First and foremost, as a taxpayer, it is of the utmost importance that we know what our rights are when it comes to paying taxes and qualifying for a refund.  This is especially true if the IRS says we owe them even more money than we have already paid through the deductions on our gross paychecks.  By the time you add up the federal tax, the state tax, the city tax, and sometimes the county tax, we’re lucky to get more than 55% as a net pay.  Then on top of that, we have to pay sales tax, fast-food tax, excise tax, personal property tax, and on and on.

Once we understand our rights as taxpayers, it is also very important that we protect those rights.  According to the IRS, they will not disclose our information to anyone EXCEPT those who are authorized by law to have it.  However, they do not define WHO is authorized by law to have our information.  But they do tell us why they ask for certain information and how they will use it.  Then they tell us what happens to us if we refuse to provide that information.

If you end up owing money to the IRS when filing this year’s tax return, you can look up Publication 594 (IRS Collection Process), to find out how the IRS collection process works and what your rights and responsibilities are in regards to making your payments.  This publication tells you what to do when you owe taxes, it describes what to do if you get a tax bill, and what to do if you think the bill is wrong.

If you cannot make your tax payment in full, Publication 594 also covers how to set up installment payments, how to delay the collection action, and submits offers in compromise.   This publication also covers liens and levies, the releasing of liens and levies, and how they can use seizures, sales, and release of property to collect the taxes you owe.
   
You can also look up Publication 1660 (Collection Appeal Rights), to find out what your collection appeal rights are if you disagree with the IRS.