Payroll professionals ask questions during the Advanced Tax Notice Resolution workshop today at the Payroll Congress Opening General Session. 

Receiving a tax notice from a state or federal agency can be daunting, even for seasoned payroll professionals. How can you tell if the notice needs immediate action, is informational, or is even correct?

During Payroll Congress, attendees of the “Advanced Tax Notice Resolution” workshop got these answers and more. The workshop was presented today by PayrollOrg’s 2024 Payroll Woman of the Year Rebecca “Becky” Harshberger, CPP, and Mindy Mayo, CPP, Tax Managing Director at KPMG and one of PayrollOrg’s Global Payroll Editorial Advisory Board members. Throughout the workshop, Harshberger and Mayo taught attendees how to determine who is issuing the notices, how to resolve them, and how to escalate when needed.

“Most payroll people panic when they get a notice. We want to reassure them, remove the fear, and ensure they know their options” Mayo said.

Rather than discussing hypotheticals, attendees were encouraged to bring their “real-life” scenarios to be workshopped at the interactive session. This included actual notices that they have received, agency issues, and problem resolution practices that have worked (or not!).

“The most useful part of this workshop was about Power of Attorney and how to get them faster. I also learned about the IRS Advocates," said Shannon Neumann, CPP, Payroll Manager for the Center for Internet Security in Streamwood, IL. "I always learned about the IRS, but didn’t know that there were people who could help a lot better and quicker.” 

Harshberger and Mayo brought their extensive knowledge to the class, giving tips and tricks from their own experiences responding to tax notices, including keeping notes on all communication, clearly stating the facts, and choosing the right words when communicating with state and federal agencies.

With the current deluge of changes in state and federal agencies, knowing how to handle tax notices is essential for payroll professionals. The ability to contact the right person to resolve your tax notice is an effective way to demonstrate your value to your organization.

“State and federal agency reductions are occurring and will continue to occur. Notices will continue, but the employees needed at the agency level to assist with the notices will decrease,” Harshberger said. “We aim to provide information on how to navigate these agency reductions in order to resolve your notices efficiently and effectively.”

Michelle Lester, Branch Chief, Accounts Payable and Payroll for the U.S. Air Force at Port San Antonio in San Antonio, TX, recently started learning abut the payroll processes, and called this session an eye-opening experience. 

“It surprised me to learn about some of the issues that payroll professionals encounter with the IRS," she said. "We are under different oversight than corporate payroll professionals, so that was interesting and eye-opening.”

“I would recommend this session to anyone who deals with payroll tax," Neumann added. "In payroll, we always do taxes, but if you are specifically in taxes, I would recommend this session.” 

Caren Bennett is an Editorial Specialist of the Editorial Division for PayrollOrg. Holly Kapherr is a freelance writer based in Orlando, Florida.