"Most voters would rather have their purse or wallet stolen than be audited by the IRS."
[Frank Luntz]

Tax examination procedures are listed in the Internal Revenue Manual, Part 4, which can be found at

Another excellent source for information on Administrative Hearings and taxes in general is the following book:

Chapter 4 of the above book talks in detail about audits and administrative appeals.  The book is part of the "In a Nutshell" Series and is compact, brief, inexpensive ($23 at most legal bookstores), and very concise.  Highly recommended.

We also publish a book called the Nontaxpayer's Audit Defense Manual, which has detailed forms, procedures, and evidence useful in preparing for and attending an IRS audit.  You can learn more about this manual at:

Tax examinations are an extremely important administrative element in any tax litigation. The federal courts, and in particular the U.S. Tax Court, have ruled that executive agencies have an obligation to handle tax issues administratively at the lowest level possible in order to avoid clogging the courts with litigation and to ensure justice can be effected with minimal effort and expense. According to the Administrative Procedures Act, tax matters must be handled in good faith, which means that all prima facie evidence against a taxpayer must be presented to him and the laws which are being violated must be specifically identified. The accused must have the ability to know in advance who the witnesses are who are testifying against them. They must be notified when third parties are contacted for interviews or depositions so the accused can appear at the deposition as well. They must have the ability to examine any prima facie evidence that will be used against them and cross-examine witnesses. These requirements are all part of the due process protections guaranteed by the 5th and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Unfortunately, the IRS very commonly violates our constitutionally-guaranteed due process rights, mainly because of ignorance of taxpayers about their rights and their desire to avoid litigation and expense by just caving in and "paying the ransom" to get their "freedom" back.

The tax examination meeting is the first administrative contact most accused taxpayers have with the IRS following receipt of a deficiency notice.  Everything that is said and done and presented at the tax examination meeting becomes part of the official IRS "administrative record" for the accused. It is quite common for the following devious tactics to occur on the part of the IRS:

1. Not notify accused Americans of the tax examination meeting.
2. Not allow the Citizen to call and make his own appointment prior to the meeting to ask questions.  Instead, telling them that they would have to walk in and take a number.  This tactic is designed to make it inconvenient for Americans to satisfy the due process requirement and burden of proof obligation of the IRS found in 5 U.S.C. §556(d).
3. Send the written notification of the tax examination meeting to the wrong address and not request a return receipt to verify the notification.
4. Not call the Citizen to confirm the examination.
5. Not identify the issues that will be discussed at the examination.
6. Not notify the accused Citizen of their 5th Amendment right to not incriminate themself by not notifying the IRS of the existence of any records and not bringing such records to the meeting.
7. Refuse to refer to the case for technical advice when requested.
8. Tell parties who have a friend along that is there to represent them that they aren't allowed to do so. This is especially true if the representative is knowledgeable and experienced in the law, but is not an attorney or CPA. Treasury Circular 230 and 26 CFR § 601.502 both allow spouses to represent each other.  In addition, 5 U.S.C. §500(d) indicates that the IRS may not interfere with your choice of representative, so you can safely bring anyone to represent you, whether or not they are enrolled agents, attorneys, CPA's, etc.
9. Come unprepared to the meeting without answering the written questions that we advise you to send them at least one month prior to the meeting.
10. Assign someone who is not authorized or not qualified to answer your questions and will play “dumb”.  If they do this, insist at the meeting on someone who is knowledgeable and empowered to influence the situation, which is usually someone at the Group Leader level or higher.
11. When you ask for some particular information, the agent will go back to their desk and then come back and say they can't find it.  For such an event, tell them this is your meeting and you are prepared to wait all day for the information if need be but that you won't leave until you get it.  You can prevent this kind of procrastination by giving them a list of things to bring to the examination meeting with your list of questions at least one month before the meeting and telling them in writing via certified mail to come prepared with all the necessary information.
12. Tell any witnesses you bring along to the meeting that they must identify their name, address, and social security number.  If they don’t actively participate in the meeting and answer questions on your behalf, then they aren’t required to tell the IRS anything.
13. If you scheduled for a court reporter to appear with you, then they commonly will call off the meeting either after everyone appears, or shortly before in order to inconvenience you and force you to pay the reporter for lost or wasted time.
14. Tell you that you can’t tape record your meeting, even though the law allows this if you have notified them in advance at least ten days.

If you want someone to represent you at the meeting, you will need to fill out and provide an IRS Form 2848 "Power Of Attorney" authorizing them to do so and present it at the start of the meeting, as well as submit it into the record of your stenographer.

The foundation of what gets discussed at the meeting is the IRS' own files on you, including their IMF, or Individual Master File. All of the information they have about you is available under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Privacy Act through a simple written, registered mail request. Therefore, before you show up at the examination meeting, you should ensure that you request a copy of your IMF and all the evidence they have on you using an FOIA request. Section 9.15.5 contains an FOIA request for your IMF that you can use as a sample. Refer to section 3.4.8 for information about your IMF.  You can use our  Master File (MF) Decoder program to decode your IMF after the IRS responds to your FOIA request.  It is available for downloading at:

GETTING A DUE PROCESS HEARING:

Getting a due process hearing is very difficult!  Many people have been reading this and other tax honesty books and know the secrets to success.  Most sources advocate administrative activism on the part of the Citizen and the frequent use of your administrative due process rights to establish evidence and fact of nonliability.  This means a lot of people have to go into the IRS office like bulldogs and latch on for their pound of flesh until the IRS gets off their back and eliminates the outstanding balance or collection activity.  This also means there will likely be a line of people ahead of you demanding due process hearings, which are time consuming and delay you getting a hearing.  Combine that with IRS Agents who know they don’t have a leg to stand on against the techniques we suggest and you end up with the vast majority of IRS agents and offices that don’t want Citizens getting due process hearings!  In earlier days, when the truth was less widely known, it was easy to call the local IRS office and make an appointment for the due process meeting well in advance.  Now, they tell you that appointments are only on a walk-in, first come first served basis.  The excuse they use is that they are overworked and have a lot of walk-ins.  This is a smokescreen for their real reasons, which is that they don’t want:

