25.5.9. Fees and Costs for Summoned Witnesses

(1) The Summons Handbook provides guidelines for all IRS functions in one multifunctional handbook. This section provides information concerning the payment of witness fees and other costs, invoice processing guidelines, and witness inquiries concerning payment of summons invoices associated with summons responses.

(1) IRC 7610 provides for the payment of witness fees and mileage to summoned witnesses and the payment of search, reproduction, and transportation costs to certain third-party witnesses. Third parties complying with a summons will be paid under the terms and conditions as set forth in 26 CFR 301.7610-1.

(2) Search, reproduction, and transportation cost payments are in addition to and not a substitute for a summoned witnesses’ right to witness fees and travel expenses.

(3) IRC 7610 provides for payments to third parties who request reimbursement for costs incurred in complying with a summons. Payments may be made to third parties without the issuance of a summons for records needed in an investigation which are available to the general public. See IRM 1.32.1.14.4, Claiming Reimbursement.

(4) The procedures and rates of payment contained herein take their authority from:

1. 26 USC 7610, as enacted by Public Law 94–455, October 4, 1976 (Tax Reform Act of 1976)

2. Treasury Department Order No. 150–10, dated April 22, 1982

3. IRS Delegation Order 25-6, dated August 8, 1997 (formerly Delegation Order No. 178)

4. Treas. Reg. 301.7610-1

(5) Delegation Order SBSE 25-6-1 provides the levels of authority delegated to obligate funds for payment to third parties who request reimbursement for the cost of complying with a summons, Form 6863, Invoice and Authorization for Payment of Administrative Summons Expenses. See IRM 25.5.9.2, Delegation of Authority, for additional information.

(6) Delegation Order 25-1 provides the levels of authority delegated to various IRS employees to approve and perform activities concerning summonses.

(1) The Director, Headquarters Collection, is the executive responsible for providing policy and guidance for IRS employees and ensuring consistent application of policy, procedures, and tax law to effect tax administration while protecting taxpayer rights. See IRM 1.1.16.2.3, Headquarters Collection, for additional information.

(2) The Director, Collection Policy, reports to the Director Headquarters Collection, and is responsible for the delivery of policy and guidance that impacts the summons program. See IRM 1.1.16.2.3.1, Collection Policy, for additional information.

(3) The Program Manager, Enforcement, reports to the Director, Collection Policy and is responsible for providing policy and procedural guidance on specialized processes to employees. See IRM 1.1.16.2.3.1.2, Enforcement, for additional guidance.

(4) Paragraph (9) of Delegation Order 25-1 lists the employees delegated to issue summonses except "John Doe" summonses.

(1) There are no servicewide program reports tracking summons issuance. The Collection Policy program analyst will periodically review summonses issued by revenue officers to ensure taxpayer rights were protected during the summons process and to determine that all standards for preparation, issuance and service of the summonses were met.

(2) Summons invoices are processed by the Chief Financial Officer Organization (CFO), formerly known as Beckley Finance Center.

(1) The IRS employee who issued the summons keeps the original summons invoice in their administrative case file. The summons invoice is subject to the same retention standards as the case file.

(1) The following is a list of terms commonly used by the IRS when a third-party summons is served for books, records, and documents:

(2) The table below lists commonly used acronyms and their definitions.Acronyms

(1) IRM 25.5, Summons, provides guidelines for all IRS functions in one multifunctional handbook. The sections are:

• IRM 25.5.1, Introduction

• IRM 25.5.2, Preparation

• IRM 25.5.3, Procedures

• IRM 25.5.4, Examination of Books and Witnesses

• IRM 25.5.5, Summons for Taxpayer Records and Testimony

• IRM 25.5.6, Summonses on Third-Party Witnesses

• IRM 25.5.7, Special Procedures for John Doe Summonses

• IRM 25.5.8, Use of Summons Special Applications

• IRM 25.5.9, Fees and Costs for Summoned Witnesses

• IRM 25.5.10, Enforcement of Summons

(1) The IRS is committed to the following:

1. Issue internal procedures to monitor the cause of untimely payments, implement necessary corrective actions, and promptly address inquiries.

2. Ensure effective internal control systems are established and maintained as required. Administrative activities required for payments to witnesses are subject to periodic quality control validation to be conducted once annually.

3. Ensure financial management systems capabilities provide accurate and useful management reports on payments.

4. Ensure the Inspector General and Internal Auditors review payment performance and systems accuracy, consistent with the Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act requirements, and

5. Ensure timely payments.

(1) Effective August 8, 1997, Delegation Order 25–6 grants authority to obligate appropriated funds for payment of search, reproduction, and transportation costs in connection with third-party summonses issued under the Internal Revenue laws. Each IRS employee should review their individual operating unit's Delegation Order to determine who has authority to obligate funds and to what dollar level.

