The Internal Revenue Service accepts applications for the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council (IRSAC). Applications are accepted until July 9, 2021.
The IRSAC serves as an advisory body to the IRS Commissioner and provides an organized public forum for discussion of relevant tax administration issues between IRS officials and representatives of the public.
The Advisory Board:
- suggests improvements to IRS operations,
- recommends administrative and policy changes to improve taxpayer service, regulatory compliance and tax administration,
- discusses relevant issues of information reporting,
- deals with matters affecting tax-exempt and government entities and
- Conveys the public’s perception of professional standards and best practices for tax professionals.
IRSAC members are appointed by the IRS commissioner for a three-year term and report to the commissioner annually at a public meeting. Applications for study periods from January 2022 are currently being accepted.
Qualified person nominations can come from individuals or organizations. IRSAC members come from very different backgrounds and represent a cross section of the taxpayer public with significant, varied experience in:
- Tax preparation for individuals, small businesses and large multinational companies,
- tax-exempt and government agencies
- Information reporting and
- Taxpayer or consumer perspective.
Applications should document the proposed member’s qualifications. In particular, the IRSAC is looking for applicants with knowledge and experience in some of the following areas:
Individual wages & investment
- Knowledge of the application of tax law / tax preparation, income tax issues related to refundable credits, the review process and / or the use and integration of informational feedback for compliance,
- Experience training on tax issues and issues with multilingual communication for taxpayers and advocacy for taxpayers or contact center operations, marketing / applying industry benchmarks to operations with the tax software industry and / or creating or using various informational statements that are used to report income and deductions, withholding tax or other information for tax purposes,
- Familiarity with IRS tax forms and publications and
- A background in financial services informatics with an understanding of technology innovations in the public and private customer service sectors.
Small businesses and self-employed
- Knowledge of or experience with virtual currencies / cryptocurrencies and / or peer-to-peer payment applications,
- Knowledge of transit companies and / or fiduciary tax and
- Experience in online or digital business, representation of auditors and / or training on tax issues and topics
Large Enterprises & International
- International tax expertise,
- Experience as an auditor or tax attorney in or for a large, demanding organization and
- Experience in internal work in a large company dealing with complex organizations.
Tax-exempt and government agencies
- Experience with tax exempt organizations and / or employee plans.
Information reporting
- A background in a service provider, banking and / or insurance industry with experience in filing information returns.
Applicants must have a good reputation for their own tax obligations and demonstrate high professional and ethical standards. All applicants must complete and submit an application and pass a tax and practitioner check. FBI fingerprint controls are also required for those applicants who are rated “Best Qualified”.
For more information, including the application form, see Open Season for Membership – Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council. Questions about the application process can be sent by email to publicliaison@irs.gov.