1. To discuss the real basis for your liability or assessment.
2. To look at the statutes or implementing regulations.  After they have learned the truth that the law says you aren’t liable, then they have lost their excuse to claim “plausible deniability”, as we pointed out earlier in section 2.4.2.  At that point, they become targets for extortion under the color of office, which is the last thing they want.  This is why even if they know the facts, they will play ignorant at your meeting most of the time.  That is why you should send a list of questions in advance and tell them to have a person there who can give authoritative answers to the questions.
3. To give you a chance to bring along witnesses, photographers, or legal or expert counsel.  It’s very expensive to bring along such persons and have them sit around waiting if you can’t make an appointment.  This makes your visit punitively expensive, which is what the IRS wants but will never admit to you.  Freedom has a price, and the IRS wants to make it as costly and inconvenient as they can!  They do this in spite of the fact that the last word in their name is “Service”, and their mission statement says they are there to serve the needs of taxpayers at all times.  However, taxpayers don’t need much help because they can do their own returns.  The real "high maintenance" people who need most of the help and the people who they don’t want to serve are those who are sticking up for their rights to not pay tax!

As a result of the above considerations, when you call you should be friendly and flexible.  Tell them that you are confused about the law and your liability and would like an opportunity to meet to discuss your specific situation with an agent.  If you owe tax, tell them that you would be happy to pay the tax after you get your due process hearing and are convinced with determination documents of your liability, and that you won’t pay it until you get it.

BEFORE THE EXAMINATION OR DUE PROCESS HEARING:

At least one month before the tax examination, we recommend sending the IRS the Test for Federal Tax Professionals appearing in section 9.2.   Attach a letter to the Test for Tax Professionals similar to that in section 9.11.1 notifying the IRS that you intend to:

1. Tape the hearing.  You must notify the examiner at least 10 days in advance of the intent to tape the hearing as per Internal Revenue Manual, [4.10] 3.2.5  (05-14-1999).

   WARNING: If you don’t observe the 10 day notice requirement, you will not be able to record the meeting and will lose valuable evidence that could mean the difference between an acquittal and a conviction!  Even if the agent lets you tape record the meeting without advance notice, you will not be able to use your recording as evidence in court, so make sure you give proper notice!

2. Bring witnesses.
3. Bring legal counsel or a representative.
4. Bring a court reporter.

It extremely common for the IRS agent you are interfacing with to try to call your bluff before the meeting after you notify him you will have a court reporter or recorder.  He will try to scare you out of bringing court reporters, counsel, or witnesses in order to make his job easier.  Below is an actual correspondence received by one of our readers from the IRS along these lines:

"Your hearing request makes several assertions that I must here address:

  As a matter of national policy, Appeals no longer allows recording or stenography at due process hearings.  Should you insist on recordation or stenography, I will make my determination in your case based on your written submissions and with no further opportunity for a hearing.

The courts have consistently ruled that there is no requirement for the production of documents at these hearings.  Any such request should be directed to the IRS disclosure officer, at...

I will allow you to bring one observer...may not participate unless authorized...in addition two authorized reps. ...”

The above correspondence is lacking and completely beyond the scope of authority of the agent.  26 U.S.C. §7521(a)(1) REQUIRES that tape recording be allowed by the IRS at any “taxpayer” interview and it is a violation of this law for anyone to suggest otherwise.  Even the U.S. Tax Court ruled on July 8, 2003 in the case of Curtis B. Keene v. C.I.R., 121 T.C. 2 (2003), that the IRS must permit tape recording of interviews.  Any demand an IRS or government employee agent makes must be authorized by law and if he doesn’t cite a specific statute and implementing legislative regulation as his authority, then you can safely assume he is bluffing.  Did you notice above that the agent did not cite any lawful authority?  Sometimes, agents will try to fool you by citing a law that doesn’t even apply to you as their authority if they think you know a little bit about the law.  At this point, it becomes important to be able to distinguish what has the “force of law” and what doesn’t.  We have a listing of those authorities that have the force of law for your benefit on our website at the following address:

Based on the above article on our website, you can safely conclude that:

• The agent is not held accountable for his statements and they confer no rights upon you.
• He cannot cite as his authority any procedural regulation found in 26 CFR Part 601  because these are only procedural regulations that are not published in the Federal register and therefore not only don’t apply to the public, but the federal courts have ruled the IRS doesn’t even have to follow them.
• He cannot cite as his authority any part of the Internal Revenue Manual (IRM).  The IRM is not published in the Federal Register and therefore does impact the public at large.
• Any authority he does cite must be published in the Federal Register in order to be applicable to you and you should demand from him the Federal Register section that references the authority he is citing.
• If his delegation order, which is the document that gives him his lawful authority, does not give him the authority to make the determination about the recording, then he can’t make the claim and is bluffing.  You should demand a copy of his delegation order or tell him you won’t listen to anything he says.

Don’t worry about gathering together any books or records for the examination.  There is no requirement for you to keep any books or records in complying with Internal Revenue Code Subtitles A and C income taxes, since these taxes are voluntary for "nontaxpayers", which hopefully includes you.  Refer to section 5.6.1 of the Great IRS Hoax book for the requirements on keeping records.

Remember that these IRS agents are like most lawyers:  greedy sharks who will do anything for money, including lie and/or deceive.  Knowledge is power and freedom is not a spectator sport.  Take lots of time to do your homework by carefully studying this book and the law yourself.  Question everything and everyone, including this book.  Don’t trust or rely on anyone, including a so-called “professional” or tax attorney, to do your homework for you, because you will be mercilessly exploited and victimized if you do.