(2) Before issuance of a summons, make a reasonable estimate of the obligational authority level required for payment of the witness' costs for compliance with the summons. If the IRS employee does not have obligational authority for the expected costs, initiate the necessary administrative action to have the appropriate official approve the estimated costs of compliance prior to issuance of the summons.

(3) Consider the need for the information sought in relationship to the anticipated costs of compliance.

(4) Ensure Part B of the summons accompanies service of any summons and provide the witness with Form 6863, Invoice and Authorization for Payment of Administrative Summons Expenses. Upon full or satisfactory compliance with a summons, inform the witness that Form 6863 may be used to request reimbursement and provide the IRS employee’s office address for billing.

(5) A third-party invoice resulting from compliance with a summons which is $25 or less ($100 or less for revenue officers) may be paid in cash by the issuing IRS employee with obligational authority. This threshold does not include amounts which are claimed separately as witness fees and mileage. Input a claim for reimbursement under Miscellaneous Expenses on the travel voucher and provide a copy of the third-party invoice with the signed voucher. This expense type may be claimed in conjunction with local or city-to-city travel expenses, and may not be claimed as the only expense on the travel voucher. Prior to paying the witness and signing the travel voucher:

1. Ensure the invoice itemizes the specific details of search, reproduction and transportation costs and that charges are at authorized rates.

2. Forward a copy of the invoice to the official who initially approved the obligation or the official with obligation authority appropriate to the amount of the bill if other than the IRS employee.

3. The obligating official will evaluate the charges in terms of accuracy and reasonableness and certify the bill for payment processing by signing the following statement: "Payment is approved and is within my delegated obligational authority," and print their title and organizational identification.

(1) Several line items of Section A must be completed by the witness for the invoice to be processable. The IRS employee must review the following Form 6863 Section A lines for completeness of witness preparation:

1. Line 2 - Payee's Federal Tax Identification Number (TIN): The witness must list their Federal Tax Identification Number (TIN).

2. Line 3 - Name and Address of Payee: The witness must include their full remittance name and address, to include the zip code.

3. Line 4 - Name and Address of taxpayer to whose liability the summons relates: Self-explanatory.

4. Line 5 - Payment method: Payment method is required for EFT (electronic funds transfer) direct deposit per Debt Collection and Improvement Act; however, the IRS employee should not hold the Form 6863 to obtain this information. CFO will pursue any needed information that is missing.

5. Line 6 - Service/Financial Records Provided (Reproduction): The witness must provide the applicable required information (such as the hours spent searching for the documents, the actual cost of extracting electronic information, number of paper copies, transportation cost to deliver records, and other expenses, along with any other details which substantiate the claim.

6. Line 7 - Printed Name of Financial Institution Official or Payee: Self-explanatory

7. Line 8 - Title and Business E-mail Address: The Title of the authorized employee of the witness is the only required item. An e-mail address is not required for processing.

8. Line 9 - Signature of Financial Institution Official or Payee: A signature is required for payment processing.

9. Line 10 - Date Signed: The witness must date Form 6863.

10. Line 11 - Telephone Number: A contact number is required.

(2) After a witness has satisfactorily complied with a summons, if any of the information in the lines listed in paragraph (1) is missing or incomplete on the Form 6863 received from the witness, the IRS employee must return the invoice to the witness within seven calendar days with a document identifying the lines the witness must complete in order for the invoice to be processed. The IRS employee can complete the missing information if known or if obtained from the witness telephonically. However, if the IRS employee does not know and cannot complete the missing information themselves and the invoice is not returned to witness and documented within seven days of the date stamp, the IRS employee must obtain the missing information and process the invoice for payment immediately.

(3) Section A of Form 6863 does not require information on Lines 1, 5, and 8b from the witness in order to be processed for payment. The invoice cannot be returned to the witness for corrections or invoice processing delayed if the following lines are not completed:

1. Line 1 - Payee's Invoice Number: The witness can assign their own unique invoice number. This is helpful to monitor and track for accounting control purposes.

2. Line 5 - Payment Method: The witness completes this section in order to receive payment via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).

3. Line 8b - Title and E-mail address: The title is required. An e-mail address is not.

(4) When a previously incomplete invoice is returned by the witness, follow the above procedures to review and process the invoice. Notate on the face of the Form 6863 the reason for more than one date stamp on the Form 6863.

