Section 11. Withholding Compliance Program

(1) This transmits revised IRM 5.19.11, Liability Collection, Withholding Compliance Program.

(1) IRM 5.19.11.1.6 Acronyms - added Integrated Collection System (ICS) and Individual Online Account (IOLA) to acronym list

(2) IRM 5.19.11.3.1(2) Telephone Contact Procedures - added e-Guide link and instructions

(3) IRM 5.19.11.3.1(7) Telephone Contact Procedures - updated IRM references

(4) IRM 5.19.11.3.1(12) Telephone Contact Procedures - exception out scope

(5) IRM 5.19.11.3.1(13) Telephone Contact Procedures - out of scope

(6) IRM 5.19.11.3.2 updated format because it can’t read correctly on SERP IRM in present format

(7) IRM 5.19.11.3.6 Referrals to Taxpayer Advocate Service - update IRM reference

(8) IRM 5.19.11.3.7.(3) Installment Agreement (IA) or Balance Due Taxpayers - update information

(9) IRM 5.19.11.3.7.(4) Installment Agreement (IA) or Balance Due Taxpayers - update information

(10) IRM 5.19.11.3.7.(5) Installment Agreement (IA) or Balance Due Taxpayers - update IRM reference

(11) IRM 5.19.11.7 Responses and Redeterminations - update IRM reference. Add information about WHC Self Help Portal, Chatbot, and manual lock-in letters issued by Field through ICS.

(12) IRM 5.19.11 7.1.2.2 (2) Common Law Marriage - update IRM reference

(13) IRM 5.19.11.10.9(4) Offer in Compromise (OIC) Taxpayers - update SERP information

(14) IRM 5.19.11.10.14 Identity Theft - update IRM reference

(15) IRM 5.19.11.10.17 Native American Tribal Income- update IRM references

(16) IRM 5.19.11.10.20 Disaster Relief Cases DIS) - update title and IRM reference

Erick Martinez Director, Collection Inventory Delivery & Selection Small Business/Self Employed

Purpose: This IRM provides instructional procedures relating to the Withholding Compliance Program.

Audience: Small Business/Self-Employed (SB/SE) employees working withholding compliance issues.

Policy Owner: Director, Collection Inventory Delivery & Selection, Small Business/Self Employed(SB/SE).

Program Owner: NonFiler Inventory and Delivery Section (NIA), Small Business/Self Employed (SB/SE).

Primary Stakeholders: NonFiler Inventory and Delivery Section (NIA), Small Business/Self Employed (SB/SE).

Program Goals: The goal is to correct withholding to ensure that taxpayers have enough income tax withheld to meet their withholding tax obligations.

This IRM 5.19.11, Liability Collection, Withholding Compliance Program, provides guidelines for working the Withholding Compliance Program.

The IRS Mission statement includes "enforcing the tax law with integrity and fairness to all" . A "fair and just tax system" is a cornerstone in the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TBOR). As IRS employees, we are expected to carry out our duties with integrity and fairness . Fairness and integrity therefore apply to how IRS administers tax laws to all taxpayers, as well as how IRS employees interact with each taxpayer and with tax professionals. Employees must exercise their professional judgement, not personal opinions, in conducting their enforcement responsibilities. There are three parts to enforcing the law with integrity and fairness:

Ensure fairness to the taxpaying public

Ensure an equitable process for all taxpayers

Ensure fairness to each taxpayer

For additional information, refer to Policy 1-236.

Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 3402 and IRC Section 3403 provide the legal authority for the withholding of federal income tax from wages and other forms of income. IRC Section 3402 specifies the general form and content of withholding certificates and outlines the basis for claiming reductions or exemption from withholding.

Regulations in 26 CFR Part 31, Employment Taxes and Collection of Income Tax at Source, provide guidance for implementation of IRC Section 3402.

