Under IRC 7803(c)(2)(A)(i)-(iv), TAS’s statutory mission is to:

The TAS Focus Guide (formerly Program Letter) (issued annually) supports IRM 1.4.13.

TAS managers should be aware and should educate their employees about TAS’s goals, mission, and organizational priorities.

TAS managers are committed to improving the workplace for employees, including:

TAS managers will integrate advocacy in all aspects of their position and when working with their employees.

TAS managers follow program review guidelines set forth in IRM 1.4.13.9, Managerial Reviews.

TAS managers follow the Performance Agreement Responsibilities and Commitments contained in Form 12450-A, IRS Performance Management System – Manager Performance Agreement.

Exhibit 1.4.13-1. contains a list of terms used throughout this IRM.

Exhibit 1.4.13-2. contains a list of acronyms used throughout this IRM.

TAS managers will use the following resources in conjunction with this IRM:

To advocate fully, TAS must seek to understand the people we serve. Our employees must understand the challenges facing different taxpayers and groups, recognize how a taxpayer’s emotions may affect the taxpayer’s behavior, and appreciate how to connect with taxpayers in a way that builds mutual trust and respect.

TAS employees play a critical role in reassuring taxpayers that TAS is doing all we can to assist them with their tax issue.

We must be empathetic. Empathy goes beyond advocating for taxpayers.

TAS managers must be empathetic to employees’ personal situations as well.

TAS managers will help employees enhance their skills and use them to enhance the taxpayer experience when advocating for the taxpayer. Offices will create a plan to develop empathy skills by practicing empathy throughout the year.

The Budget and Accounting Procedures Act of 1950 requires the head of each Federal department and agency to establish and maintain adequate systems of management controls. Further, the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act of 1982, Public Law 97-255 (hereinafter "FMFIA"), requires each executive agency to establish internal accounting and administrative controls in accordance with standards prescribed by the Comptroller General. See IRM 1.4.2.1.2, Authorities, for more information.

The National Taxpayer Advocate is responsible for:

All TAS managers are responsible for:

The Internal Controls Managerial Assessment (ICMA) focuses on the adequacy of internal controls within each organization. Managers assess risks (i.e., the probability of a negative, unanticipated occurrence) of operations, determine if controls mitigate those risks, and certify those controls are effective. If not, managers will identify significant deficiencies found in the internal control procedures. See IRM 1.4.2.5, Annual Assurance Review Process, for more information.

All managers conduct an annual self-assessment whereby they must review the effectiveness of controls within their own area of responsibility. Managers document these self-assessments by completing individual online ICMA assessments.

Managers generally receive personalized links for the ICMA assessment from the Chief Financial Officer , but those who do not are provided “open links” by the TAS Annual Assurance Review Program Leader in Business Assessment. In addition to the questions all IRS managers are required to answer as part of the online assessment, TAS managers answer TAS-specific questions to ensure that all necessary controls are addressed.

The Statement of Assurance memorandum, which is drafted by Business Assessment for review and approval by the National Taxpayer Advocate, is a certification containing a specific statement on the status of TAS’s internal controls.

Corrective action plans for newly identified significant deficiencies should be included with the assurance memorandum (see IRM 1.4.2.4.6, Document, Report, and Correct Internal Control Weaknesses).

See the Annual Assurance Reviews site for additional information.

The following statutes and regulations are the most significant authorities that affect the management controls program at the IRS:

The purpose of issuing a manual refund is to provide the taxpayer quick access to overpayments and credits. See IRM 21.4.4.3, Why Would a Manual Refund be Needed?, for details about when a manual refund may be necessary. A manual refund is not generated through normal computer processing. It requires special preparation to allow the refund's release under unusual circumstances. This preparation includes suppressing the normal computer processes that automatically refund overpayments, to prevent the taxpayer from receiving two refunds for the same overpayment. Management is responsible for ensuring all actions are taken to avoid the issuance of a duplicate erroneous refund.

Initiators of manual refunds are required to research for potential duplicate refunds. See IRM 21.4.4.5, Preparation of Manual Refund Forms.

Only LTAs (or LTAs acting 60 days or more) may approve manual refunds.

