Betzaida Bailey

• Serve as the senior-level representative of the National Taxpayer Advocate in the assigned area, exercising delegated authority to independently manage complex, high-stakes taxpayer cases involving economic hardship, systemic IRS issues, or unresolved delays.

• Lead a multidisciplinary team of Case Advocates, Technical Assistants, and administrative personnel; provide strategic direction, monitor performance, and ensure alignment with TAS national objectives and quality standards.

• Oversee case inventory management for the region, ensuring adherence to statutory deadlines, accurate case documentation, and efficient resolution pathways.

• Identify and analyze systemic issues affecting taxpayer rights and recommend policy or procedural changes to IRS leadership through the Systemic Advocacy Management System (SAMS).

• Build and maintain collaborative partnerships with IRS executives, congressional offices, community organizations, and external stakeholders to drive issue resolution and promote taxpayer-first approaches.

• Develop and execute regional outreach strategies to raise awareness of TAS services, increase community engagement, and promote understanding of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

• Represent TAS in public forums and high-level discussions with federal agencies and advocacy groups, contributing to enterprise-wide taxpayer service improvements.

• Directed resolution of high-complexity taxpayer cases annually with a resolution rate within statutory timeframes.

• Championed local initiatives that led to measurable policy changes at the national level, improving IRS responsiveness for economically vulnerable taxpayers.

• Spearheaded an outreach campaign across the NYC area resulting in an increase in TAS case intake and partnerships with various community organizations.

• Serve as a member of the IRS Mock Interview Cadre, conducting structured interview simulations and providing actionable feedback to prepare candidates for career advancement and leadership opportunities.

• Actively participate in the IRS Mentor Program, guiding mentees on career development, leadership readiness, and navigating the federal system; recognized for helping emerging talent build confidence and improve performance.

Tools & Systems Used: TAMIS, IDRS, SAMS, IRM, RGS, SERP, Microsoft 365, IRS intranet platforms.