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge [ignorance].” 
[Hosea 4:6, Bible, NKJV]

“The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, and his tongue talks of justice.  The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.  The wicked watches the righteous, and seeks to slay him.  The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.  Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.” 
[Prov. 37:30-34, Bible, NKJV]

"My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; yes, if you cry out for discernment, understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.  For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk uprightly; he guards the paths of justice, and preserves the way of His saints.  Then you will understand righteousness and justice, equity and every good path." 
[Prov. 2:1-9, Bible, NKJV]

Coming educated and prepared to the meeting or examination will allow you to dominate and control the meeting and intimidate the IRS to the point where they won’t try to pull any bull-crap on you.  Knowing the law will make you the master and the IRS agent(s) you are meeting with the servant, and that is what you want.  If you show the slightest bit of weakness or ignorance or hesitation, we guarantee they, and possibly your own legal counsel, will try to exploit you.  Knowing the tax law will also give you a BIG advantage over most IRS agents, because most of them are only taught procedures and never learn or study the law for themselves.  Your assigned examination agent will be speechless in response to most of your legal questions, which is exactly what you want to get on tape  with witnesses present.  If they can’t demonstrate their authority using the law and they have the burden of proof as the moving party, then it will be fairly simple to defeat them if the case ever goes to court.  The more you know, the less likely they are to pick a fight with you in court, because they choose their battles very carefully to maximize their take.  They won’t try to bully you if they know they can’t deceive you or intimidate you.  Knowing and effectively communicating the truth really will set you free from their harassment!

Before the meeting, you should ensure that you gather the following documents and evidence for use at the meeting:

1. A copy of IRS Publication 1, which is entitled “Your Rights as a Taxpayer”.  This publication will be helpful in establishing what you can expect from the IRS agent.
2. A copy of your IMF obtained through a the Freedom of Information Act request served on the IRS for the tax years in question.  You can obtain copies of your IMF using the request found in section 3.15.5.
3. Printed copy of the Internal Revenue Code, available from RIA (http://ria.thomson.com/) at 800-432-9026 or http://ria.thomson.com/.
4. An electronic copy of our Tax Deposition Questions at the web address below:

   http://famguardian.org/TaxFreedom/Forms/Discovery/Deposition/Deposition.htm

   Download each section as one Acrobat file and install Acrobat and the file on your laptop computer.  Then use the computer to present the evidence and questions as you interview the IRS agent at the hearing.  A computer projection panel works well for this.

5. As a defensive measure, if the IRS is calling the meeting or audit to question the accuracy of a return, then write up a notarized affidavit in advance of the hearing stating under penalty of perjury that the content of the return is accurate.  You can use this at the hearing to give to the IRS auditor so that he may no longer question anything on your return.  The W-2’s, 1099’s, bank statements, and other financial documents he might ordinarily want to ask you for during the hearing become irrelevant if you provide an affidavit as evidence because these forms of proof are hearsay evidence since not signed or authenticated, while your affidavit is authenticated.  If the agent wants to question anything on the return, he must then provide evidence of at least an equal authority or quality to the affidavit in order to obligate you to offer proof to contradict his assertion of incorrectness.  Since most agents aren't authorized to sign such affidavits, he won't know what to do.

If you are going to a Collection Due Process (CDP) Hearing, we have a sample transcript from an actual CDP hearing held by an experienced IRS agent that will be very helpful to read so you know how the meeting protocol will be handled.  Refer to item 9.3 under the “EVIDENCE” section (select in the upper left corner) in the the Sovereignty Forms and Instructions Online of our website at:

Or go directly to the transcript at:

Its also essential that you carefully read and try your best to understand the IRS Office of Chief Counsel Collection Due Process Guidelines document available on our website at:

DURING THE EXAMINATION OR DUE PROCESS HEARING:

During the meeting, if the IRS is the moving party asserting that you have a liability, always remember that THEY are the party who has the burden of proof, and this requirement comes right out of the code:

TITLE 5 - GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES

PART I - THE AGENCIES GENERALLY

CHAPTER 5 - ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

SUBCHAPTER II - ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

Sec. 556. Hearings; presiding employees; powers and duties; burden of proof; evidence; record as basis of decision

(d) Except as otherwise provided by statute, the proponent of a rule or order has the burden of proof. Any oral or documentary evidence may be received, but the agency as a matter of policy shall provide for the exclusion of irrelevant, immaterial, or unduly repetitious evidence. A sanction may not be imposed or rule or order issued except on consideration of the whole record or those parts thereof cited by a party and supported by and in accordance with the reliable, probative, and substantial evidence.The agency may, to the extent consistent with the interests of justice and the policy of the underlying statutes administered by the agency, consider a violation of section 557(d) of this title sufficient grounds for a decision adverse to a party who has knowingly committed such violation or knowingly caused such violation to occur. A party is entitled to present his case or defense by oral or documentary evidence, to submit rebuttal evidence, and to conduct such cross-examination as may be required for a full and true disclosure of the facts. In rule making or determining claims for money or benefits or applications for initial licenses an agency may, when a party will not be prejudiced thereby, adopt procedures for the submission of all or part of the evidence in written form.

Bring two copies of this code section and make sure the agent has one of them.  Also bring:

• At least one person who can act as your witness, and who is not a relative.  A friend or fellow tax researcher can be helpful in this regard.  That way, if you aren’t able to tape record or transcribe the meeting, you can still prepare an affidavit of the proceedings and have your witness sign it so that you have some evidence of what was said.
• A copy of IRS Publication 1, the Your Rights as a Taxpayer.
• Your IMF Specific file obtained through the Privacy Act and Freedom of Information Act request you did before the hearing.  You are looking for an MFR01 code on that form, which says that you aren't required to file returns.
• TWO tape recorders, so you can give one copy of the tapes to the agent you are meeting with.
• A high resolution digital camera to take pictures of all the participants and any documents they present that they won't let you photocopy.
• Printed copy of the Internal Revenue Code, available from Freedom Books at http://www.paynoincometax.com for $38.  This version is the best because they provide it with tabbed sections that are color-coded to make it very useful in the meeting.  They also hilite the important sections.  You can also order the book directly from the publisher, Research Institute of America at 800-432-9026 or http://ria.thomson.com/.

