The program, established under federal law, has reported positive revenue outcomes and success helping consumers resolve their accounts.
10/7/2021 9:30
The Internal Revenue Service has awarded new contracts to three private-sector collection agencies for collection of overdue tax debts beginning Sept. 23.
The contracts include CBE Group Inc., Coast Professional Inc. and Conserve, according to a news release from the IRS.
Last year, the IRS continued to see increased collections under the private debt collection program and reported private collection agencies have helped nearly 200,000 taxpayers who set up a payment plan or paid their balance in full, ACA International previously reported.
The IRS established the Private Debt Collection program in 2016, as authorized under federal law, and contracted with several agencies to collect certain unpaid tax debts on the government’s behalf. Collections started in 2017.
According to the 2020 progress report from the IRS, “Putting Taxpayers First” revenue continued to exceed costs of the program since 2018. The IRS assigned more than 2.4 million cases to private collection agencies, totaling more than $22.5 billion in balances due, according to the report. The program, which began in 2017, has yielded more than $301.7 million in revenue.
The IRS notifies taxpayers before transferring their account to a private collection agency (PCA) and provide the agency’s contact information and a copy of Publication 4518, What You Can Expect When the IRS Assigns Your Account to a Private Collection Agency.
Each PCA contracted with the IRS also sends a letter to taxpayers and their representatives confirming the account transfer. The IRS and its PCA contractors also provide information that will help taxpayers identify the tax amount owed and assure taxpayers that future collection agency calls they may receive are legitimate.
The PCA contractors discuss payment options and may set up payment agreements with taxpayers, but any tax payment must be made directly to the IRS.
A provision in the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act?signed into law by President Obama in December 2015?mandates that the IRS use private collection agencies to collect “inactive tax receivables,” or tax debt the IRS hasn’t collected in the past due to lack of time or resources, ACA previously reported.
To learn more about the private debt collection program, visit the IRS Private Debt Collection page.