• Conducted a 90-day detail as the Brooklyn Local Taxpayer Advocate (LTA). I was the permanent Group Manager for Brooklyn Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS), from March 2017 to July 2021. As a manager in TAS, I managed a team of seven case advocates, one bilingual (Spanish) case advocate, one Lead Case Advocate (LCA), and one Intake Advocate for Brooklyn Area 1. My employees worked from home due to the Covid19 pandemic. Competing deadlines and increasing inventory levels were often a major source of stress and the inability to work in the office in some cases compounded this issue. The inability to easily review physical case files, send/receive mail, and receive assistance had been a concern for employees. I was the Point of Contact for mail services. I went to the office once a week to process all incoming/outgoing mail. I administered multiple programs to ensure all business measures were communicated consistently to the employees to improve employee satisfaction, customer service, and advocacy. I continuously looked for Taxpayer Assistance Orders (TAO) opportunities when requested actions had not been taken timely. The number of TAO’s issued increased because the response times from the Business Operating Divisions (BOD) on Operations Assistance Request had increased and caused taxpayer burden. I issued a TAO on a case where the taxpayer’s corrected carryback case was timely filed in processable form in 2020 and therefore, should not have been rejected by the IRS. The day the TAO was received by the BOD it was assigned and the requested actions were taken. Brooklyn TAS developed an overdue actions clean-up initiative aimed at assisting case advocates stay up to date with their case work. Each week, I sent out a list which specified the Case Advocate that the TAGM/LCA/Analyst was tasked with assisting. Our expectation focus was top advocacy in a timely manner. The advocates understood my open-door policy and used it without hesitation. I reviewed IDRS On-Line Report Services (IORS) reports weekly and monthly for the office to ensure no IDRS violations were made by employees. I occasionally acted as IORS proxy for the Manhattan TAS office. In addition, when employees needed command codes added to their profiles, I placed them in their profiles. This helped employees to complete thorough research on case accounts. I had an employee that had ongoing attendance issues and was previously placed on leave restriction. There were initial improvements in the attendance but over time the employee’s absenteeism greatly increased. Through collaboration with the Permanent LTA and Labor Relations (LR), I issued the employee an Alternative Discipline Notice proposing a fourteen (14) day suspension due to Absent Without Leave (AWOL). As Acting LTA, I worked with the Assistant Executive Director Case Advocacy East, the Area 1 DEDCA, and LR on the formal 14-day employee suspension. I met with LR and discussed the Douglas Factors. The Douglas Factors are comprised of 12 different points of analysis which a federal manager must consider when they act as a deciding official in a discipline case. The 12 factors were reviewed and discussed in-depth to make a Mitigating vs. Aggravating determination for each factor. A mitigating factor is one that suggests the discipline be mitigated or lowered. Conversely, aggravating factors are those that suggest the discipline be sustained or even increased. I formally acted as LTA for the Manhattan and Des Moines TAS Offices. I was a member of the Guidance Advisory Board and the TAMIS IRM User Guide Project. I reviewed draft IRMs, memos, SLAs, and other guidance. GAB members assist TAS leadership in better understanding how new processes or changes might impact the day-to-day life of TAS employees, TAS customers, and other stakeholders. I was a member of the Mock Interview Cadre. TAS Mock interview cadre was established to assist employees and give them constructive feedback to better prepare them for interviews in launching their dream job or promotion.
• Interviews are intimidating and downright scary to some people; but the more prepared they are, the more relaxed they will be during the actual interview. The purpose of the Mock Interview program is to ease employee’s anxiety by assisting them with the next step in the job application process. The mock interview allows applicants to practice interviewing skills in an environment similar to an actual interview. In addition to being a great developmental tool, it familiarizes applicants with interview questions and etiquette. After a dry run with a cadre of interviewers, applicants receive instant feedback on how they did. One of my former employees who I unofficially mentored and coached got a job as a TAS Management Trainee.
• Career development and advancement opportunities are an essential component in achieving employee satisfaction; I support this effort in TAS by being a mentee in the TAS mentoring program. Participation in this program serves as a powerful growth experience for both and promotes employee engagement. I was also a mentor for a new TAGM hired by Area 1. I met with my mentee monthly.
• To be clear, firm, and consistent with each employee, I ensured casework was strategically assigned taking into consideration the strengths of each team member. Using a tracking sheet, each employee received a healthy mix of refund; technical procedures; document processing; entity; penalty, examination; collection; interest, congressional, and appeals cases. Through the Early Intervention and advocacy case reviews, I identified cases that required elevation, or which employees were struggling with and schedule consultations with employees to discuss resolutions.
• Conduct and performance issues were immediately addressed. Before writing a reprimand letter for the behavior of a subordinate, a meeting was set up to discuss the issue privately. This allowed me to have a discussion with the employee and hear what he or she had to say to clarify the issue. If this failed, then other actions were recommended in more serious cases. For example, an employee was told during the annual rating period that if the performance does not improve the employee may be placed on a Performance Improvement Plan
• As directed in the Program Letter, I evaluated the work performance of subordinates. The evaluation provided an assessment of employee strengths and weaknesses, and I gave appropriate feedback to help employees know where they performed well and where they needed improvement. Thus, benefitting both the Service and the employee. By applying the same general parameters to all the employees’ performance reviews, I provided a consistent rating system to the employees. Through the performance review I strived to be a fair and provided a balanced assessment of an employee’s performance. Through the annual review I provided employees an opportunity to:
• Discuss job performance
• Set goals for professional development
• Establish objectives for contributing to the department’s mission
• Discuss expectations and accomplishments