In the event an erroneous and duplicate manual refunds occurs, LTAs will follow the procedures found in IRM 21.4.4.6.1, Monitoring Manual Refunds, and IRM 21.4.5, Erroneous Refunds.

Area Offices will retain both the quarterly Manual Refund (MR) Tracking Tool and Managers Monitoring Confirmation Logs from each office for 12 months. Area Offices are responsible for conducting Area Analyst MR Reviews and reviews of MR processing during Operational Reviews. See the TAS Manager Handbook, Manual Refund section.

Generally, TAS does not accept non-cash remittances. However, if TAS mistakenly receives non-cash remittances, refer to IRM 21.1.7.9.20, Discovered Remittance, and IRM 3.8.46, Discovered Remittance. Guidance on remittance issues change frequently and an awareness of procedures for remittance allows TAS to accurately and timely assist taxpayers. Keep in mind:

Situations in which TAS employees should accept an unprocessed original or amended return are extremely rare. If TAS receives a return that is time-sensitive (e.g., received on the due date for filing or on the last day a taxpayer can claim a refund), and it is not possible to get the original document to the appropriate campus that same day, then TAS may accept the return for processing. A hardship alone is not reason to accept an original or amended tax return. For additional guidance on receiving original returns refer to IRM 13.1.18.8.3, Taxpayers Delivering Returns to TAS and TAS Date Stamp.

See also IRM 13.1.24.6.2, Advocating for Taxpayers Seeking Offset Bypass Refunds.

IDRS accesses Master File account information using IDRS Command Codes (CCs). Through wide-area networks, IDRS accesses:

IDRS provides the means to:

Managers are responsible for ensuring employees are provided with systems access to meet business needs, that employees follow the rules pertaining to the use of systems, and timely notifying the system administrators when access is no longer needed. The following tools are available for assistance:

Managers must ensure that employees have access to IRS internal or external computer systems containing taxpayer information only necessary to complete their IRS officially assigned duties. See IRM 10.5.5.3.2, Manager UNAX Responsibilities.

Employees may complete Form 11377, Taxpayer Data Access, or Form 11377-E by close of business on the day of the access and forward the signed copy to their manager to document certain inadvertent accesses. See IRM 10.5.5.3.4, Employee and Contractor UNAX Responsibilities.

TAS managers will conduct a review to ensure employees are following the Clean Desk Policy. See IRM 1.4.6.3.18, Clean Desk Policy, for information on how to conduct a review.

Managers will conduct the reviews at least once a year.

Managers will conduct clean desk reviews on all TAS employees including those co-located in their office space.

Managers will document the completion of the review in a memo format and make the memo available to their immediate supervisor upon request. For co-located employees, the LTA (or other TAS manager) will document the completion of the review in a memo format for each employee and send the memo via secure email to the manager of the employee, when applicable.

All TAS managers must take an active role to prevent willful and attempted unauthorized access, and inspection of taxpayer information in electronic and paper form. This involves overseeing employees’ work as well as continually stressing the importance of protecting and securing taxpayer records.

Document 11500, IRS Manager’s Guide to Penalty Determinations, states managers may be subject to written reprimand, suspension, or removal for failure to adequately instruct, train, or supervise employees in their responsibilities for record and information protection.

All managers must:

Upon acceptance into the TAS program, cases are ready for assignment to advocates. If possible, assign cases to advocates no later than two workdays after the Taxpayer Advocate Received Date (TARD) for Criteria 1-4 cases and three workdays after the TARD for Criteria 5-9 cases.

Listed below are some items to consider when assigning case work:

Use the TAMIS Manager Inventory Screen to assign cases to a CA. See TAMIS User Guide for instructions on how to use the TAMIS Manager Inventory Screen.

Individual TAS offices will determine how cases are screened and assigned within their office. Managers will determine case assignment, but TAMIS actions to move cases into employee inventories may be taken by other staff. See IRM 13.1.16.15.3, Bulk Receipts, for additional information on bulk case receipts.

To balance workload across the TAS organization, TAS uses a national workload balancing (N-WLB) system. For additional information, see IRM 13.1.22, Manual Inventory Balancing Procedures and TAS Zip Code Routing and Toll-Free Resources.