Section 31.3402(f)(2)–1(a) requires each employee to furnish his or her employer with a signed withholding certificate on or before starting employment. The maximum withholding rate to which an employee is entitled depends upon the following:

Filing status

Number of dependents

Reduction to withholding claimed by a spouse (if any) on a Form W-4

Estimated itemized deductions, tax credits, and other deductions from income

Regulations permit taxpayers to claim only the withholding rate to which they are entitled. Withholding tax cannot be construed as a hardship.

The requirement for employers to routinely submit copies of questionable Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Certificate to the IRS has been eliminated. Regulations, as set forth in Section 31.3402(f)(2)–1(g), require employers to submit copies of any currently effective withholding certificates only if directed to do so in a written notice to the employer or if directed to do so under any published guidance.

An employer must honor a valid withholding certificate furnished by an employee until the IRS provides the employer with written notice to disregard it (a lock-in letter). The IRS may issue such a notice after it determines that an employee's withholding claim is unjustified based on IRS records without first obtaining a copy of the Form W-4 from the employer.

The employer is required to withhold at the status and rate specified in our notice. However, if the status and rate claimed on the employee's current Form W-4 or a new Form W-4 will result in MORE income tax withholding than at the status and rate specified in our notice, the employer must honor the Form W-4.

If an employee disagrees with our determination, he or she must contact the Withholding Compliance Unit and provide information supporting a change to the status and rate specified in our notice.

Section 31.3402(m)–1 of the Employment Tax Regulations specifies items used to compute withholding . Estimated amounts of deductions, losses, and credits used to compute withholding reductions may not be more than:

The amount claimed on the prior year tax return (or, if not yet filed, the tax return for the preceding taxable year) which the employee reasonably expects to show on the current year tax return, plus

Additional amounts that are demonstrably attributable to identifiable events.

An employee may claim exempt from withholding by furnishing the employer with a valid exempt Form W-4 certifying that they:

Had no tax liability for the preceding taxable year, and

Expects no tax liability for the current taxable year.

Exempt W-4 forms , generally expire on February 15th of the year after they were furnished by the employee. If an employee fails to furnish a new W–4, the employer is required to withhold as if no valid W-4 was in effect, withholding as if employee had checked the box for "Single" or "Married filing separately" in Step 1 (c) and made no entries in Step 2, Step 3, or Step 4 of the Form W-4. If, however, a prior Form W-4 is in effect for the employee, the employer must continue to withhold based on the prior Form W-4. Refer to Pub 15, (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide, and Pub 15-T, Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods additional guidance.

IRC Section 6682 and the related tax regulations allow the assessment of a $500 civil penalty on an individual for furnishing a false W–4 if:

The statement made on the Form W-4 results in less income tax withheld than would have been withheld if the Form W-4 had been correctly completed, and

There was no reasonable basis for such a statement at the time that the statement was made.

IRC Section 3403 makes an employer liable for tax imposed under IRC Section 3402 and the related tax regulations:

The employer is liable for the appropriate amount of withholding whether or not it is actually deducted from the employee’s pay. This liability includes tax computed according to the withholding instructions we give the employer in a lock-in letter.

Assessments under IRC Section 3403 are made by Employment tax examiners in the Technical Services in the Examination function.

The Director, Collection Inventory Delivery & Selection, is responsible for overseeing program coordination for automated Nonfiler system and Campus procedures related to Compliance Nonfiler programs.

The Operations manager is responsible for managing remote Collection activities including telephone and correspondence transactions. Oversees department, team and employee responses to Balance Due accounts and Withholding Compliance Program.

The Department manager is responsible for overseeing team and employee responses to taxpayer inquiries with regard to the Withholding Compliance Program inquiries.

The Team manager is responsible for overseeing telephone scheduling and employee responses to Balance Due accounts and Withholding Compliance Program inquiries.

Program Reports: Work Planning & Control (WP&C) reports are used to monitor rates, receipts and closures to determine if cases are being received and subsequently closed. WP&C reports are located on the Business Objects platform. Account Management Services (AMS) reports also provide information on inventory and inventory age. Case Control Activity System (CCA) reports detail the cases assigned to an operation, department, team or employee; they are located on Control D.

