal permanent resident in 2007, the order said.

He now faces mandatory detention by ICE pending an order for his deportation after he is released from federal custody, potentially extending his original one-year sentence beyond two years since he's not eligible to reduce his sentence with time served, his new attorney said in a motion from January.

Dhar alleged that his original attorneys advised him that he would only be deported if he received a custodial incarceration sentence, according to the order. The Polsinelli attorneys objected to these allegations in an unsworn statement, but not under oath, so Judge Underhill accepted Dhar's account as accurate, according to the order.

"Polsinelli's assistance fell below an objective standard of reasonableness when they allegedly advised Dhar that 'deportation would likely only happen' if Dhar received a custodial incarceration sentence," Judge Underhill said.

To prove ineffective counsel requires not only showing the attorneys performed below a reasonable norm for their profession, but that their performance was prejudicial against their client's defense, according to the order. In this case, Dhar argued he would not have pled guilty and would have insisted on going to trial, according to the order.

Yet Dhar inaccurately claimed that he was only made aware of the deportation consequences of his conviction after sentencing, according to the order. This doesn't line up with the evidence in his communications with Polsinelli, the plea agreement, the sentencing memorandum and his own statements at the plea hearing, which all suggest he was fully aware that his guilty plea could result in deportation, the order said.

Dhar also claimed that he was prejudiced by Polsinelli not explaining the consequences of his immigration status to Judge Underhill during his sentencing hearing, according to the order.

"Polsinelli's failure to bring the relevant statutes to my attention did not prejudice Dhar because it did not impact my intent to sentence Dhar to a term of custodial incarceration," Judge Underhill said. "My underlying reasoning in sentencing Dhar is entirely separate from any immigration consequences he may face, including being placed in ICE custody and eventually deported."

Dhar was sentenced in October to just over a year in federal prison after pleading guilty to evading over $272,000 in taxes from 2013 through 2023, an amount that he paid prior to his sentencing, according to court filings. He operated three business entities, including Grey Brown Inc., a holding company for a restaurant chain called Oaxaca Taqueria, as well as NY Cloud Kitchens LLC and West Partners Inc., according to court filings.

Have an IRS Tax Problem?

for a FREE Tax HELP Contact us at:
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com
or Toll Free at 888 8TAXAID (888-882-9243)

Read more at: Tax Times blog