TAP 206-004

"Timely Response Required" on Envelopes

Issue Statement:

Many taxpayers fail to open Internal Revenue Service (IRS) time sensitive notices in a timely manner.  Taxpayers not only lose opportunities to contest assessments without going to tax court, but also get stuck with mounting interest and penalties.

Goal Statement:

Encourage taxpayers to open correspondence in a timely manner to ease taxpayers' burden as well as IRS' burden in pursuing non-responders.

Proposal:

Require that all IRS correspondence to taxpayers with a due date, include on the outside of the envelope the wording "Timely Response Required" printed in bold font.