Program Effectiveness: the program goals and results are housed on the Collection Program and Campus Reports SharePoint site in the Monthly Monitoring Report (MMR). The MMR captures NQRS results to show monthly and cumulative stats. Case reviews are performed by front line mangers, operational reviews performed by senior managers, and program reviews conducted by the program office to ensure procedures are being followed and are effective.

Taxpayer responses and other inventory are loaded to AMS and then distributed to tax examiners. AMS tracks employee actions and is monitored by Operation, Department, and Front-Line managers along with Collection HQ employees.

Below is a list of abbreviations commonly used throughout the IRM.

Acronym

Definition

ACS

Automated Collections System

AMS

Account Management Services

CSCO

Compliance Services Collection Operations

DUT

Document Upload Tool

IAT

Integrated Automation Technologies

ICS

Integrated Collection System

IDRS

Integrated Data Retrieval System

IMF

Individual Master File

IOLA

Individual Online Account

IRC

Internal Revenue Code

MF

Master File

OUO

Official Use Only

POA

Power of Attorney

TDA

Taxpayer Delinquent Account

TDI

Taxpayer Delinquent Investigation

TS

Taxpayer Services

WHC

Withholding Compliance

WHCS

Withholding Compliance System (Database)

Withholding Compliance E-Guide (irs.gov).

Pub 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax, Page 3.

This IRM section explains the Withholding Compliance process.

Employers are required to give Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, to their employees by January 31st of the year following the year in which the wages were paid. A copy of Form W-2 must also be filed with the Social Security Administration (SSA) by January 31st of the following year. W-2 records filed with the SSA are subsequently transmitted to the IRS and loaded into the Information Returns Master File (IRMF).

Application of the WHC business rules results in three potential outcomes:

Outcome 1: No tax compliance problem is indicated. A WHC case is not created.

Outcome 2: Withholding compliance problem was identified; lock-in letter systemically issued. Taxpayer has 60 days to respond to the letter before the case proceeds to the next step.

Outcome 3: Withholding compliance problem was identified; manual review required prior to the lock-in letter issuance. Withholding Compliance (WHC) will no longer generate Outcome 3 cases after June 2016.

WHC cases are created in June. Each calendar year, the Enterprise Computing Center (ECC) will update all tax year dates to correspond to the current calendar year.

W-2 forms received from SSA after the initial case creation are considered "Additional Forms W-2" (AW2) and are processed by WHC at the end of each calendar year following the year in which the wages were paid.

The ECC puts the Form W-2 record into a unique format for WHC. ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡

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The Form W-2 records are then sorted by Social Security Number (SSN) and Name Control.

Additional business rules are applied to filter records to:

Determine whether the SSN is valid or invalid.

Match SSN's against Master File (MF). If a record is found in the valid or invalid segments of MF, proceed with the compliance check. If there is no record on MF, select regardless of compliance check.

Current year return was filed and not full paid.

Current year return was not filed. Prior year return was not filed or was filed with a balance due.

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Taxpayers in the following statuses are excluded:

Combat Zone

Killed in Terrorist Action (KITA)

Offer in Compromise (OIC)

Bankruptcy (BNK)

Criminal Investigation Case (CID)

Disaster Relief Case (DIS)

Date of Death (DOD) is less than 24 months

WHC cases will be worked by the Withholding Compliance Unit at the Andover & Austin Compliance Campuses.

Organization Function Program (OFP) codes have been established for WHC.

Program Code

Description

61707

WHC Employer UD Mail

61710

WHC Referral

61730

WHC Phone Call

61740

WHC Correspondence

61750

WHC Special Projects

The following 97X transaction codes (TC) have been designated to identify actions on WHC cases:

TC 97X

Action Code

Manual/Systemic

Description

971

146

Manual/Systemic

Lock-in Letter issued

972

146

Manual/Systemic

Lock-in released

Lock-in issued in error

971

147

Systemic

Outcome 3 case; Reserved

971

148

Manual

Lock-in rate modified

Lock-in rate reviewed with no change

971/972

149

Manual/Systemic

Reserved

Taxpayers with unreversed TC 971 AC 146 transactions are identified by the following IMF entity indicator codes:

CC ENMOD screen: WHCCI>1

CC IMFOLE screen: WHC

The entity indicator will be set when the TC 971 AC 146 transaction posts.