(1) The IRS employee has responsibility for completion and certification of Form 6863 Section B. The IRS employee must certify and forward the invoice according to operating unit guidelines, or to CFO within seven calendar days of receipt of a correct and accurate invoice from a witness, provided the witness has satisfactorily complied with the summons.

(2) The IRS employee will review amounts claimed by the witness for reproduction costs and determine if they are appropriate. The IRS employee must enter the appropriate information in the following lines of Form 6863 Section B:

1. Line 12 - Date Summons Issued: Enter the date the IRS employee issued the summons to the third party

2. Line 13 - Date Complied With: Enter the date the witness satisfactorily complied with the terms of the summons.

3. Line 14 - Date Invoice Received: Enter the date that a perfected and accurate invoice is received from the witness. Do not use the date an invoice with missing or incomplete information was received. Use the date the invoice containing all required witness line items in Section A was received. Although this can be the same as the date stamp date, it is not always the same.

4. Line 15 - Total Amount Claimed: Enter the total amount claimed by the witness from line 6e.

5. Line 16a - Disallowance (if any): Review the reimbursement amounts claimed by the witness. If any amounts are inappropriate or incorrect, (such as incorrect hourly rate, incorrect number of documents claimed versus amount actually received, duplicate information received by both electronic and paper means), enter the dollar amount to be disallowed. If the amount shown by the witness on line 6e and entered on Line 15 is correct, enter "$0".

   Note: It is the IRS employee’s responsibility to notify the third party when a claim is reduced, explaining the amount disallowed and the reason for the disallowance.

6. Line 16b - Disallowance reason: Briefly explain the disallowance amount, such as incorrect hourly rate, incorrect number of documents claimed versus amount actually received or duplicate information received.

7. Line 17 - Amount to Payee: Subtract Line 16a from Line 15 and enter the total.

8. Line 18 - Accounting Classification: Enter the Requisition Number or Cost Center and Functional Area codes. The accounting codes change annually to reflect charges to the new fiscal year. Contact your area Budget Office for assistance to obtain the correct codes.

9. Lines 19 through 23 - Certification: Self-explanatory. Enter information as the IRS employee and sign on Line 22.

10. Lines 24 through 28 - Certification: Self-explanatory. The IRS employee enters their information and signs on Line 27 if they have obligational authority. If the obligating official is someone other than the IRS employee, route the Form 6863 for that person to enter their information and sign on Line 27.

Note: Complete Lines 19 through 28 even if the IRS employee is the same person certifying in both areas. The first certification indicates articles and services were received, and the second certification is for the obligation of funds.

11. Line 29 and 30: Before transmitting the invoice to CFO, mark the manner of submission and the date the invoice is submitted.

(1) Process witness invoice submissions in formats other than Form 6863 in the same manner as Form 6863. Provided the witness has satisfactorily complied with the summons, the IRS employee must review the invoice within seven calendar days to ensure all items required in Section A are contained on the invoice. If so, use the steps in the following table to process the invoice for payment:

(2) If the invoice does not contain all required information, refer to IRM 25.5.9.8.1, Review of Form 6863 (Section A), for necessary actions to correct or return the invoice for completion and perfection by the witness.

(1) The following table provides guidance on processing invoices from the point of initial receipt by the IRS employee:

(1) The preferred method for submission of Form 6863 invoices to CFO is by fax or scanned invoice via e-mail for all IRS employees except revenue officers using ICS. Transmittal information is as follows:

• Fax an invoice to (855) 787-4385, (855) 787-4388, (855) 787-4389, or (855) 787-4818

• E-mail scanned invoices to *CFO BFC Invoice Link

(2) Effective January 1, 2021, revenue officers will use ICS to process Forms 6863 to CFO electronically. See IRM 25.5.9.8.6, ICS Form 6863, for details.

(3) The least preferred method for submission of an invoice is by mail or private delivery service at:

(4) Once the invoice is submitted to CFO, the invoice at CFO is considered the "original invoice" and is subject to invoice retention standards. A copy of the invoice is maintained with the administrative case file and is subject to the same retention standard as the rest of the case file. See IRM 25.5.9.1.5, Program Controls.

(5) Include any third party detailed invoice with the Form 6863. It is not necessary to include a copy of the summons.

(6) If a Form 6863 was already submitted to CFO and an error is found, do not send a corrected form without first contacting CFO at (304) 254-3300, or sending an e-mail to *CFO BFC Summons Help Desk. This eliminates the possibility of a duplicate payment. Follow the instructions given by CFO to correct the original invoice.

