TAP A04-015

EITC Contact Letter and Examination Report

Statement of Issue:

The EITC Committee was asked to provide feedback on Contact Letter 566 B-EZ and Examination Report Form 886-H-EIC, which are issued together to taxpayers whose EITC claims are being examined, and Notice 75A, which is the first contact indicating that the IRS may examine the tax return with respect to EITC and that the claimed refund may be delayed until an assessment is made or a refund issued.

Proposal:

The Committee suggested Notice 75A indicate that the IRS will (rather than “may”) examine the return. The Committee made specific line-by-line recommendations for changes to letter 566B-EZ and Form 866H-EIC. including the inclusion of a third-party affidavit as alternative form of documentation to support claiming a qualifying child. The Committee proposes that if Notices 75 and 75A are going to be eliminated, Letter 566 B-EZ should not be a “combo letter” combining the initial contact with the “30-day letter” because, if the taxpayer fails to respond to the 566 B-EZ, a statutory notice of deficiency will be triggered.

Response Notes:

EITC Director circulated revised Form 75A, which incorporated Committee recommendations, at May meeting and reported at the end of the year that all of the Committee’s recommendations in the redesign of the notices to taxpayers about the examination process were considered.