9/22/2021
Candace J. Dixon
The Internal Revenue Service awarded contracts to three new private-sector collection agencies to collect certain outstanding, inactive tax debts.
Starting September 23, 2021, when the IRS assigns your account to a private collection agency (PCA), one of these three agencies may contact you:
The IRS established the Private Debt Collection program in 2016, authorized under federal law. Here's how it works:
The IRS will always notify you before transferring your account to a private collection agency by sending a letter to you and your tax representative with the PCA's name and contact information along with a copy of Publication 4518, What You Can Expect When the IRS Assigns Your Account to a Private Collection Agency.
The PCA will then send their own letter confirming the account transfer once the IRS notifies you. Both letters will contain information to help you identify the tax amount you owe and make sure that future collection agency calls are legitimate.
The PCA will identify themselves as contractors collecting taxes on behalf of the IRS. Employees of these collection agencies must follow the provisions of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, be courteous, and respect your rights. PCA's are not authorized to take enforcement actions against you; only the IRS can take actions such as filing a notice of Federal Tax Lien or issuing a levy.
While PCA's are authorized to discuss payment options, such as setting up payment agreements, any tax payments must be made directly to the IRS, never sent to the PCA. Checks should only be made payable to the United States Treasury. More payment options can be found on the IRS' Paying Your Taxes page.
More information is available on the Private Debt Collection page on the IRS website.
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