TC 971 AC 147 will be used to generate listings of Outcome 3 cases to the site to be worked. The miscellaneous field shows the reason code for Outcome 3 selection.

TC 971 AC 146 will post to Master File to identify Outcome 2 cases where a lock-in letter has been systemically issued. The transaction will appear on the year in which the taxpayer was locked in and will provide the following information:

TC 971 transaction date

Employer Identification Number (EIN) of taxpayer's employer(s)

Lock-in status and the number of allowances (prior to May 2020)

Lock-in status (filing status) and withholding rate (May 2020 forward)

Subsequent transactions will be posted to the year in which the taxpayer was locked in.

WHC case inventory will come from two sources:

Telephone calls and

Taxpayer correspondence

Cases will be batched through Account Management Services (AMS) and assigned to a tax examiner. AMS will open an IDRS control base using the year in which the lock-in letter was issued.

Tax examiners will,

Reconsider previous lock-in determinations based on information supplied by the taxpayer

Make spousal lock-in determinations and issue lock-in letters

Assess and abate Form W-4 civil penalties

Address the entire taxpayer account including all balance due and/or unfiled return issues

Update IDRS, Withholding Compliance System (WHCS) and AMS as applicable

WHC outgoing correspondence consists of the Correspondex generated letters shown below. Current versions of the letters are available on Servicewide Electronic Research Project (SERP) using the Forms/Letters/Pubs tab.

WHC Letter

Letter Title

Letter 2800-C

WHC Lock-in Letter to Employer. WHC Lock-in Letter (To Employer)

Letter 2801-C

WHC Lock-in Letter to Employee. WHC Lock-in Letter (To Employee)

Letter 2802-C

WHC Compliance Letter (Self Correct Notice)

Letter 2804-C

Civil Penalty Abatement Denied. Form W-4 Penalty Abatement Denied (To Employee)

Letter 2805-C

WHC Lock-in Letter to Employee (Spousal Consent letter)

Letter 2808-C

WHC Modified Lock-in to Employer. WHC Modified Lock-in (To Employer)

Letter 2809-C

WHC Release of Lock-in (To Employer). WHC Release of Lock-in (To Employer)

Letter 2810-C

WHC No Change (To Employee). WHC No Change (To Employee).

Letter 2811-C

WHC Penalty Abatement Accepted (To Employee). Form W-4 Penalty Abatement Accepted (To Employee)

Letter 2812-C

WHC Modified Lock-in to Employee. WHC Modified Lock-in (To Employee)

Letter 2813-C

WHC Release of Lock-In (To Employee).. WHC Release of Lock-in (To Employee)

Letter 3042-C

Regulatory Authority Information Letter. Information on the Legal Authority for the IRS Withholding Compliance Program (To Employee)

Letter 4074-C

WHC - Reply to Employer Inability to Change Automated W-4 System. WHC - Reply to Employer Inability to Change Automated W-4 System

Letter 4243-C

Withholding Compliance Additional Information Request. Withholding Compliance Additional Information Request

The following forms and publications are also used:

Additional forms and publications

Pub 17, Your Federal Income Tax (For Individuals)

Pub 5, Your Appeal Rights and How To Prepare A Protest If You Don't Agree

Pub 54, Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad

Pub 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax

Pub 514, Foreign Tax Credit For Individuals

Pub 515 Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Entities

Pub 2105, Why Do I Have to Pay Taxes?

Pub 15 (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide

Pub 15-T, Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods

Pub 972, Child Tax Credit

Pub 1915, Understanding Your IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)

WHC Withholding Estimator (2020)

WHC Employer Withholding Assistant (2020)

Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Certificate

This section contains procedures for working withholding compliance cases.