Systemic Advocacy managers are responsible for making the following work assignments:

Management's challenge is to accomplish goals or objectives through the judicious use of resources. The major resource of TAS, as well as its greatest cost, is people. Employee productivity depends on management’s ability to develop people. Employees who are adequately trained and informed are motivated and better equipped to produce the best results. This can be accomplished by:

The telework program gives employees the opportunity to work at home or at other approved locations remote to the assigned POD with an approved Telework Agreement. Information on telework can be found in the Document 11678 at Article 50, Telework, the IRS Telework Portal, and IRM 6.800.2, IRS Telework Program.

Managers are responsible for:

Managers will meet with teleworking employees, except BU employees on ad hoc telework agreements at least annually, to discuss, review, and update the employee’s telework agreement, if needed. Managers will use the Telework Dashboard and a copy of each of your employee’s telework agreements to:

With employees being managed remotely and others teleworking, the day-to-day dynamics of management and leadership have changed. The practice of "management by walking around" must be expanded to stay in contact with remotely managed and teleworking employees.

Employees who work telework should be accessible during their tour of duty. Communication may be done via Teams, email, or calling the employee at the telework location. If the employee does not respond to requests for managerial contact within a reasonable amount of time, the manager should contact their Labor Relations specialist to discuss the situation.

Managers must make an extra effort to ensure that remotely managed and teleworking employees are connected to their coworkers. Taking a few simple steps can ensure that employees remain in touch.

When managing remotely, managers should:

The following resources provide additional information for working with offsite and telework employees:

Every LTA office and other TAS functions required to conduct outreach are expected to develop and deliver plans outlining the activities identified to deliver a successful outreach program. The goal is for the LTAs to be known resources on tax issues within their communities.

TAS LTAs and managers of other TAS functions will assume primary responsibility for their outreach programs, including all personal interactions such as presentations, roundtable discussions, and personal visits. See the Outreach Hub for additional information.

While the items noted on the Engagement Lifecycle that follows are not intended to be all inclusive or necessarily accomplished in order, it provides the essential leadership building blocks for success. Engaging employees through discussions should strengthen relationships, build trust, and promote collaboration. Discussions help us identify barriers and agree on changes toward improvement. The Employee Engagement Lifecycle includes:

Employee engagement is not an annual undertaking during only certain points in the year or after TAS has received an employee satisfaction survey score. Promoting engagement is a critical part of your role as a leader within TAS. TAS employees’ concerns should be addressed on an ongoing basis. TAS must be proactive with messaging and identify and address issues and concerns when presented.

Begin with a First Quarter Skills Assessment of each employee. This assessment involves a review of work products (cases or other assignments, as appropriate) and a conversation with the employee. Whatever the work product, the focus should be on whether we are meeting the customer’s needs considering existing laws. The needs may be different depending on the customer, but TAS customers expect the best possible outcome delivered with a sense of urgency. They expect TAS to protect their confidentiality. They expect TAS to advocate on their behalf to mitigate the challenges they encountered that prompted them to seek TAS assistance.

All TAS managers will conduct First Quarter Skills Assessments for their employees. This evaluative review is important to begin each rating period with an assessment of the employee’s current skill level to establish both performance and career goals for the future.

The First Quarter Skills Assessment should celebrate great work and identify areas where the employee’s skills need further development. Reviews of the employee’s work must lead to a discussion between the manager and the employee to create a plan that will help the employee continue to grow. The manager should facilitate the employee’s development by identifying training and specific learning sessions in ITM or LinkedIn Learning, or through details or special assignments which may supplement learning opportunities. This plan of action forms the basis for the CLP. A CLP is not only for the employee who wants to become the next executive; it should be the vehicle to help that employee reach their full potential with the manager’s encouragement and assistance. The First Quarter Skills Assessment sets the stage for the upcoming year’s focus on improvement, but it is not only for struggling employees – it is for ALL employees. Every employee has room to grow and improve and the TAS manager’s job is to help and support them.

After the case or project reviews, the discussion with the employee and the development of a plan of action, the manager should summarize the events and create the “First Quarter Skills Assessment”. This document will define the first of several milestones in a rating cycle for evaluative purposes. It is also the basis for the manager to work with their Lead to create a unique and personalized coaching and support plan for the employee. These steps should not be taken lightly as they form the basis for what you are doing throughout the rest of the year.

