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The Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants says some Internal Revenue Service revenue agents are ignoring the law when it comes to interviewing taxpayers who have authorized representation. It is asking agency executives to reign in such improper appearance demands and ensure its personnel follow the Internal Revenue Code’s mandated taxpayer protection process.
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The one thing about federal taxes that everyone agrees on is that they are complicated. That’s one reason that the Internal Revenue Service itself tells us that when working with the agency, we taxpayers have the right to retain an authorized representative of our choosing to act on our behalf.
That’s a tenet in the agency touted Taxpayer Bill of Rights. And just last week, an IRS tax tip reminded us that taxpayers may select someone to represent them in an interview.
The beauty of turning your tax troubles over to professional is that you, the taxpayer, usually don’t have to be part of the discussion. The IRS notes that option in the aforementioned tax tip, saying that “Taxpayers who retain representation don’t have to attend with their representative unless the IRS formally summons them to appear.”
Apparently, however, that formal appearance process is not being followed here in Texas.
Texas CPA raise client appearance concerns: The Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants (TXCPA) says that IRS Revenue Agents have been requiring taxpayers to personally attend interviews even though the individuals have provided the agency an authorized Power of Attorney for their tax pro to serve as their representative.
This, say the TXCPA’s Federal Tax Policy Committee, conflicts with Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 7521(c). The organization has taken its concern directly to the IRS.
In a letter to Frank Bisignano, IRS chief executive officers, and Thomas V. Curtin, Jr., acting director of IRS Office of Professional Responsibility, the TXCPA committee chair James A. Smith writes:
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“A represented taxpayer’s right to be absent from an IRS interview is not a matter of IRS grace. IRC Section 7521(c) provides that right in mandatory terms:…‘An officer or employee of the Internal Revenue Service may not require a taxpayer to accompany the representative in the absence of an administrative summons issued to the taxpayer under Subchapter A of Chapter 78.’”
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“Over the past two years, our members have noted a steady increase in Revenue Agents routinely demanding taxpayer interviews in civil (non-criminal) examinations and tax compliance matters,” according to the letter.
This is contrary to taxpayer rights and protections enacted by Congress in the Omnibus Taxpayer Bill of Rights in 1988, and is “a recurring examination practice that we believe warrants prompt corrective action,” added Smith.
TXCPA concerns found elsewhere: The TXCPA letter points out that the issue also has been cited by Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration’s (TIGTA).
In a Sept. 16, 2025, report, that independent IRS watchdog office noted that IRS employees did not consistently follow legal requirements for contacting represented taxpayers.
The TIGTA audit revealed a 28 percent error rate in its sample of cases, which led to an estimated 13,685 similar violations in field examination cases where IRS examiners failed to follow the direct-contact rules where taxpayers had authorized representatives.
“This management response suggests the field-level pattern our members have observed may reflect broader agency practice rather than isolated agent error,” writes Smith.
Questionable “first-hand knowledge” reason: Tax law does allow IRS agents to formally summon taxpayers to appear at interviews despite having properly authorized representation.
But again, some IRS examiners are not following this rule, according to the TXCPA letter.
Instead, IRS revenue agents are routinely basing taxpayer interview demands on the alleged rationale that the taxpayer is the only person with “first-hand knowledge” who can sufficiently answer questions about books and records, internal controls, business operations, lifestyle, or the minimum income probe.
But the phrase “first-hand knowledge” does not appear anywhere in IRC Section 7521, Smith writes. Neither does it mentioned in any Congressional legislative language, including the Joint Explanatory Statement of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights that provides the law’s primary legislative history.
Instead, the phrase “first-hand knowledge” appears to have arisen from Internal Revenue Manual section discussing situations where a representative appears to be “merely acting as a messenger,” and which then instructs the agent to request the taxpayer’s voluntary presence or, failing that, pursue a summons.
But that instruction is internal guidance, and “cannot override IRC Section 7521(c),” according to the letter.
Mandated interview mechanism is ignored: “Most importantly, the statute does not contain a ‘first-hand knowledge’ exception,” adds Smith.
Rather, he notes, tax law contains a prohibition — “may not require” — and identifies the Congressionally chosen mechanism of an administrative summons in order to compel a taxpayer’s attendance at an interview.
Revenue agents are sidestepping this formal summons step and instead relying on what Smith characterizes as misplaced Treasury regulations.
That guidance, Smith wrote, do not override the IRC, and do not authorize the IRS to require a represented taxpayer to appear for an interview because the examiner believes the taxpayer has more direct knowledge than the appointed representative.
Request for clearer guidance: The TXCPA’s Federal Tax Policy Committee is asking IRS executives to provide clearer guidance and enforcement of existing taxpayer representation rights as currently detailed in the tax code.
The Committee want the IRS to issue definitive legal guidance, improve agent training, strengthen compliance oversight, and update IRS Publication 1 to reaffirm that taxpayers generally cannot be compelled to attend an interview when represented by an authorized power of attorney unless a formal summons is issued.
These reforms, says the TXCPA, “are urgently needed to protect the taxpayer rights Congress purposefully enacted,” while still allowing the IRS to carry out its responsibilities effectively.
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