Your job at the examination meeting is to do the following in descending order of importance:

• Gather as much evidence as you can to show that they have no basis for assessing a liability, penalty, or interest.
• Successfully refute any proof they offer using mainly the 26 Code of Federal Regulations.
• Challenge and clarify all presumptions they are making about key words and definitions, such as “gross income”, “trade or business”, “employee”, “income”, “United States”, “State”, etc.  Don’t let them use a word without first defining or clarifying what it means direct from the law.
• Challenge their “presumption” that you are a “taxpayer” and instead object every time they use that word.  Use the word “nontaxpayer” to describe yourself at the meeting and force them to show you why they think you are a “taxpayer”.

Most of the time, the focus of the meeting all boils down to questioning jurisdiction and authority.

“The law requires PROOF OF JURISDICTION to appear on the Record of the administrative agency and all administrative proceedings.”
[Hagans v. Lavine, 415 U.S. 533 (1974)]

"The canon of construction which teaches that legislation of Congress, unless a contrary intent appears, is meant to apply only within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States, Blackmer v. United States, supra, at 437, is a valid approach whereby unexpressed congressional intent may be ascertained. It is based on the assumption that Congress is primarily concerned with domestic conditions." 
[Foley Brothers, Inc. v. Filardo, 336 U.S. 281 (1948)]

The IRS simply has no jurisdiction or authority over you and the absence of implementing regulations authorizing them to assess either a liability or a penalty or institute any kind of collection activity or distraint simply don’t exist, and we know of no cases where the IRS has been able to prove the contrary.  Don’t argue about the amount you owe at any meeting.  Instead, argue the existence of the underlying liability and the implementing regulations giving the IRS authority and jurisdiction to assess or collect what they say you are liable for, regardless of the amount.

If the agent gives you a hard time about calling the meeting at any point, read to him 26 U.S.C. Section 6110, which says that all "taxpayers" have a RIGHT to come to the local IRS offices and view DETERMINATION DOCUMENTS AND SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS regarding any DETERMINATIONS the IRS has made concerning themselves.  Since the IRS considers you a "taxpayer", you have a RIGHT to see these documents, even if you aren’t one.  The IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS ARE DETERMINATION DOCUMENTS AS THEY STATE SPECIFICALLY WHETHER A PARTICULAR STATUTE APPLIES TO YOU, INCLUDING THE ONE THEY USED TO DETERMINE YOU ARE A "TAXPAYER".  Here is an excerpt from that section:

TITLE 26 - INTERNAL REVENUE CODE

Subtitle F - Procedure and Administration

CHAPTER 61 - INFORMATION AND RETURNS

Subchapter B - Miscellaneous Provisions

Sec. 6110. Public inspection of written determinations

(a) General rule

Except as otherwise provided in this section, the text of any written determination and any background file document relating to such written determination shall be open to public inspection at such place as the Secretary may by regulations prescribe.

DEMAND TO SEE THESE DETERMINATION DOCUMENTS!!  DO NOT TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER!  YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO SEE THEM!    Make sure they know that if they don't have proof of your liability and their authority to enforce the tax they say you owe, then they should waive your penalties and taxes owed if any!

Start off the meeting with a statement similar to that appearing below and get it on tape:

Hello, the date is _______________________(date)

and the time is ____________(time)

and my name is _____________________(fullname).

I requested and called this meeting today because I am confused about my tax obligations and my tax liability and would like to get my questions answered, which is my right under IRS Publication 1, which describes my rights.  We are here in the Internal Revenue Office located at _____________________________(address) today.

In attendance at this meeting today are the following IRS personnel ____________________(name the full legal name and agent number of each agent).

Also here as witnesses are ______________________(list full names of witnesses).

The purpose of this meeting is:

1.  To establish the code sections in the Internal Revenue Code and the corresponding implementing regulations that make me individually liable for the taxes which the IRS claims I owe

2.  To establish the code sections in the Internal Revenue Code and implementing regulations that authorize the IRS to either assess me with a tax liability, collect any tax they say I am liable for, or to assess me with penalties for noncompliance.

3.  To request the production of any and all evidence in possession of the IRS substantiating a liability for any taxes or penalties imputed to me.

4.  To offer the IRS an opportunity to satisfy the burden of proof under the Administrative Procedures Act, 5 U.S.C. Section 556 in establishing, as the moving party, the legal jurisdiction and authority for claiming that I have a liability for a tax, a liability to keep records, or a liability to pay penalties associated with noncompliance.  Absent any proof offered or a non-response during this meeting, this proceeding shall establish on the record that there are no statutes or regulations making me liable for the taxes or penalties the IRS claimed that I was liable for prior to the start of this meeting.

Before we begin, I’d like to examine the Delegation orders and pocket commissions of each and every IRS officer in this room to ensure that all of you have authority to be here, accept evidence and testimony, and otherwise enforce the Internal Revenue Laws.  At this time I therefore demand to see each of your Delegation Orders and pocket commissions, which I would briefly like to photocopy as evidence and then read.  I also need to see all delegation orders, from the Secretary on down to you, that prove that every person in the chain had the authority to delegate those functions which are delegated to you as indicated in your D.O.

This will set the tone of the meeting and keep the IRS focused on what is important and keep them from trying to take control of the meeting and keep you from getting your questions answered.  One of the things you are likely to hear at this point from the agent is:  "Look, we're not here to discuss the law." 

In response to this kind of frivolity, ask: "Well then are we here to discuss legal matters?"  His answer will usually be "Yes".  At that point, just respond with: "Well, then, I guess we're here to discuss the law by your own admission!"  This will drive them crazy. If they still insist on avoiding the law, remind them that our very own Congress describes those who avoid discussing the law or acknowledging any Constitutional or statutory limitations upon their authority are Communists:

TITLE 50 > CHAPTER 23 > SUBCHAPTER IV > Sec. 841.