TAS must revisit and reaffirm the role of our LCAs and LIAs in employee development. Although they will continue to support advocates by responding to questions, the primary role of our LCAs and LIAs is to teach and develop our employees by regularly engaging each employee one-on-one in person to improve their skills.

LCAs and LIAs should schedule and conduct face-to-face conversations regularly, like an On-the-Job Instructor (OJI) process, but with weekly sessions instead of daily support. Non-evaluative Early Intervention Reviews (EIRs) and Advocacy Case Reviews (ACRs) should form the basis for a unique review and support strategy for each employee.

Managers will have discussions with newly hired CAs and IAs. These discussions will include the OJI assigned to the new hire. Initial conversations will:

Using non-evaluative reviews as a starting point for discussions, TAS will provide personalized support as described in the Advocacy, Communication, and Employee Engagement (ACE) model:

EIRs should generally be reserved for employees struggling with initial advocacy steps, including verbal communications with their taxpayers, research, and action plans. Conversely, if an employee has problems with decision making after the initial stages of the case, then the case review strategy might be more focused on the ACR. If the employee struggles with certain types of issues, i.e., collection cases, then reviews and support should focus on those case issues.

This personalized employee support is critical to recognizing advocacy opportunities unique to each employee, and working with them individually to change advocacy approaches and enhance skills. When adopted throughout TAS, this will lead to organizational success. Each manager should continually reassess their operation and ensure the Leads’ are focusing on employee development. While managers must evaluate performance, they are expected to teach and support as well.

Employees and Leads will jointly discover ways to support growth and success from training, mentoring, coaching, and demonstration. Follow-up is critical to ensure the revised approaches are successful. Employee development is continuous throughout the year and is not just limited to the mid-year and year-end reviews.

TAS must ensure our support of each employee hits the mark. LCAs and LIAs should check-in with managers weekly to review the support provided to each employee and any progress. This also allows for a discussion regarding the types of cases which can be assigned to the employee going forward to assist in their development.

Efficient and effective employee job performance depends on timely direction. This direction encompasses continuous involvement, instruction, and evaluation of each employee's work. Positive feedback is essential to maintain and improve strengths and by being involved, managers can develop each employee's skills to improve job performance. Managers should refer to:

Managers may not delegate evaluative reviews. However, the manager or individual acting as manager may have a technical advisor manager, LCA, LIA, or analyst review aspects of the work and provide comments to the manager.

All TAS managers will refer to Exhibit 1.4.13-3 , TAS Manager Review Schedule.

Managers are evaluated annually based on performance during the performance appraisal period of October 1 through September 30. To receive an Internal Revenue (IR) summary evaluation rating or IR rating of record, permanent managers must be in an IR payband position on the performance appraisal ending date of September 30. Performance evaluations are made in accordance with the concepts and requirements of the IRS Performance Management Program for Managers/Management Officials and Confidential Management/Program Analysts, and corporate and organizational goals as described in IRM 6.430.3, Performance Management Program for Evaluating Managers, Management Officials and Confidential Management/Program Analysts, and IRM 6.430.5, Performance Appraisals for Temporary Assignments.

Visit the Executive Compensation & Performance website for additional information and policy guidance on performance management.

See the Payband Resource Center for additional information on the IRS Payband System, including Performance Review Board Guidance.

Contact Recording is a telephone application/tool/system that records incoming telephone contacts transferred from the NTA toll-free line to the CCI lines, for possible monitoring for evaluative and non-evaluative reviews.

This system captures voice and in ten percent of calls, the system will screen capture computer activity for later retrieval and review.

Managers use the tool to perform required random reviews of incoming telephone contacts.

All calls are recorded in their entirety under Contact Recording and are normally erased within 45 days.

If the caller objects to the recording of the call Use the “Stop Recording” icon to disable the Contact Recording feature. For additional information, refer to IRM 21.1.1.8, Contact Recording.

Managers and Reviewers requiring access to contact recording use BEARS to request access for their site or the site they will be reviewing.

The Contact Recording database contains information on each manager and assistor in a site and the group to which they belong. It is important that managers submit requests to update the Contact Recording database with staffing changes as soon as they are identified. Send a secure email to the Business Application Administrator with the name, login name, SEID, Aspect Login Number, group number, and manager's name to implement the change.

