Leveraging the Interactive Taxpayer Roadmap

The following is a reprint from the 2024 University of Illinois Federal Tax Workbook, Chapter 7: IRS Update.

The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) provides a taxpayer roadmap that illustrates the U.S. tax system and provides information about the processing of income tax information and issues. The roadmap illustrates the path from tax preparation through processing, collections, appeals, and even litigation.

Note. The IRS provides an online, interactive version of this tool at https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/get-help/roadmap/.  This graphic provides taxpayers and their tax practitioners with useful information about the sequence of steps needed to resolve a tax controversy.

This online, interactive version allows tax professionals to input a notice number their clients received. The system responds by explaining why the IRS sent the notice and how the client can resolve the issue. The taxpayer roadmap application currently contains commonly issued IRS notices and letters, but not all.

The taxpayer roadmap can be used in a variety of ways.

• Enter an IRS notice number in the search field
• Use the ‘View by map’ section to navigate a “processing station” area within the map
• Manually click on different markers (stops) throughout the map

The taxpayer roadmap answers the following questions when users enter an IRS notice or letter number.

• What does the notice or letter mean to the taxpayer?
• Where is the taxpayer in the tax system?
• How did the taxpayer get into the current situation?
• What are the taxpayer’s next steps?
• Where can the taxpayer get more information?
• Where can the taxpayer get additional help?
• What are the taxpayer’s rights?

For example, the explanation for Notice CP14, Notice of Tax Due and Demand for Payment, can be found using the roadmap. IRS Pub. 5341, The Taxpayer Roadmap, provides a paper version of the digital roadmap but is not interactive.

Check Tax School’s Resources for Tax Professionals page for other useful links and tools.

Sources:

Taxpayer Roadmap. Apr. 27, 2022. Taxpayer Advocate Service.