Sec. 841. - Findings and declarations of fact

The Congress finds and declares that the Communist Party of the United States, although purportedly a political party, is in fact an instrumentality of a conspiracy to overthrow the Government of the United States. It constitutes an authoritarian dictatorship within a republic, demanding for itself the rights and privileges accorded to political parties, but denying to all others the liberties guaranteed by the Constitution. Unlike political parties, which evolve their policies and programs through public means, by the reconciliation of a wide variety of individual views, and submit those policies and programs to the electorate at large for approval or disapproval, the policies and programs of the Communist Party are secretly prescribed for it by the foreign leaders of the world Communist movement. Its members have no part in determining its goals, and are not permitted to voice dissent to party objectives. Unlike members of political parties, members of the Communist Party are recruited for indoctrination with respect to its objectives and methods, and are organized, instructed, and disciplined to carry into action slavishly the assignments given them by their hierarchical chieftains. Unlike political parties, the Communist Party acknowledges no constitutional or statutory limitations upon its conduct or upon that of its members. The Communist Party is relatively small numerically, and gives scant indication of capacity ever to attain its ends by lawful political means. The peril inherent in its operation arises not from its numbers, but from its failure to acknowledge any limitation as to the nature of its activities, and its dedication to the proposition that the present constitutional Government of the United States ultimately must be brought to ruin by any available means, including resort to force and violence [or using income taxes]. Holding that doctrine, its role as the agency of a hostile foreign power [the Federal Reserve and the American Bar Association (ABA)] renders its existence a clear present and continuing danger to the security of the United States. It is the means whereby individuals are seduced into the service of the world Communist movement, trained to do its bidding, and directed and controlled in the conspiratorial performance of their revolutionary services. Therefore, the Communist Party should be outlawed

Here are some things to consider about the Tax Examination meeting:

1.   Do your homework prior to the meeting.  Study the law diligently and perhaps even print out an extra copy of this book at Kinkos and provide a copy to the agent at the examination when you first meet him.  Tell him that it justifies your beliefs of why you don't owe income taxes and that you have researched the laws and facts described in it for yourself and are thoroughly convinced of their validity.  This will deflect a "willful failure to file" prosecution.

2.   At the tax examination, we recommend bringing at least one witness (to operate the camera) and TWO tape and/or video recorders and taping the whole things.  Notify the examiner in advance that you will be “taping” the meeting but not that you will be “video taping” it.  It is perfectly within your rights to do this with advanced notice as per Internal Revenue Manual, [4.2] 3.2.5  (05-14-1999).  This will put the agent on notice that they will be held accountable for everything they say and do and that the recording will be used as evidence against them at trial.  You should strictly follow the procedures for doing tape recordings in accordance with the Internal Revenue Manual, [4.10] 3.2.5  (05-14-1999), available at:  http://www.irs.gov/irm/part4/ch09s04.html.  

WARNING:  If you don’t do this, your evidence may not be admissible in a court of law later on if you decide to litigate, and this may severely hamper your case!

3.  Start off the meeting by asking the agent by what legal authority he is calling the meeting or audit.  The only authority he will be able to cite is 26 U.S.C. §7601, which states:

TITLE 26 > Subtitle F > CHAPTER 78 > Subchapter A > Sec. 7601.

Sec. 7601. - Canvass of districts for taxable persons and objects

(a) General rule

The Secretary shall, to the extent he deems it practicable, cause officers or employees of the Treasury Department to proceed, from time to time, through each internal revenue district and inquire after and concerning all persons therein who may be liable to pay any internal revenue tax, and all persons owning or having the care and management of any objects with respect to which any tax is imposed.

After he answers the question, you can pull out your copy of the Internal Revenue Code and make sure you show him section 7601.  Emphasize that the ONLY thing he is authorized to look for are “persons..who may be liable to pay any internal revenue tax”.

4.   Next, ask the agent what they think the word “service” means in their name and who is being served.  This is a no win question for them because if they say the government, then they look selfish, but if they say Americans or "taxpayers", then they have admitted that they have to cooperate with you and help you.  This will establish you as the master and them as the servant.

5.   Next ask what type of tax the agent thinks you owe.  If he says “income tax”, ask him to clarify the sections of the Internal Revenue Code that imposes the tax he is referring to.  In most cases, this will be Section 1 of the code.  This is important, because it allows you to establish the regulation number you are looking for that enforces the tax.  All section 1 income taxes have implementing regulations in Part 1 of Title 26 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).  These regulations start with 26 CFR 1.XXXX, where XXXX is the enforcement statute for the particular tax.

6.  Next, ask him for the statute that makes you liable for the tax.  You can’t be held responsible to pay unless the code uses the word “liable”.  Since there is not code section under Subtitle A of the Internal Revenue Code that makes people “liable”, he probably won’t be able to answer this question.  He may, however, point to 26 U.S.C. §6151 and the phrase “shall pay”.  This section, however, only makes you responsible to pay the tax that appears on the “return” and the only person who can prepare such a return is you.  He has no authority to prepare a return for you, which is called a Substitute For Return (SFR), if you are a biological person.  This was talked about in:
Why the Government Can’t Lawfully Assess Human Beings With an Income Tax Liability Without Their Consent, Form #05.011
http://sedm.org/Forms/FormIndex.htm.