When using Contact Recording for evaluative purposes, refer to Document 11678, 2022 National Agreement – Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), Article 12, Section 9B, Contact Recording and Monitored Contacts.

Key components of Section 1204 include:

Additional information concerning Section 1204 and manager certification is available at:

The first step in addressing any LR issue is to consult with a field Labor Relations Specialist, see Contact Field Operations site. Field Labor Relations Specialists serve as management representatives during the disciplinary process. As subject matter experts on the laws, rules, and regulations concerning employee conduct and performance issues, their primary job is to assist managers in taking the appropriate actions to resolve these issues to include drafting any necessary letters.

In cases where employee behavior negatively impacts individual or organizational performance, managers must take steps to address the issue. The Field Operations web site also offers guidance. In cases where employee conduct is unacceptable, managers must take steps to address the issues with the assistance of their Labor Relations Specialist. See Document 11500, IRS Manager’s Guide to Penalty Determinations.

Three rules for effective conduct counseling and documentation are to be fair, consistent, and specific. Address conduct issues immediately and document counseling sessions.

TAS’s Embedded Labor Relations Specialists are generally involved with unusual or high-profile cases and will facilitate the resolution of any different opinions between Field LR and management that may arise.

The following resources are available to assist managers with conduct matters:

In simplest terms, a grievance is an expression of dissatisfaction with a situation: generally, an agency’s action or failure to take some action desired by an employee.

See Grievances for additional information.

Calls to taxpayers will generally be made between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. in the taxpayer's time zone, unless a time outside these hours is requested by the taxpayer and falls within the employee’s tour of duty. When the taxpayer makes this request, update the "Best Time to Call" field on TAMIS and notate the taxpayer’s request in the history.

Managers of employees whose primary duty is telephone-based operations (e.g., intake advocates assigned to the CCI organization or a local office) will ensure:

CCI is primarily a telephone-based operation. The hours of operation are 6:00 AM ET to 6:00 PM PT. For tour of duty questions, see Document 11678, Article 23.

TAS's Business Assessment continuity and contingency planner will coordinate with Communications, Stakeholder Liaison and Online Services to announce office closures and other events.

Managers should remind employees to direct any questions about telework during an emergency to the manager, including situations where an office remains open and emergency situations exist that prevent an employee from arriving at work. See Document 11678, Article 36, Section 15, Office Closures and Emergencies, and IRM 6.630.4.5.5.4, Office is Open, but Employee Cannot Report.

The appropriate administrative leave OFP codes for weather and safety leave are:

For additional information on Office Closures, see:

When a CA is relocating to another TAS office, they should be placed in deferral status for two weeks (14 calendar days) prior to the departure from the old office. Recognizing case assignment is best left with the local office management team, TAS encourages managers, to the extent possible, not to assign the departing CA new cases.

During the two weeks before departure, the manager of the losing office will work with the CA to identify any cases that will remain with the losing office, and those that will remain with the CA after relocation.

The CA will focus their energy on closing cases, and for all cases being reassigned, documenting the TAMIS histories with a summary of past actions and needed future actions.

Several factors should be considered in determining which cases should remain with the CA, and which cases should remain with the losing office. Generally, special cases will remain with the losing office, absent mitigating circumstances where it might be in the taxpayer’s best interest to have the case remain with the CA. Examples of special case types are:

The best interest of the taxpayer needs to be at the forefront of the discussion when considering who will retain and work the cases. Also consider if case reassignment could delay resolution or cause undue burden or harm to the taxpayer. In many cases the CA and taxpayer have formed a partnership of trust we should not violate. Examples of situations where the case would be better left with the CA are:

Reassignment of cases should happen prior to the CA’s departure date. This will allow the departing CA time to inform the taxpayer of the reassignment, provide the name and phone number of the CA that will continue to work the taxpayer’s case, and to establish a next contact date.

In the event the manager is unable to complete the reassignment prior to the CA’s departure, the CA will provide the taxpayer with their manager’s name, phone number, and a next contact date. The CA will document the discussion with the taxpayer in the TAMIS history.

Inventory decisions should include discussions between the losing and gaining LTAs.

