Terry Lemons, Internal Revenue Service

The IRS and Plain Writing – Challenges and Accomplishments for a Taxing Situation

Introduction

Terry Lemons, Director, Office of Communications, IRS

Co-chair of IRS Plain Writing Editorial Board

Challenges

Complex subject matter Large, varied audience

– General public – potentially 141.1 million– Tax/legal professionals – potentially 1.9 million

Large agency– Decentralized content writing, review

Multi-pronged implementation

Established Plain Writing editorial board Trained all employees Established Plain Language@IRS on

IRS.gov for ongoing updates and feedback Redesigned more than 120 notices

From this

To this

Our redesigned notices explain: –Why the notice was sent –How the taxpayer should respond –What the consequence is if the taxpayer does not respond–Where to find additional resources, publications, and services

Benefits of improvements

Improved business results:Increase compliance Reduction in the tax gapEarlier resolution of cases when taxpayers are more responsivePossible reductions in call volumes as information is communicated through notices or online

Improved customer results:Increased satisfaction, driven by

– Earlier resolution of their case– Reduced penalties and interest (inferred if cases are resolved earlier)– Decreased confusion

Taxpayer focus groups

Res

trai

nin

g F

orc

esD

rivi

ng

Fo

rces

Threatening Tone

Unclear Language

Don’t Have $

Now

Uncertain Eligibility for

Installment Plan Immune to Consequences

Can’t Respond

Electronically

Better Communication

of Payment Options

Online Payment

Portal

Online Setup of

Installment Agreement

Collaborative Tone

Easy-to-Find Online

Information

Encourage Contact with

IRS

To this

Redesigned notices point taxpayers to web page with:

–Plain language information about the notice they received

–Answers to common questions

–Links to related resources

–Tips to offer ideas to help taxpayers succeed in coming years

Building on our success

Redesigned “balance due” notices: • Compared to accounts using previous versions of

balance due notices, more taxpayers are: Paying their tax liability Contacting IRS to discuss payment options Setting up installment payments

Written for IRS, not the reader

CP 504 before:

–Important information not clearly highlighted –Confusing, unfamiliar terms: levy, lien, assets –Somewhat threatening tone as this was the last notice prior to collection action

Addressing the reader’s needs

Redesigned CP 504 notice:

–Builds on same plain language features as previous redesigned notices

–Uses familiar words

–Alerts taxpayers to other important issues this tax liability could affect if unresolved

Where we go from here

Additional notice redesign• planning to release 9 additional redesigned

notices in October 2012; 61 additional in January 2013

Continued review of new and substantially revised documents

Redesigned IRS.gov website Continued training for employees

Questions?

Terry Lemons, terry.l.lemons (at) irs[dot]gov Plain Language @ IRS on IRS.gov