(1) Effective January 1, 2021, revenue officers will use ICS to transmit Form 6863 invoices to CFO. Rather than completing Form 6863 (Section B) and submitting a manual invoice for payment, the ICS Form 6863 application submits the invoice electronically.

(2) Follow the procedures to review the Form 6863 provided by the witness as discussed in IRM 25.5.9.8, Necessary Actions Upon Receipt of Witness Invoice and IRM 25.5.9.8.1, Review of Form 6863 (Section A). Revenue officers will complete and certify the Form 6863 (Section B) on ICS.

(3) When it is determined that the witness has satisfactorily complied with the summons and the claimed expenses are appropriate, revenue officers will process the Form 6863 invoice through ICS.

(4) Complete the ICS Form 6863 application by transferring the information provided by the witness on Form 6863 (Section A) into the ICS application. Revenue officers (GS-9 and above) will certify and authorize payment within their authority through ICS and the invoice is processed to CFO electronically. Detailed instructions are available in the ICS Summons Guide and on the Summons Knowledge Base.

(5) When the TIN provided by the witness is entered into the ICS Form 6863 application; ICS automatically loads the witnesses’ name, address, bank routing and account numbers. ICS also loads the revenue officer’s information and the accounting codes.

(6) If it is necessary to disallow a claim for reimbursement, see IRM 25.5.9.8.2(2) e and f.

(7) After processing the invoice electronically through ICS, maintain the original Form 6863 submitted by the witness in the administrative case file. See IRM 25.5.9.1.5, Program Controls.

(8) In most instances, the ICS Form 6863 application is available for revenue officers to process Form 6863 invoices to CFO. There are some occasions when manual Form 6863 processing is required; such as:

• The invoice is over $2,500. Invoices over $2,500 require additional approval. See Delegation Order SBSE 25-6-1.

• The witness was not previously approved by CFO. ICS maintains a database of previously approved witnesses. If the witness was not previously approved, ICS will direct the revenue officer to process the Form 6863 manually. Once the manual Form 6863 is processed, CFO will add the witness to the approved list for future Form 6863 processing through ICS.

• The witnesses’ name, bank routing and account numbers on Form 6863 does not match ICS. The witnesses’ name, bank routing and account number on the Form 6863 must exactly match the information on ICS that loads when the witnesses’ TIN is entered. If this information does not match, process the Form 6863 manually. It is not necessary for the witnesses’ address to match.

• The witness did not complete Form 6863, Line 5, to provide a payment method. When this occurs, ICS will direct the revenue officer to process the Form 6863 manually. See IRM 25.5.9.8.1(1)d.

• The witness provides an invoice in a format other than Form 6863. When this occurs, follow the procedure in IRM 25.5.9.8.3, Summoned Information Received Without an Invoice.

(9) When manual processing is required, revenue officers will follow the procedures provided in IRM 25.5.9.8.2, Authorization and Certification of Form 6863 (Section B), IRM 25.5.9.8.4, Invoice Processing Table and IRM 25.5.9.8.3, Invoice Submission to Chief Financial Officer Organization (CFO), to process the invoice to CFO manually. The preferred method of manual transmission is by fax or scanned invoice sent via e-mail.

(1) Do not send duplicate copies of invoices to CFO. If the original was faxed, e-mailed or processed through ICS, retain the original in your case file and do not mail or re-transmit the original in any manner to CFO. A duplicate Form 6863 transmittal, in any manner, regardless of how the original invoice was transmitted, may result in duplicate processing and payment to the witness.

(2) Process witness inquiries received using one of the following options.

• Communicate to the witness to contact CFO at (304) 254-3300, or

• E-mail an employee communication concerning duplicate invoices or witness payment to *CFO BFC Summons Help Desk.

(3) Write in bold letters "Duplicate Invoice Inquiry" or "Witness Payment Inquiry" across the face of the Form 6863 for any suspected duplicate invoice or witness payment inquiry communication that contains a copy of the invoice. If the IRS employee still has a copy of the original invoice, the original submission manner and date must be clearly indicated on Form 6863 Lines 29 and 30 and include the appropriate bold letters across the face.

(4) If the witness submits two invoices for the same case but on different dates and you suspect or it appears to be a duplicate, determine if the invoice is duplicate and already transmitted to CFO. If so, follow the guidance in paragraph (2).

(1) After submitting the invoice to CFO with a disallowed expense, the IRS employee may reconsider the disallowed expense after receiving additional information.

(2) Write in bold letters "Reconsideration of Disallowed Expense" on the face of the Form 6863.

(3) Change Line 16a of Form 6863, Section B and notate the expense now allowed.

(4) E-mail the scanned invoice to *CFO BFC Summons Help Desk.