The losing office must notify the EDCA-ITS Inventory and National Workload Balancing analysts through their area offices. These analysts will determine, in conjunction with the DEDCA and local office, if any special inventory consideration is warranted to mitigate the impact of absorbing open cases on the offices. If the losing office is unable to absorb the inventory remaining with the office, the EDCA-ITS analysts will work with the area to identify an office to take the remaining cases. Inventory should not be reassigned outside the losing office without first consulting these analysts.

Managers will ensure the use of the standardized script for outgoing recorded phone messages for employees having contact with taxpayers as provided in IRM 13.1.6.6(5), Telephone Listings & TAS Answering Machines.

Level of Service (LOS) and historical call volume drive the scheduling methodology for CCI. CCI receives incoming English and Spanish calls in two distinct categories:

Due to the hierarchical nature of call delivery, IAs need to identify the incoming call type (application) and address calls appropriately using established guidelines and procedures.

Scheduling Methodology is determined according to the required phone staffing by IAs needed to clear a specific percentage of calls. This is based on a certain level of anticipated call volume and queue time while balancing resources to complete non-NTA work products.

Non-NTA phone work consists of locally assigned work not associated with the transfer of a call from NTA toll-free assistors through the call routing system. Non-NTA phone work typically involves taxpayer requests for TAS assistance through:

Inventory days and clean-up events are scheduled on a regular and rotational basis to help CCI sites remain current on non-NTA phone work. The manager, Department Manager, and System Analyst will routinely canvas CCI sites to determine needs and schedule events, as appropriate.

Read time is allotted for 60 minutes each week. This time is generally spent on reading and filing activities (e.g., TAS Welcome Screen articles, technical or procedural information, QRIS, IRM, and CABIC updates, work related email, and management directed topics). Read time can be scheduled once a week or in smaller increments (for example, 15 or 30 minute increments) throughout the week. Read time is typically used at the end of a shift.

Managers will schedule weekly meeting time for 30 to 60 minutes to focus on clarifying technical, procedural, and administrative topics. Meeting time is typically 30 minutes during peak scheduling and 60 minutes during planned scheduling.

Training and self-development time must be scheduled in advance and may be limited during peak scheduling.

Managers and System Analysts must determine on a half-hour basis by application staff availability. If less than the required number of IAs sign on, Manager and System Analysts must provide an explanation for the staffing shortfall. For events planned in advance, any projected deficits should be covered with CCI employees. Managers and System Analysts will discuss projected deficits with the Director CCI (or designee) to ensure appropriate telephone coverage. For unplanned everts, e.g., local inclement weather, traffic issues, the site must promptly notify the Director CCI (or designee) of the staffing shortfall.

All IAs are required to sign into the Computer Telephony Integrations Object Server (CTIOS) soft telephone system and use Idle Reason Codes. The purpose of IAs signing on CTIOS is to identify in real time the number of employees that are available for assignment to phone or inventory activities. IAs will connect to CTIOS using one of the following methods:

IAs will sign into CTIOS at the beginning of their tour of duty (TOD) including periods of overtime.

Managers must ensure their employees are signed into CTIOS and taking calls when scheduled. this reduces shrinkage, which is considered unscheduled time away from normal scheduled activities. Examples of shrinkage include:

Idle time consists of those times when employees are signed on the telephone system, but not in the Available, Ready, Wrap, or Out Call status. IAs must use a reason code when in idle status. Idle reason codes determine activity and availability. See IRM 13.1.16.8.6.1, Computer Telephony Integrations Object Server (CTIOS) Soft Telephone System. Idle Reason Codes for IAs are as follows:

Managers should ensure all employees assigned to answer calls are at their workstations taking calls as scheduled. Only the Director CCI (or designee) can approve IA exemptions from answering phone calls.

System Analysts or Department Managers will notify managers if changes are needed in scheduled staffing approved by the Director CCI (or designee). This may include moving IAs from telephones to do other work.

If a caller requests to speak to a supervisor, follow the instructions below:

Excessive calls referred for managerial assistance may be an indication of a training issue.

The following sections cover a number of topics that will assist managers with day-to-day operations.

The NTA and DNTA are responsible for:

When addressing mission essential functions, the NTA and DNTA are required to:

See the TAS Manager Handbook for a detailed discussion.