The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) has a key role in the Congressional Affairs Program (CAP). The Local Taxpayer Advocate (LTA) will coordinate the CAP along with the Governmental Liaison (GL) in each state.

The LTA will have responsibility for all tax account related issues, primarily constituent casework and advocacy.

The GL will have responsibility for any non-tax account related inquiries and for communicating IRS policy and procedures. The GL will ensure through outreach or liaison efforts that IRS messages are delivered.

Both the LTA and GL will coordinate Congressional visits, outreach activities, and hosting Congressional staff liaison meetings. Congressional visits may be separate, depending on the nature of the visit, but must be coordinated.

AllCongressional inquiries received by TAS will be controlled on the Taxpayer Advocate Management Information System (TAMIS). This includes both tax account and non-tax account related inquiries. Exception: General telephone (or e-mail) inquiries from a Congressional office that can be answered while on the line need not be controlled.

Forward all uncontrolled Congressional inquiries received in the field Operating Divisions/Functional Units (ODs/FUs) for assignment to the geographic LTA in the member of Congress' state. All Congressional inquiries received in a campus should be transferred to the LTA of the member’s state, unless there are special circumstances where the LTAs agree it is best to work the case in the campus. Cases requiring normal campus assistance should be worked through the Operations Assistance Request (OAR) process. FUs should work all controls assigned to them by Legislative Affairs on i-trak (the web based Servicewide document tracking application that replaced the Executive Control Management System (ECMS)).

Taxpayer correspondence that is noted as having a courtesy copy (cc) sent to a Congressional office will not be treated as a Congressional inquiry. See IRM 13.1.8.10 , Disclosure Issues.

When responding to Congressional offices in writing, signature authority may not be delegated below the LTA on TAS cases. The Area GL and Legislative Affairs will determine signature authority on non-criteria cases. See IRM 13.1.8.4, Case Processing.

All Congressional inquiries received by ODs/FUs in National Office are forwarded to Legislative Affairs for review and control on i-trak. Exception: The National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) will control and assign inquiries addressed to that office.

Tax account related inquiries will be assigned to TAS. Cases assigned to TAS may require assistance and cooperation from the ODs/FUs on complex issues, and will be worked via the OAR process. Non-tax account related inquiries will be worked by either the GL or Legislative Affairs, depending on the issue involved.

Establish only one control on TAMIS if a Congressional inquiry addresses a tax account issue as well as a non-tax account issue. TAS will attempt to resolve the taxpayer account and coordinate resolution on the non-tax account issue.

The following table provides directions for assigning Congressional inquiries and considers RRA98 §1203 impact.

TAS will input and close GL cases on TAMIS. See Exhibit 13.1.8-1, TAMIS Input and Closure Request Form for Non-Criteria Congressional Inquiries Received by GL Field Offices. GLs do not have access to TAMIS. GL cases will be assigned to a designated TAS employee in each office for control and closure. Refer to IRM 13.1.8.7 , Routing Cases to Governmental Liaison, for additional guidelines.

Cases are to be processed under general guidelines in IRM 13.1.7,Taxpayer Advocate Case Processing. However, IRM Exhibit 13.1.7–7,Transfer Guidelines, is not to be used for Congressional cases. See IRM 13.1.7.4.3, Exceptions to Transfers.

All Congressional inquiries to be controlled on TAMIS will be processed within one workday of receipt, except for:

When an inquiry is received from a Congressional office, the Congressional Screen on TAMIS must be input in addition to the Taxpayer Screen. Refer to IRM 13.4.5.2.2, Congressional Screen, for TAMIS input requirements.

The TAMIS Taxpayer Screen is used to record the taxpayer data.

If the case is controlled on i-trak, input the i-trak Control number in the i-trak Control # field (Taxpayer Screen 5) of TAMIS.

If the Congressional inquiry was addressed to the Functional Unit and the Functional Unit referred the case, input "0" in the first Outreach field, and "00" in the second Outreach field to indicate the request did not come directly from the taxpayer. Input "20" in the second Outreach Field on Taxpayer Screen 1 to indicate the taxpayer’s inquiry was received in TAS from a Congressional office. If a Congressional inquiry was addressed to TAS or there was a request for TAS assistance, input "1" or "2" in the first Outreach field and "20" in the second Outreach field.

Use the appropriate criteria code when inputting the Congressional inquiry on TAMIS. All TAS Congressionals should be coded with criteria code 1 – 8, or if the NTA has identified the issue as a compelling public policy issue, use criteria code 9.

Use Taxpayer Screen 5 on TAMIS in the "How Received" field to indicate how the Congressional inquiry was received into TAS.

Use the Congressional screen of TAMIS to input the Congressional office contact information.

Check the "Disclosure Release Received" box on the Congressional screen if the Congressional office has appropriate disclosure authorization.

When a Congressional inquiry is received and an open TAS case on TAMIS involves the same taxpayer issue (an open non-Congressional case), the Congressional inquiry will be loaded on TAMIS as a new case. Code the Congressional inquiry with the appropriate criteria code (1 – 9). On the Congressional TAMIS case, input "DUPTA" in the "N.O. Use" field on the TAMIS Taxpayer Screen 5. The Congressional case will be worked in the LTA office of the member of Congress' home state. If the cases are assigned in two different offices, the two case advocates must coordinate efforts.