7.  After you get an answer to the above question, ask the agent whether he estimated your tax or whether he has evidence to prove your liability.  Then after you get an answer, point out that he does NOT have the authority to do an assessment as we describe in detail above.  Ask him to show you the statute and the implementing regulation that authorizes him to assess you with a liability:

“…neither the statute nor the regulations are complete without the other, and only together do they have any force.  In effect, therefore, the construction of one necessarily involves the construction of the other.”
[United States v. Mersky, 361 U.S. 431, 4 L.Ed. 2d 423, 80 S.Ct. 459 (1960)]

8.  During the meeting focus on three things:  1.  What tax do they claim you are liable for (the statute)?;  2.  The statutes and implementing regulations that together create the liability for your case; 3.  The statutes and implementing regulations that together allow the agent to enforce the liability specifically against you.  For each of these three elements, the agent has the burden of proof to cite a statute AND an implementing or enforcing regulation written by the Treasury and not the IRS.  Statutes without implementing regulations do not have the force of law against the general public.  This requirement results from the fact that 44 U.S.C. §1505(a) requires that all laws that will have “generally applicability and legal effect” upon the public at large to have implementing regulations published in the Federal Register, and this is especially true for all laws that impose penalties.  Below is a definition of “general applicability and legal effect” from 1 CFR §1.1:

“Document having general applicability and legal effect means any document issued under proper authority prescribing a penalty or course of conduct, conferring a right, privilege, authority, or immunity, or imposing an obligation, and relevant or applicable to the general public, members of a class, or persons in a locality, as distinguished from named individuals or organizations;”

Regulations relating only to officers, employees or agents of the government need not be published in the Federal Register, according to 44 U.S.C. §1505(a).  Typically, agents will cite you a statute for liability or penalties but cannot give you the implementing regulation, because there aren’t any, and this definitely does not satisfy the burden of proof on the agent!  The reason there aren't any implementing regulations is because as we say throughout this book, Subtitle A income taxes ONLY apply to "public officers" of the United States government, and 44 U.S.C. §1505(a) says that implementing regulations aren't required for these people.  The implementing regulation must be part of the Internal Revenue Code and must be associated with the statute where the tax is imposed.  For Subtitle A income taxes, the tax imposed will be in Section 1 of the Internal Revenue Code, so the implementing regulation must be in Part 1 of the regulations and have the form "26 CFR § 1.XXXX", where “XXXX” is the section number of the code associated with the liability or enforcement statute and “1” is the Part of the I.R.C.  In this case, Section 1 imposing the tax is in Part 1 of the Internal Revenue Code, which is why it is 1.XXXX.  There are NO enforcement statutes for any of the taxes in subtitles A through C, so the agent won’t be able to produce them and your job is to make sure you have evidence of that.  Bring a copy of the Internal Revenue Code with you, which you can obtain from Freedom Books at http://www.paynoincometax.com.  Also, bring a copy of the Parallel Table of Authorities with you, which you can obtain from:

The affect of failure to publish implementing regulations authorizing specific enforcement actions is identified in 26 CFR §601.702(a)(2)(ii), and it indicates that the rights of no member of the public at large may be adversely affected by the actions of an agency:

26 CFR §601.702 Publication and public inspection

(ii) Effect of failure to publish.  Except to the extent that a person has actual and timely notice of the terms of any matter referred to in subparagraph (1) of this paragraph which is required to be published in the Federal Register, such person is not required in any manner to resort to, or be adversely affected by, such matter if it is not so published or is not incorporated by reference therein pursuant to subdivision (i) of this subparagraph.  Thus, for example, any such matter which imposes an obligation and which is not so published or incorporated by reference will not adversely change or affect a person's rights.

We have included a table of laws below that allow you to organize the information you are asking for during your meeting or examination with the IRS.  The information you need answers for are found inside the thick black box and have a place to write the answers (the regulation number).  Use this table in tandem with your copy of the Internal Revenue Code that you bring along to the meeting and you will blow away the IRS with your preparation:

Click here (OFFSITE LINK) to view the Acrobat attachment you can use during the hearing to record the answers of the agent.

9.  Another good thing to bring up at the meeting are the issues raised in section 5.2, where we talk about Federal Jurisdiction and the definitions of terms like “employee”, “State”, “United States”, "wages", "trade or business", etc.  We cover “words of art” definitions in section 3.11.1 of our Great IRS Hoax book.

10.  If the agent tries to evade a question asking for the statute and regulation because he says he can’t find the regulation, then tell him this is YOUR MEETING and that you can wait all day for the answer to your question if need be.  Tell him that he has the burden of proof to show his authority to assess and collect the tax under the Administrative Procedures Act Section 556(d), and if he doesn’t, then he forfeits his right to collect the tax or assess a liability.  If he fails to respond or stonewalls you, then tell him he is violating your right do due process under the Administrative Procedures act and show him 5 U.S.C. 556(d).  Tell him you want to know the name and contact information for his supervisor so you can talk to him, and he will have to give it to you.  Say you will file a complaint against him with his supervisor and the Treasury Inspector General.  The further up you go in the management chain, the nicer the IRS employees will get.  See the following website for the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, which is the place to file complaints:

http://www.ustreas.gov/tigta/hotline.htm

11.  Try to get the agent’s supervisor at the meeting as well, that way, you can kill two birds with one stone and move up the authority ladder until you find someone who can address your question and who has authority to influence your situation directly.  The further you go up the chain of authority, the nicer the people will get.  Agents at the bottom are typically arrogant assholes to be avoided in most cases.  They are trained to be intimidating and abusive in order to extort the most money out of you.  If you get resistance from the people lower down on the ladder, then tell them you want to lodge a complaint with their supervisor because they are denying your right to due process under the Administrative Procedures Act, 5 U.S.C. 556(d).  Show them this law and if they won’t read it, hand it to them and read them this section so they can’t claim ignorance as an excuse for noncompliance.

12.  Focus on people who have authority.  You have to go three levels up the agent hierarchy before you encounter someone who has the authority to release liens and levies and stop collections.  The first level in the hierarchy is the agent.  Then his supervisor, and above that is the Group Leader.  The group leader is the person who is actually empowered to affect your situation.

13.  If an agent says he doesn’t have the authority to provide an answer or make a determination, then insist on knowing who does, and get their name and phone number and insist on a meeting with that person until you get your question answered.

14.  Under the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, you as a biological person aren't obligated to testify against yourself.  The IRS will try to convince you that this isn't the case but they will be wrong.  Therefore:

14.1  You aren't obligated to SIGN an income tax return, but you may be required to provide one.  Without a signature, the value of the tax return as legal evidence to be used against you is eliminated, and the IRS will have no valid assessment upon which to either issue a deficiency or institute collection actions.

