The provisions of this section apply in general to all judgment cases controlled by CEASO Advisory. Judgments entered in a civil tax case may be for assessed tax liabilities or for liabilities that cannot be assessed (i.e., unassessable liabilities). Required actions are to be taken by CEASO Advisory unless otherwise noted.

This section covers the various types of authorities related to the use of this IRM.

Settlement Authority: When a case has been referred to the DOJ (whether the Tax Division or a US Attorney’s Office), DOJ has settlement authority (IRC 7122, Compromises). The IRS has no authority to settle these cases. Depending upon the nature of the action, the litigation may be handled by either a civil trial attorney in the Tax Division or an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the local U.S. Attorney's Office. Any actions taken in litigation cases must be coordinated through the Area Counsel Attorney assigned to the case unless the case is of the type that may be handled solely by the local U.S. Attorney's Office.

IRM 5.17.1, Legal Reference Guide for Revenue Officers, General Information, provides a list of the parties with an explanation of their role with suits.

Program Reports: Suits are specific to the case or case combination at hand. They vary in type and scope. CEASO Advisors are required to monitor their ongoing litigation and open judgment cases annually and more frequently if appropriate. There are several reporting tools assisting CEASO advisors with this task and they notate the status in the Integrated Collection System (ICS) history.

Program Effectiveness: Whenever litigation involving collection matters is pending, ongoing, or liabilities are reduced to judgment, CEASO advisors are responsible for coordination with stakeholders, maintaining appropriate internal case controls, and monitoring outcomes. CEASO Advisory responds to requests for assistance and queries from Counsel and DOJ.

CEASO Advisory maintains a copy of any suit documentation until the suit is closed. After case closure see Document 12990, Records and Information Management Records Control Schedules, under section Internal Revenue Service Records Control Schedule (RCS) 28, Tax Administration Collection, in:

Preserving electronically stored information is covered in:

CEASO Advisory monitors open litigation (TC 520s) using the non-Insolvency portion of the Litigation Accounts Management System (LAMS) reports. See IRM 25.3.8.4.1, Litigation Account Management System (LAMS) and IRM 25.3.7, Reconciling Non-Insolvency LAMS Reports.

eApproval metadata allows for operational and ad hoc reviews of selected inventory.

CEASO Advisory managers verify program and procedural compliance by conducting case reviews, performance reviews, and security reviews. Prescribed internal controls are detailed in IRM 1.4.53, Advisory and Property Appraisal and Liquidation Specialist Group Manager Operational Aid, which communicates responsibility to Civil Enforcement Advice and Support Operations (CEASO) managers for promoting quality case work and required internal controls. The ICS, ENTITY Case Management, Embedded Quality Review, and National Quality Review Systems provide the case access, data and reports used by managers to monitor internal controls.

The table below lists commonly used acronyms and their definitions.

For procedural guidelines on recommending, working, and responding to suits and claims for damages both for and against the United States, see:

The Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TBOR) lists rights that already existed in the tax code, putting them in simple language and grouping them into 10 fundamental rights. Employees are responsible for being familiar with and acting in accord with taxpayer rights. See IRC 7803(a)(3), Execution of Duties in Accord with Taxpayer Rights. For additional information about the TBOR, see https://www.irs.gov/taxpayer-bill-of-rights, Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TBOR).

Occasionally, the CEASO advisor will request revenue officer assistance in a judgment case. Generally, this will not occur on judgments less than the criteria in IRM 25.3.2.3(3), Criteria for Bringing Suit.

When assistance is needed, and after the CEASO advisor has exhausted all available internal sources, the CEASO advisor will issue an Other Investigation (OI) to the Field Collection group manager’s hold file for the zip code where the tasks need to be completed. Generally, the CEASO advisor will contact the receiving group manager to explain the request and specific actions needed. This may include identifying assets through public records research or any other type of asset verification deemed necessary.

When a judgment involving assessed liabilities is no longer in active status, a Bal Due case may be assigned to a revenue officer if case selection criteria are met.

Once a judgment is entered in a case where assessments were reduced to judgment, request input of Transaction Code (TC) 550, definer code 4, using 20 years from the date the judgment was entered as the new extension date. This action will extend the CSED on IDRS for 20 years and prevent a TC 608 from being generated automatically and zeroing out the tax module.

While the judgment control is active, ensure that all applicable Notices of Federal Tax Lien (NFTLs) are properly refiled protecting any and all underlying federal tax liens associated with the judgment. Determine the required refiling period and establish ICS controls to follow-up. See IRM 5.12.8.3, Refiling Period.

After DOJ advises the IRS (through counsel) that their efforts to collect the judgment have ended, and all terms of applicable settlement agreements have been met, request input of TC 521. If no information relating to the collection of the final judgment is provided by DOJ within 12 months from the judgment date, contact the Tax Division attorney or the FLU of the local U.S. Attorney's office if the case was handled by that office, to determine what, if any, actions are being taken by DOJ to collect the judgment. If DOJ has determined that there is no current collection potential and that it will, or has, closed its case, request written notification that DOJ is closing its case and jurisdiction is being transferred back to the IRS. When the case is referred to the IRS for collection, the TC 520 should be reversed to allow the case to be put back into the collection stream.