If there are two or more Congressional cases on the same taxpayer issue, each subsequent case will be loaded and worked in the local office of the member of Congress' home state. Use the appropriate criteria code (1 – 9) and input"DUPTA" in the "N.O. Use" field on the Taxpayer Screen 5 of TAMIS. Again, the assigned offices must coordinate but each office will be responsible for responding to its local Congressional office staff.

When the LTA or TA determines that a Congressional inquiry should be assigned to Legislative Affairs, the inquiry is faxed to Legislative Affairs where it will be controlled on i-trak. Refer to IRM 13.1.8.3, Assignment and Routing, and IRM 13.1.8.5 , TAMIS.

The GL will work non-tax account related issues.

Campus Congressional non-tax account inquiries should be transferred to the member of Congress' home state to be worked by the State GL. Note in TAMIS history "GL assignment." If the non-tax account inquiry is national in scope, fax it to LA for control and assignment on i-trak.

The local TAS office will print the TAMIS Form 911H and include it with incoming correspondence in the case file for routing to the appropriate GL office.

When the case has been resolved, the GL will return the TAS case file with required information for input, closure and retention by the LTA staff with other closed cases.

GL Congressionals : Congressional inquiries that have no tax account related issues are deemed to be non-criteria cases. Although they are owned and worked by and assigned to the GL, all non-criteria Congressional inquiries will be controlled on TAMIS by the receiving TAS office before being faxed to the GL.

Since GLs do not have access to TAMIS, each TAS office will designate an employee, such as the Congressional liaison, to open and control GL Congressionals.

TAS must control GL Congressional inquiries on TAMIS. Use Criteria Code "0" for all GL Congressionals.

Input "80000" in the "Local Use1" field on the Taxpayer Screen 5 of TAMIS.

If a subsequent non-criteria Congressional is received, input "DUPGL" in the "N.O. Use " Field on TAMIS.

Exhibit 13.1.8-1, TAMIS Input & Closure Request Form for Non Criteria Congressional Inquiries, is used by the GL field offices to request TAMIS input and closure on non-criteria Congressional inquiries.

IRM 11.5.3, Guide to Congressional Correspondence, provides instructions for preparing responses to Congressional inquiries and should be used to supplement regular instructions for TAS case processing. Refer to Exhibit 13.1.8-2, Sample Congressional Letter, for an example of writing style, format, headers, and salutation to follow in written correspondence to Congressional offices.

The LTA will review and sign all written correspondence, including interim correspondence, to Congressional offices, and ensure adherence to quality standards on tax account related Congressional inquiries.

Signature authority cannot be delegated below the NTA/ATA/LTA or the responsible official, unless the individual has been officially designated to act on their behalf. For example, when an LTA delegates a group manager to act as the LTA, that manager may sign the written response as the acting LTA.

Do NOT include hours of availability or operation in Congressional responses. Do NOT use pattern letters. On all Congressional correspondence, use the approved method for incorporating your local address within the letter.

IRC § 6103(c) permits disclosure of a taxpayer’s return or return information to a third party designee. A taxpayer’s letter to a member of Congress will authorize disclosure to the extent it is signed, dated, and indicates the following:

An authorization to a member of Congress will be construed to include a member of his/her staff designated in the specific inquiry, identified in a general designation from the member of Congress, or known to be the staff person who deals with constituents’ tax inquiries.

Copies of letters addressed to someone other than the member of Congress ("cc" letters) do not authorize the IRS to disclose returns or return information to a member of Congress or his/her staff. An exception to this rule will be made when the taxpayer includes a signed addendum requesting the assistance of the member who forwarded the correspondence to the IRS, and the letter otherwise meets the above requirements for valid disclosure authorization. Also, as in paragraph (1)(b) above, a signed, dated "cc" letter, not a photocopied signature, forwarded with the envelope showing it was addressed to the member of Congress, is sufficient.

Absent written authorization from the taxpayer, the member of Congress or his/her staff person may be provided general information and advised when IRS considers the matter resolved. However, no disclosures of the constituent’s returns or tax account information may be made. In that case, resolve the problem by communicating directly with the taxpayer and advise the Congressional office that this was done.

When responding directly to the taxpayer at the request of a Congressional office, check command code "CFINK" on IDRS for power of attorney or written authorization information. Ensure that any valid power of attorney or written authorization on file is honored, by sending correspondence or copies of correspondence to the representative as authorized.

If the Congressional office has appropriate disclosure authorization, check the "Disclosure Release Received" box on the Congressional TAMIS screen.

Follow the guidelines in IRM 13.1.7, Taxpayer Advocate Case Processing, to determine when to close the case. TAS will communicate with the Congressional office throughout the process unless the office requests that TAS work with the taxpayer directly, or determines it no longer wishes to stay involved. The office staff will also determine if telephonic closure is acceptable.

All tax account related Congressional inquiries that meet TAS criteria are subject to the same standards as any other TAS criteria case and will be part of the Quality Review samples. An apology must be given on TAS criteria cases, including Congressional inquiries that meet the criteria, except as noted below in (3). The following IRM sections address apologies:

Apologies should be individualized and sincere. If an apology is clearly not appropriate, address the reasons in TAMIS history.

Ensure the case is closed on TAMIS, by completing all case screens including the closing action screen and the Congressional Screen.

If a Congressional Frivolous Filer inquiry is received and there is no tax account related issue, send the inquiry to GL. For general information on responding to Congressional inquiries, see IRM 11.5.3,Legislative Affairs Guide To Congressional Correspondence.