Service Center 
Automated Collection System (ACS) Field Enforcement
The IRS Collection Division is made up of three Branches: The Service Center Branch, the Automated Collection System Branch and the Field Enforcement Branch. The IRS Service Centers have the capacity to Notice and Demand tens of millions of taxpayers and do so quite well. By use of the same automation, the more ripe Notices and Demands are usually followed up by computerized enforcement (i.e. Bank and Source of Income Levies) just to get the party started. Although theses levies do exact distress and hardship from the targeted taxpayers, very few of these initial levies end up clearing up the case as a result of sufficient collections.
Subsequent to the IRS Service Center’s Notice and Demand status comes the Automated Collection System (ACS) status. In that narrowed down status, taxpayers are contacted by 800 number operators generally requesting full payment by Friday. This tends to be true even if they are calling you on Thursday. Most of these ACS individuals lack the authority to effectuate a resolution other than recording an arrangement for short term full payment of all amounts due. Whatever comes of the conversation, know that you will never have the opportunity to speak to that same ACS person ever again so do not make the mistake of leaving any of your inquiries unanswered. Then too, it is probably helpful to know that the Government Accounting Office (GAO) annually surveys the accuracy of statements made by the IRS’s 800 number operator corps and on average greater than 70% of all the information communicated over the telephone is less than correct and lest we not forget, statements made by the IRS can never be relied on.
Subsequent to ACS status comes the IRS field enforcement status. In that most narrowed down status, taxpayers are contacted by a local IRS Revenue Officer who can or will visit the taxpayer at their home or work place generally requesting full payment by Friday (same concept as above). Unlike their ACS brethren, they do have the authority to effectuate a resolution. The bad news is that the playing field is so unbalanced in favor of the Revenue Officer’s command over the subject matter, most resolutions that are quickly effectuated tend to come crashing down around the taxpayer in a relatively short period of time.
As with most things in life - What you don’t know can hurt you. You have valuable rights that protect your interests when dealing with the IRS. But, if you are not aware of these rights or how to use them, you risk forfeiting them at a cost many times higher than the cost of representation.
The Taxpayer Advocates Office is an independent organization within the IRS whose employees assist taxpayers who are experiencing economic harm, who are seeking help in resolving tax problems that have not been resolved through normal channels, or who believe that an IRS system or procedure is not working as it should.
The Problems Resolution Office is the IRS’s internal mechanism to address taxpayers’ assertions as to IRS errors or omissions made on specific accounts. Each taxpayer has an account with the IRS. The account identifying number is either the taxpayer’s Social Security Number or if the taxpayer is a business, it is the Employer Identification Number issued at or near the formation of the business.
Which of these two Offices are preferable depends on the nature of the disagreement. Taxpayer disagreements with their Revenue Officers concerning payment arrangements, terms offered or measures imposed should be directed to the Taxpayers Advocates Office. The Taxpayers Advocates Office is there to mediate impasses by suggesting alternative courses of action.
Taxpayer disagreements concerning account maintenance, amounts due, payment recognition or other adjustments should be directed to the Problem Resolutions Office. The Problem Resolutions Office staff has the ability to research account transactions and correct possible errors or omissions.
In most cases, the referral of a matter to either the Taxpayers Advocates Office or the Problems Resolutions Office comes with an informal stay of enforced collection action pending final disposition. Once the referred matter has resulted in a decision, pro or con, the matter reverts back to the authority of the IRS department or Revenue Officer for case disposition.
The IRS Collection Division has many satellite offices dispersed throughout cities, suburbs and small towns all across America. In most major urban areas, the IRS provides walk in centers which allow taxpayers to have a face to face meeting with front line Collection personnel. These walk in centers are limited to IRS collection matters that are in the early stages of enforced collection status. Accounts that are in Notice status are the accounts best addressed in this environment. Taxpayers may discuss accounts assigned to the ACS Branch, but most times these taxpayers are required to make their personal contact through a limited number of “white” telephones made available in the walk in centers on a first come first served basis. There is no advantage whatsoever to using an IRS walk in “white” telephone vs. a taxpayer’s own home or work telephone. The reason these “white” telephones are so busy (sometimes a long wait to use) is because most taxpayers do not learn about the IRS’s different branch units until speaking with someone knowledgeable about the internal workings of the Collection Division. Most taxpayers are told that the “white” telephones are direct links into ACS. However, that does not imply that there will be 'no wait' to speak with an ACS representative. To the contrary, a taxpayer can wait 30+ minutes on hold sometimes, just as if they had placed the call from home.
The single best use of walk in centers are when a taxpayer has received a Levy against something of high sensitivity (Bank Accounts or Source of Income) and upon further inquiry the stated reason for the issuance of the Levy was something like a missing tax return. Taxpayers can hand deliver a missing tax return to a member of the walk ins section who can confirm to ACS over the telephone that the missing return is now in their hands and can verify that the taxpayer has cured the situation causing the Levy event. Thereafter, the ACS representative can authorize the walk in staff member to write out a hand Release of Levy. With the Release in the taxpayer’s hand, the event comes to an amicable conclusion for all parties. However, it is up to this taxpayer to deliver the Release document to the Levy Recipient (i.e. Bank, Employer, etc.).
Below is a list of the most common forms used by the IRS during the collection process. After you have completed the personalized review on "My Situation" you will learn which form or letter you can expect next from the IRS. Click any of the items below to see the ACTUAL correspondence sent by the IRS.