In order to deliver quality customer service, take all appropriate actions to correct withholding, address any balance due account(s) and/or solicit unfiled returns while the taxpayer is on the telephone. For additional information, see IRM 5.19.1.4.4.2 Balance Due Taxpayer Education (Cause and Cure).

Use the Electronic Withholding Compliance Guide (e-Guide)to assist you in addressing withholding compliance issues.

If you determine that the taxpayer has obtained the WHC unit toll-free number erroneously and does not have a withholding issue, determine the taxpayer's specific issue and transfer the call following the table in paragraph 13 below.

When you identify the topic of the call:

Advise the caller that you are transferring their call to the area that handles the question (identify the specific area).

Transfer to a specific line by clicking the transfer button

Then, enter the appropriate four-digit extension, in the Direct Dial field, or highlight the desired transfer applicable name,

Then, click the transfer button

If translation is needed for non-English speaking taxpayers, offer the taxpayer Over-the-Phone Interpreter Service (OPI).

The IRS/OPI contract allows the disclosure of tax information to the OPI interpreter. The assistor should limit disclosure to only that information necessary to resolve the issue. The interpreters are not employees of IRS so communicate to them exactly as you would advise the taxpayer. To use OPI services, complete the following:

With the TP already on the line, click the Consult/Conference button.

Call the toll-free phone number: 888-563-1155.

Enter your PIN number (xxxx-xxxxx) - this is a unique personal PIN number for each employee. PINS have been distributed to the site management. If an employee doesn't have a PIN, management or local SA will contact coordinator to have one assigned, usually within 1 business day. Select language below:

Press 1 for Spanish

Press 2 for Creole

Press 3 for Mandarin

Press 4 for Korean

Press 5 for Vietnamese

Press 6 for Somali

Press 7 for Russian

Press 8 for French

Press 9 for Arabic

Press 0 for operator assistance to address any other language needs or concerns

An interpreter will be added to the call, summarize what you wish to accomplish. Add the Non-English speaking taxpayer to the line by clicking the Consult/Conference button again.

The following steps should be taken on all calls:

Greet the taxpayer - Be sure to provide your name and identification number at the beginning of the call. For additional information, see IRM 21.1.1.4, Communication Skills.

When you receive a call from a taxpayer regarding their tax account information, you are under no obligation to determine if the taxpayer is using an unsecured platform such as a cell phone. However, if you become aware that the taxpayer is using a cell phone (e.g., the taxpayer states they are calling from a cell phone, etc.), you may advise the taxpayer of the disclosure risk of using the cell phone to discuss their account information.

To contact IRS, hearing impaired callers may choose to use the Federal Relay Service (FRS), a state relay service or any other relay service, or any third party assistant (friend or family). For further instructions concerning Hearing Impaired Calls refer to IRM 21.2.1.56, Deaf/Hard of Hearing (DHOH) Callers and TTY/TDD Equipment and IRM 21.3.8.5.1.2, Hearing Impaired Customers and TDD Equipment

When contacted by an employer, do not authenticate taxpayer information. Ask the caller for the name and Social Security Number (SSN) of the taxpayer to which the call relates, then document the taxpayer case as appropriate. If the employer calls for verification of a modification, provide the employer with the modified withholding status/rate and the amount of any annual reductions to withholding or additional amount to withhold per pay period, only. Do NOT discuss Form W-4 calculations or case selection criteria. See IRM 5.19.11.7.4, Employer Responses, for additional information.

If an employer calls with a "general" question regarding WHC or the lock-in letter, document AMS under the EIN. See IRM 5.19.11.7.4, Employer Responses, for additional information.

Disclosure verification must occur before assisting taxpayer on account related calls. Follow procedures in IRM 21.1.3.2.3, Required Taxpayer Authentication. If talking to the taxpayer's representative follow procedures in IRM 21.1.3.3, Third Party (POA/TIA/F706) Authentication then see IRM 5.19.11.3.4, CAF/POA Requirements .

Verification of the taxpayer’s phone number on ENMOD is required on all account related calls in which disclosure verification has occurred. When necessary, update this information.