14.2  DO NOT sign any amended tax returns, unless you are changing your tax due from a nonzero amount to a zero amount!  You can’t be compelled to sign because income taxes are voluntary.   If you do sign the tax return under compulsion, we insist that you put a statement like the following with your return, for which you can’t be penalized.  Preprint this statement on a sheet of paper BEFORE the examination meeting and be ready to attach it to anything you sign, putting a note saying that the thing you sign is invalid without the attachment below:

 “In accordance with the U.S. Supreme Court Case of Garner v. U.S., 424 U.S. 648, this tax return is submitted under duress and coercion and constitutes the compelled testimony of a witness.  Therefore, by the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, it is inadmissible as evidence in a court of law because it violates my right of non-self-incrimination.  Below is a list of the types of compulsion being applied which restrict the free exercise of my Fifth Amendment rights and make this tax return into compelled testimony submitted under duress:

• 26 U.S.C. Sec, 7201:  Attempt to evade or defeat tax (up to $100,000 fine or imprisonment not more than 5 years along with attorney fees).
• 26 U.S.C. Sec, 7203:  Willful Failure to File (fine up to $25,000 or imprisonment for one year or both)
• Hundreds of different penalties for late filing or underpayment, as documented in Part 20 of the Internal Revenue Manual, available at: http://www.irs.gov/irm/part20/index.html
• IRS Liens and levies being imposed for nonpayment of taxes.
• Receipt of threatening mail communications from the IRS (e.g. CP-515 “Notice of Deficiency” and subsequent Notice of Lien and Levy”).
• Constant anxiety from and harassment by IRS agents (by telephone and otherwise).

Remember that the essential aspect of being a ‘right’ is that the free exercise of the right CANNOT be penalized, taxed, or regulated in any way by the government.  The above regulations, however, indeed do precisely that and I therefore regard them as being unconstitutional, illegal, null, and void as far as I am concerned and they should immediately be declared as such by all federal courts.”

14.3  You don't have to identify whether you have any records to provide at the examination meeting. Even if you brought records, you aren't required to provide them or testify to their accuracy or authenticity.  Remember that the purpose of providing records is to justify exemptions, but if you have no tax liability, you don't need records because you don't need exemptions!

14.4  If you identify records to the agent, then you have to bring the records because you just compromised your 5th Amendment rights.

14.5  Even if you have records, you aren’t required to bring them to the tax examination.   Remember that the purpose of providing records is to justify exemptions, but if you have no tax liability, you don't need records because you don't need exemptions!

14.6  You don’t even have to identify if you are the person who has been deposed.

14.7  If you are asked for personal information on any form by the auditor, it’s within your right to write “PRIVATE” into every box on every form.  This is especially true of your social security number.

15.  You can't know what records you need to bring to the meeting until the IRS notifies you of the specific legal charges against you and what records might be relevant to those charges BEFORE the meeting.

16.  The agent may attempt to terrorize you by asking for evidence that proves the accuracy of specific items on your return.  Keep the following in mind when he does this:

16.1  The agent can only ask for evidence that is directly relevant to the return in question and the year in question.  Everything else is irrelevant and you aren't required to provide it.  When he asks for irrelevant information, respond by telling him:  "Please explain how this information is directly relevant to tax years that we are here to discuss."   This will keep him from turning the hearing into a fishing expedition and using irrelevant information to get you into more trouble later.

16.2  The only thing that is admissible as evidence, according to 26 U.S.C. §6065, are items that are validated under penalty of perjury.  If you followed our guidance by preparing a notarized affidavit in advance of the hearing, then you can just hand him the affidavit stating that everything on the return is accurate.  At that point, and as required under 26 U.S.C. §6065, the only way he can call anything on the return into question and require additional information is by himself offering evidence in the form of an affidavit that is also notarized under penalty of perjury and which contradicts an item on the return.  When you try this tactic, the agent may respond by saying that he is going to do one of the following three things: 

1. He will draw a blank and try to shut down the hearing.   When this happens, try to continue on and get your remaining issues addressed.
2. He will say he is going to contact third parties under 26 U.S.C. §7601(a).  If you don't tell him he has no authority, he will assume that you consent to this even though the law otherwise doesn't allow it.  Remind him that the 7601(a) statute says he can only do so inside of internal revenue districts, and neither you nor any financial institution you affiliate with resides in said district.  All internal revenue districts reside in the federal united states because the Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that the U.S. government has no police powers inside of the 50 union states.  Demand to see a copy of the evidence he has that suggests that you live in an internal revenue district?
3. He will issue summons under the authority of 26 U.S.C. §7602(a)(2) to establish your liability.  In this case, remind him that he must show you a liability statute for the type of tax he says you owe before he can go looking for evidence proving you are liable.  Remember that there is no liability statute for Subtitle A income taxes.  Also remind him that he may not request anything other than public information about you because you do not waive your right to privacy under the Fourth Amendment.  Tell him he can only issue a legitimate Form 2039 summons when he has an active or pending court case and not before you have been personally served with the initial petition.  Also remind him that he must have an implementing regulation under 26 CFR that authorizes him to institute the summons or he is acting illegally and is personally and criminally liable for damages if he proceeds without lawful authority.

16.3.  If you offer a specific record to the agent to validate the return, clearly describe what it is on the record.  If the agent refuses to accept it, he is later estopped or barred from ever asking for it again.

17.   The agent who deals with you at the examination has an obligation to do all the following in order to preserve your due process rights and out of respect for your Sixth Amendment rights:

17.1  Present you with the legal charges against you, and the facts and copies of the evidence that lead them to conclude you have violated the law.

17.2  Identify the statutory basis for their jurisdiction over you.

17.3  VERY IMPORTANT:  Identify the IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS that authorize them to assess, penalize, lien, and levy against you.  There are no implementing regulations allowing the IRS to either assess or collect Subtitles A through C income taxes or to institute penalties.  They just don’t exist.  Ask the agent to show you the regulations authorizing him to assess or collect or penalize you for nonpayment!  He will be dumbfounded and this will be extremely effective evidence in court.  Refer to sections 5.4 through 5.4.9 of the Great IRS Hoax book for details on the voluntary nature of the income tax for ideas on the kinds of issues to ask questions about.