TC 521 input will return the case to the collection status it was in before the litigation and subject it to normal case selection criteria. If the case is in currently not collectible (53) status, do not reverse the status unless there is indication of collection potential.

After TC 521 input, close the ICS judgment control module and treat the case as an inactive judgment for CEASO Advisory case control purposes. See IRM 25.3.5.7, Closing Actions.

In cases where a judgment is obtained for unassessable liabilities, it is important to ensure that a certified copy of the abstract of judgment is filed in order to create a judgment lien against the judgment debtor's real property. Secure a copy of the abstract and upload it to eApproval.

The IRS may not take administrative collection action under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code against the judgment debtor to collect the judgment if there is no underlying tax assessment or federal tax lien. Instead, judicially collection actions must be taken under state law or under the Federal Debt Collection Procedures Act (FDCPA) by the Tax Division or the local U.S. Attorney's Office (i.e., Tax Division FLU or the local U.S. Attorney Office’s FLU). See also IRM 5.17.4.6.2, Effect of Judgment on Collection Statute of Limitations.

While administrative collection action may not be taken to collect a judgment for most unassessable liabilities, with the exception of offsetting tax refunds, the CEASO advisor is responsible for coordinating with either the Tax Division or the local U.S. Attorney's Office, depending upon which office is handling the case, to ensure the availability of assistance in conducting investigations using all available internal sources to determine if resources exist for satisfying the judgment.

In appropriate cases, the CEASO advisor will issue an OI (Other Investigation) to field collection to assist in locating assets to satisfy the judgment. This may include identifying assets through public records research, or any other type of asset verification deemed necessary.

If assets are located that can be seized in satisfaction of the judgment, this information should immediately be communicated to the appropriate DOJ component.

The CEASO advisor will also take the appropriate steps to ensure that any individual tax refunds of those named in the judgment are offset to the unassessed judgment.

In cases where there is collection potential, the CEASO advisor will follow-up with the DOJ at a minimum of annually to determine the status of efforts to collect the judgment. Circumstances may warrant more frequent case activity.

Cases may not be removed from active follow-up status and the NF OI opened for the judgment case may not be closed as long as the case remains with DOJ. See also IRM 25.3.5.7, Closing Actions.

See IRM 5.1.5.15, Restitution, for information relating to court orders requiring the taxpayer to pay restitution to the IRS in criminal cases.

CEASO Advisory is the primary IRS point of contact on DOJ settlements. The CEASO advisor is responsible for coordination between DOJ and any other area within the IRS providing assistance on judgment settlement cases.

If the taxpayer requests modification of a settlement or collateral agreement, DOJ alone has authority to modify settlements. So advise DOJ of the request and implement any changes DOJ determines are appropriate.

Do not input any TC 521 or close the CEASO Advisory ICS judgment control until ALL settlement terms have been met.

If an Offer in Settlement involves payment of the judgment through a deferred payment or collateral agreement, the Specialty Collection Offer in Compromise organization assists with monitoring the taxpayer's compliance with the settlement. See IRM 5.19.7.5.1, DOJ Settlements.

Payments of deferred payment judgments are monitored by Specialty Collection Offer in Compromise organization in the Monitoring Offer in Compromise (MOIC) Units:

CEASO Advisory Receipt: When CEASO Advisory receives notification from DOJ or Counsel of an accepted offer that involves a deferred payment or collateral agreement, the CEASO advisor:

Photocopy Documents and Send to MOIC:

CEASO Advisory Maintenance Actions:

CEASO Advisory Closing Procedures:

See IRM 5.19.7.5.1.1, Processing Accepted DOJ Settlements.

MOIC will send the CEASO advisor assigned a copy for the file and for forwarding to DOJ:

When the taxpayer fails to comply with the terms of the agreement, MOIC sends copies of the letters sent to the taxpayer with the Form 6314 or Form 6313 to the CEASO advisor along with a request that DOJ be advised of the default (see IRM 25.3.5.6.1(2) ).

When the terms of the settlement agreement have been fulfilled, MOIC will take actions to close out the case, including but not limited to:

The Records Control Schedule (RSC) for Collection is located in Document 12990, Records and Information Management Records Control Schedules, Schedule 28. The RSC provides mandatory instructions for retaining and disposing of records no longer needed for current business.

Active judgment files should be retained by CEASO Advisory until they become inactive. See Document 12990, Records and Information Management Records Control Schedules, Schedule 28, Item 53(a). The ICS judgment control module(s) remain(s) open, as long as a judgment remains active.

Once the judgment becomes inactive, the related ICS judgment control is closed. Inactive judgment files should be retired to the Federal Records Center three years after being placed in inactive judgment files. For information on retiring records to the Federal Records Center, see Document 12990, Records and Information Management Records Control Schedules, Schedule 28, Item 53(b).

In cases where the judgment has been fully satisfied, the judgment file should be destroyed two years after the judgment is satisfied. See Document 12990, Records and Information Management Records Control Schedules, Schedule 28, Item 53(c), Satisfied Judgment Files.