If relief is not granted by the promised date, the case must be referred to the TA unless the taxpayer was given an extended date. When a case has one or more of the listed criteria, refer it to the TA if the employee cannot provide the taxpayer relief. Only the TA's office can determine that an application meets significant hardship criteria. Pertinent facts and circumstances will be reviewed when making a determination regarding significant hardship. Enforcement action, in and of itself, is not a significant hardship without additional factors to make a determination to grant relief.
Good judgment is the most important element in reaching a fair and reasonable decision.
Significant hardship could include, but is not limited to, extraordinary emotional stress experienced by taxpayers in dealing with tax problems, pending eviction, or other situations of similar magnitude. Refer to IRM 1279, Problem Resolution Program for additional examples. The TA will determine which taxpayer applications qualify for TAO handling based on whether the taxpayer is suffering, or is about to suffer, a significant hardship. If a significant hardship exists and the taxpayer needs immediate action, Form 911 may be submitted, bypassing normal procedures. All ATAOs will be routed to the TA immediately, through the first line manager, to determine if the problem warrants ATAO handling.