17.4  Identify any witnesses they intend to call and offer you an opportunity to cross-examine them.

17.5  Refute (not ignore) any  evidence you provide that contradicts any incriminating evidence they might present.

17.6  Allow you to get copies of any evidence he has against you.

17.7  Provide a copy of his Delegation Orders and his Pocket Commission showing his authority under the law.  The Delegation Order shows what forms he is authorized to sign, and there ARE NO revenue officers who deal with Subtitles A through C income taxes who have delegation orders to sign a tax form on behalf of a taxpayer (e.g. forms 1040, 1040NR, or 2555) or to sign form 23C Assessment forms.  The Pocket Commission shows whether he is an officer or an enforcement agent.  Only an enforcement agent with the letter "E" at the end of the serial number on his Pocket Commission can sign Form 23C Assessment forms and institute seizure or collection.

20.  Be very patient, sincere, and polite during your examination meeting.  We call this the bulldog mentality:  Grab onto that leg and don’t let go until you get the answer you want! The meeting will be on tape and a jury will likely eventually see it or hear it.  You need to be on your best behavior!  You have to convince the jury that you are a reasonable person who is trying your best and relying on the IRS’ obligation to help taxpayers understand and apply the law in order to pay only what they legally owe and no more.

21.   If you get the answers you want from the agent regarding the liability statutes and enforcement statutes from the Due Process Hearing Handout above, then proceed on to the deposition questions you installed on your laptop.  If the agent has a computer in the conference room, use his computer to visit our website below and display the questions so you don’t have to use your laptop or your own projection panel:

http://famguardian.org/TaxFreedom/Forms/Discovery/Deposition/Deposition.htm

22.   You want to avoid meetings that the IRS calls, because they can force you to answer their questions at their meeting.  If they call you to a meeting first, tell them you have some questions that you want answered before you can go to their meeting and schedule your own meeting ahead of theirs.  Use IRS Publication 1, the Your Rights as a Taxpayer, as your justification for calling the meeting, which says:

IRS Mission:  To provide IRS America’s Taxpayers top quality service by helping them understand and meet their tax responsibilities and by applying the tax law with integrity and fairness to all.

Once you initiate the meeting above and use the techniques we recommend before they have their meeting, its likely they will cancel their meeting with you and avoid you like the plague, because you are a hot potato.

23.  The “dumb fox” routine is useful.  If the IRS asks a pointed question that you think would disadvantage your position, simply respond:

23.1  “I don’t know”

23.2  “I’m not a lawyer”

23.3  “Please explain what you mean.”

23.4  “I don’t recall.”  (this is vintage Ronald Reagan talk from the Iran Contra scandal!)

24.  Two agents may appear at the meeting.  One will play softie and the other one will play terrorist.  They are trained to do this and they will probably try to use the one playing the softie to befriend you so you will open up to him.  Don’t do it.  Be firm and businesslike and don’t make friends with them or share anything about your personal life with them.  Remember that sharks bite!

25.  Schedule audits for late in the afternoon so they will run out of time quickly, if you have something to hide.

26.  Remember that the world’s best attorney is “Attorney Delay”.  Whatever they want, just keep delaying it and hope their patience runs out and they give up.

27.  Be high maintenance and difficult so they will leave you alone and be just as afraid of you as they want you to be afraid of them.  Every agent has about 100 people in their inventory and they tend to avoid problems that are a lot of work unless there is a big payoff for them and they figure you are an easy target.

28.  If they make a mistake or state something wrong, make a big deal about it.  Remind the agent constantly about the mistakes that were made in handling your case and why he needs to remedy them.

29.  Don’t do their work for them unless you are sure they are trying to help you.  Make them earn their pay.

30.  Have fun!

30.1  Make the examination into a training class.  Invite all your patriotic friends and let them observe your tactics and learn.

30.2  Have friends picket the IRS office before the examination.  Do your own "Boston Tea Party"!

30.3  Say a prayer before the examination with the agent in attendance.

30.4  Read verses from the bible describing tax collectors, who are universally called “sinners” by Jesus.

30.5  Make your examination into a media event.  Invite friends and family and to it outdoors with the sun in the eyes of the agent.  If the IRS leaves the scene of the media event, make sure the media gets you on camera saying “Please come back, I want to pay my taxes!”.

AFTER THE EXAMINATION OR DUE PROCESS HEARING:

The IRM Part IV, § [4.10] 7.5 plainly proves that there is a process that precedes the Report of Examination Changes filed after the tax exam. As you can see from this Manual Section, there is supposed to be a letter of initial contact sent to the individual. This letter is supposed to provide the opportunity for the first step in the Examination Process called the Examination Interview (Step A).

This fact is plainly evidenced by the citation of statutory law at 26 U.S.C. § 7521 and its counterpart in 26 CFR § 601.105 (which is claimed to be the regulations of the Secretary to bring the IRS into compliance with the Administrative Procedures Act as this is where our Administrative Due Process had been all along). The law also reveals that the letter is to be accompanied by the IRS Publication 1, Notice 609, and the Notice 782, or the Publication 556.

If the IRS doesn't respect your due process rights during the interview or plays games to keep you from knowing about the examination meeting or showing up, or blind-siding you so you are ill-prepared to defend yourself, then an important option available to you that you are encouraged to exercise is to contact the Taxpayer Advocate's office.  You can obtain information about the Taxpayer Advocate's office procedures and processes from the IRS website  Internal Revenue Manual Part 13 at:

You can contact the Taxpayer Advocate by phone at: 1-(877) 777-4778.   Another avenue of redress is to call one of the following in the order listed:

• Your Senator or Representative (see http://www.vote-smart.org/ for contact information)
• The Commissioner of the IRS (see http://www.irs.gov/ for contact information)
• The Secretary of the Treasury (see http://www.ustreas.gov/)