IRS Form 12153: the Collection Due Process hearing request, item by item.

Section 6330(b)(1) provides that a hearing requested in writing, with the grounds stated, is held by the IRS Independent Office of Appeals. Section 6330(b)(3) requires an officer or employee who has had no prior involvement with the unpaid tax before the first hearing under section 6320 or 6330, and the taxpayer may waive that requirement. A person is entitled to only one hearing under section 6320 and one under section 6330 for the taxable period to which the unpaid tax relates; the regulations allow another hearing for a different type of tax or an additional tax assessment for that period.

Under section 6330(c)(1), the appeals officer must obtain verification from the Secretary that the requirements of any applicable law or administrative procedure have been met. Under section 6330(c)(2)(A), the person may raise any relevant issue relating to the unpaid tax or the proposed levy, including appropriate spousal defenses, challenges to the appropriateness of collection actions, and offers of collection alternatives. The statute lists the posting of a bond, the substitution of other assets, an installment agreement, and an offer-in-compromise as examples of alternatives.

Section 6330(c)(2)(B) lets the person also challenge the existence or amount of the underlying tax liability if the person did not receive a statutory notice of deficiency for it or did not otherwise have an opportunity to dispute it. Treasury Regulation 301.6330-1(e) says receipt of a notice of deficiency means receipt in time to petition the Tax Court, and that an opportunity to dispute includes a prior opportunity for a conference with Appeals offered before or after the assessment, but that a conference with Appeals offered before the assessment of a tax subject to deficiency procedures is not a prior opportunity for this purpose. Section 6330(c)(4) bars an issue that was raised and considered at a previous hearing under section 6320 or in another previous administrative or judicial proceeding in which the person participated meaningfully.

Section 6330(c)(3) says the determination takes into consideration the verification, the issues raised, and whether any proposed collection action balances the need for the efficient collection of taxes with the legitimate concern of the person that any collection action be no more intrusive than necessary. The regulation says taxpayers are expected to provide all relevant information requested by Appeals, including financial statements.

Treasury Regulation 301.6330-1(d) says Collection Due Process hearings are informal in nature and do not require a face-to-face meeting. A hearing may consist of a face-to-face meeting, one or more written or oral communications, or some combination. The regulation adds that the taxpayer or the representative does not have the right to subpoena and examine witnesses at the hearing.

Official source: 26 U.S.C. 6330(b) and (c)
Official source: Treasury Regulation 301.6330-1(d) and (e)
Official source: Treasury Regulation 301.6320-1(e)

A timely hearing ends in a Notice of Determination sent by certified or registered mail. Treasury Regulation 301.6330-1(e) says it sets forth Appeals' findings and decisions, will advise the taxpayer of the right to seek judicial review within 30 days of the date of the Notice of Determination, and starts that 30-day period the day after its date. Section 6330(d)(1) provides that the person may, within 30 days of a determination under this section, petition the Tax Court for review of the determination.

Tax Court Rule 331(a) says a lien and levy action under sections 6320(c) and 6330(d) is commenced by filing a petition with the Court. Rule 331(b) lists what the petition must contain, including the date of the notice of determination, clear and concise assignments of each error alleged to have been committed in it, lettered statements of the facts supporting each assignment, and, as an attachment, a copy of the notice of determination. Any issue not raised in the assignments of error is deemed to be conceded. Rule 330(b) says the Court has jurisdiction of the action when the conditions of section 6320(c) or 6330(d) have been satisfied.

Treasury Regulation 301.6330-1(f) says the taxpayer can only ask the court to consider an issue, including a challenge to the underlying tax liability, that was properly raised in the hearing. An issue is not properly raised if the taxpayer fails to request consideration of it by Appeals, or asks but fails to present any evidence on it after being given a reasonable opportunity. The case file, including the hearing request and the written communications and information submitted in connection with the hearing, is the record for the review.

If the taxpayer seeks Tax Court review only of Appeals' denial of relief under section 6015, the regulation says review should be requested under section 6015(e) within 90 days of Appeals' determination. U.S. Tax Court covers the petition.

Official source: 26 U.S.C. 6330(d)
Official source: Treasury Regulation 301.6330-1(e) and (f)
Official source: U.S. Tax Court Rule 330
Official source: U.S. Tax Court Rule 331

The form says to send it to the address for requesting a hearing shown on the CDP notice, not the payment address, with a copy of the notice. Treasury Regulations 301.6320-1 and 301.6330-1 say the request must be sent, or hand delivered if permitted, to the IRS office and address as directed on the CDP Notice, and that a taxpayer whose notice shows no address should call 1-800-829-1040 for it. The form says to call the phone number on the notice, or 1-800-829-1040, when unsure of the correct address or to fax the request.

The Appeals manual accepts a request timely mailed to an IRS address listed in the CDP notice, timely faxed to the fax number listed in the notice, or timely hand delivered to an IRS office listed in the notice.

The regulations apply sections 7502 and 7503 to timeliness. Under section 7502(a), a properly addressed request with postage prepaid, deposited in the United States mail within the period, is treated as delivered on the date of the postmark. Under section 7502(c), the date of registration is the postmark date for registered mail, and the statute lets regulations extend that treatment to certified mail. Section 7502(f) extends the rule to a delivery service the IRS has designated. Under section 7503, when the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the act is timely on the next day that is not one. The instructions say to keep a copy of the hearing request and proof of the date it was sent.

Official source: Form 12153 (Rev. 7-2022)
Official source: Treasury Regulation 301.6330-1(c)
Official source: Treasury Regulation 301.6320-1(c)
Official source: 26 U.S.C. 7502
Official source: 26 U.S.C. 7503
Official source: IRM 8.22.5.3.1, determining timeliness

I prepare Form 12153 when the request proposes an installment agreement, an offer in compromise, or currently not collectible status and Appeals will need a Form 433-A or 433-B to consider it; when the taxpayer wants to challenge the tax itself and the first question is whether an earlier opportunity to dispute it forecloses that; when the request should ask for lien withdrawal, subordination, or discharge; and when the balance belongs to a business or is a trust fund recovery penalty. In those cases the reasons in item 8 and the proposal in item 9 help establish the issues for Appeals and begin the record a court may later review.

Any taxpayer can sign and file the form without a representative. It is most direct when the notice is in hand, the reason is one of the listed boxes, such as payments that were not applied, the records behind it are ready, and no financial statement is needed. Then the essentials are the hearing address from the notice, a copy of the notice, a stated reason, a dated signature (not a digital or electronic one), and proof of the mailing date.