Tax Division Judgement Collection Manual - 6. Reporting Collection Activities To The Case Management System

VI. Reporting Collection Activities to the Case Management System

          It is essential that all pertinent information concerning collection and payment activities be accurately and timely reported on TaxDoc, the Division's automated case management system. A list of TaxDoc activity codes related to judgment collection is in Exhibit 27. First, the monthly collection monitor report (the monitor) provided by the computer to Tax Division managers is only as accurate, up-to-date, and complete as the information being reported. The Division relies on the monitor to ensure that important deadlines in the judgment collection process are not missed. Second, accurate, up-to-date, and complete information reporting ensures that the Division management is aware of the total amount of outstanding judgments and the status of the Division's efforts to collect those judgments.

          One of the most important items to be reported on TaxDoc is the amount of incoming payments and whether the payments are pursuant to a settlement or a judgment. Generally, payments received directly by the Tax Division are recorded on the system by the trial section's Data Management Specialist (DMS) shortly after receipt. The system also has codes, however, to record payments received by the IRS or the United States Attorney's office while the case is still open in the Tax Division. Generally, however, payments made to the IRS or the United States Attorney are not made known to the trial section's DMS, unless and until the trial attorney brings it to the technician's attention. The best way to do this is to send a letter to the IRS or United States Attorney confirming that they have received a payment of the specified amount in the case on a specified date and that the Tax Division is recording the payment. The letter, along with the trial attorney's submission to the DMS of proper payment code, will ensure that the Tax Division's files and TaxDoc reflect the payment.

          It is also important that paralegal and attorney time spent on judgment collection efforts be reported properly on TaxDoc. The TaxDoc attorney time sheet has a separate code for time spent on collection activities. This is important for purposes of advising Tax Division management of the amount of attorney time devoted to collection work and can be important for purposes of enabling the Tax Division to obtain adequate budgetary resources to carry out its judgment collection duties successfully.

          Similarly, when the Tax Division's collection activity ceases and a case is closed, either because the judgment has been fully collected or because the uncollected judgment is being transferred to the IRS for further collection, it is essential that the proper closing codes be reported on TaxDoc to accurately reflect final disposition of the case.