If ENMOD or IDRS is currently unavailable, follow-up action will be performed when systems become available.

Check Case Status - Check SUMRY and/or CC IMFOLI for any filing and/or payment delinquencies. See IRM 5.19.11.7, Responses and Redeterminations, for delinquent return procedures. See IRM 5.19.11.3.7, Installment Agreement (IA) Taxpayers, for installment agreement procedures. See IRM 5.19.11.3.8, Cases Assigned to Field Collection function, for accounts with at least one balance module in status 26.

Key points for every call:

Maintain a professional and courteous tone.

Control the direction of the call, keep focused on resolution of taxpayer’s issues.

Give accurate and complete assistance.

Place the taxpayer on hold when needed to perform research or complete case actions. Use the hold feature, not the mute feature.

Advise the taxpayer of the reason for the delay (e.g., additional research needed, etc.), ask for permission to place the taxpayer on hold and wait for a response. Thank him or her for holding.

Take all appropriate steps to address any delinquencies while the taxpayer is on the telephone.

Confirm to the taxpayer all the actions taken before closing the call.

When working balance due accounts, follow procedures in IRM 5.19.11.3.7, Installment Agreements (IA) or Balance Due Taxpayers. When working return delinquency accounts, follow procedures in IRM 5.19.11.7, Responses and Redeterminations. Document AMS with actions taken.

If all case actions cannot be completed (i.e. breaks, lunch, tour of duty), insert case on AMS as WHC correspondence (WHCC) and complete actions as soon as possible after your scheduled phone time.

If a call is inadvertently disconnected, employees have the discretion to immediately call the taxpayer back, if appropriate, to complete the resolution.

A callback would be appropriate when speaking with the taxpayer and the call is at the end stages of case resolution when the call inadvertently disconnects.

A callback would not be appropriate when the call is in the beginning stages. This may include disclosure verification, accessing IAT tools or initial analysis of the case.

Your discretion should be used to make a callback after speaking with a taxpayer for a while but have not come to the full case resolution. In complex case situations, it may be beneficial to make the callback to finalize the case.

If you determined a callback is appropriate, insert case on AMS as WHC correspondence and make the callback as soon as possible.

If the Taxpayer has a tax law question, verify the type of tax law before transferring the call . Taxpayer Services will continue to answer tax law inquiries on a limited number of topics. These topics include:

Tax Exempt Government Entities (TEGE)

Special Services: Military or Civilian Combat; Federally Declared Disaster

Affordable Care Act (ACA)

International Tax Law (overseas calls only)

For all other tax law questions state: I’m sorry, but we do not provide live assistance on this topic. For assistance, you can go to:

https://irs.gov - Select the Help & Resources’ tab on the irs.gov home page. Options are listed on the left side of the page

Interactive Tax Assistant- Enter "ITA" into the Search feature

IRS Tax Map - Enter "IRS Tax Map" into the Search feature for more detailed information

All WHC issues should be addressed before transferring. The assistor should inform the taxpayer they are being transferred and advise caller of what topic to request after the transfer. The assistor should document AMS history with the reason for the transfer.

Use the SERP Telephone Transfer Guide (irs.gov) for the latest comprehensive transfer list

When Issue is

Function

Use the following to resolve the call

Balance Due not meeting streamlined criteria (non Status 22)

Taxpayer Services Toll Free Lines (AM) Hours of Operation are Monday through Friday 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time, with the exception of Puerto RIco which is 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., local time. If outside of the hours of Operation, advise taxpayer of AM hours and call the appropriate AM toll free number 800–829–1040.

For TS: # 1075 English # 1071 Spanish For SB/SE # 1085 English # 1076 Spanish

Account issues (Refunds and any account issues that do not pertain to the WHC case)

Taxpayer Services Toll Free Lines (AM) Hours of Operation are Monday through Friday 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time, with the exception of Puerto RIco which is 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., local time. If outside of the hours of Operation, advise taxpayer of AM hours and call the appropriate AM toll free number 800–829–1040.