• To identify training needs or performance issues, I analyzed Business Object Reports and other collective data Employees are provided with their Operation Assistance request (OAR) reports weekly to ensure that appropriate and timely actions are taken on the OAR. Those with untimely actions were elevated to me to address directly with the employee. I often served as a Spanish interpreter for case advocates and spoke to taxpayers on their behalf. I also reviewed Spanish correspondence to ensure that it was grammatically correct and free of IRS jargon.
• I supported the outreach vision of becoming a known taxpayer advocacy organization. I encouraged my employees to participate in outreach activities where the areas of focus were discussed thereby increasing TAS’ visibility. I conducted internal outreaches with Collection, Examination, and Field Assistance to discuss case direction and assured prompt resolution whenever possible. As a result, cases were more efficiently resolved and the number of aged cases decreased from prior year levels. I participated in the outreaches listed below.
• Pre-Season Filing Readiness-with the American Tax Club
• Pre-Season Filing Readiness-with LATINX Taxpayers Association
• EITC Day with United States Representative Adriano Espaillat w/LATINX Taxpayers Assoc.
• EITC Day/Pre-Season Filing Readiness at Urban Upbound
• FEMA Prepare for Tax Season Webinar
• LATAX Tax Preparation Associates Filing Season Readiness
• SPA Prepare for Tax Season Webinar (Spanish)
• Queens Woman Chamber of Commerce Interview of Brooklyn TAS Manager (Spanish)
• Participated in Virtual Capitol Hill Visits with permanent LTA and Secretary
• The National Taxpayer Advocate, Erin M. Collins, and representatives of the Taxpayer Advocate Service reviewed the role of, and help available from, the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service to the 260+ attendees at an event hosted by the Rutgers Law School Tax Law Clinic. TAS attendees/speakers: Erin Collins, NTA, Betzaida Bailey, Brooklyn TAGM. Thomas Glenn, DC LTA, Tucker Darol, Trenton LTA, Andrew VanSingel, Chicago LTA, and Tamara Borland, LITC Director
• I supported customer service by working both high profile and media cases with confidentiality and expertise on behalf of the Local Taxpayer Advocate. For example, I advocated for a taxpayer whose refund was denied by statute as an untimely refund claim. The taxpayer appealed the denial based on mitigating circumstances due to a financial disability. I worked closely with taxpayer to secure the necessary medical documentation supporting his financial disability and built a case for Appeals consideration which resulted in the full allowance of the original claim. Improvements in customer service were supported by reviewing the daily Next Contact Date/Follow-Up Date report. This helped identify employees that may have overscheduled contacts for a case. Once a determination was made, the excess cases were distributed to members of the LTA staff. Reviewing the reports served as a reminder of daily contacts that must be met to maintain good customer service as well as prompt resolution of taxpayer’s hardships.
• Resolved issues within the group and heard first level grievances with National Treasury Employees Union. Provided advice, counsel, or instruction to employees on both work and administrative matters that ranged from Reasonable accommodations (RA) to work-life balancing measures. I also approved and disapproved leave and recommend Family and Medical Leave Act and RA.
• Aided the LTA in the development of Brooklyn Outreach Initiative and Case Review Contract. This targeted the areas of concern for the office such as cycle time in collection, and examination cases.
• Shifted resources to fill in vacant positions, such as detailing case advocates to serve as LCA, and Intake Advocates.
• Met with the LTA weekly to review and monitor program activity and kept the LTA abreast of potential areas of concern in the office.
• I was sought out by the ARC Office Exam MSP team to serve as a subject matter expert. The team had struggled finding a SME with office exam background to help them understand the exam selection process and universe of taxpayers. I met with the team leads answering questions about the processes and universe of taxpayers using my knowledge and expertise of the office exam. I was available to the team to continue sharing my deep understanding of the exam process and provide additional assistance as needed to ensure the content in the ARC related to this MSP was accurate.
• I was a member of the Leadership Commitments Team. The team was tasked with taking the commitments developed by the DEDCA Team and forming them into commitments for the Senior LTAs, Front-line LTAs, and TAGMs.
• I contributed to succession planning and development of employees, by serving on the Front-Line Readiness Program ranking panel.
• Service and Collaboration- During my Des Moines LTA detail (June 2020 – October 2020, I co-paneled with two LTA’s from the area as well as the DEDCA and conducted interviews for both the St. Paul and the Des Moines TAS offices. After my detail ended, I continued collaborating with Area 6 for three additional months serving as the IORS Unit Security Representative for the Des Moines office. This ensured that IORS reports were timely completed, and that the employees had a point of contact to request that command codes be added to their IDRS profiles. When given manager call backs, I called the taxpayers back within 24 hours. If the taxpayer demanded to speak with me, I took the call immediately. I also provide my contact information to the taxpayer’s in case of future concerns. This reduced callbacks by concerned taxpayers. My intent was for my advocates to become skilled in all aspects of their CJEs and to be able to advocate as expeditiously as possible for each taxpayer that came into our program. I continuously looked for creative ways to advocate more efficiently on the taxpayer’s behalf such as, sharing ideas and obtaining best practices from other employees. I participated in an EDI is Everyone’s Business Focus Group. The purpose of the focus group was to have representation of employee voices from every level of the organization as we take an agile, collaborative approach to develop a strategy that creates a sense of shared ownership for equity, diversity, and inclusion.
• While acting as the Manhattan LTA, (February 2020 I handled issues such as a heated verbal dispute between the TAGM and LCA. I verbally counseled both the TAGM and the LCA and immediately contacted Field LR, as well as the Permanent LTA. The Field LR representative informed me that she will continue working the case with the permanent LTA as well as the DEDCA. I also issued an LTA Memo for issuance of a manual refund for a taxpayer suffering a significant hardship. TAS he Taxpayer had made numerous requests since July 2019 to correct the taxpayers’ account for the IRS to issue the refund. The IRS had not processed these requests timely and the taxpayers lease ran out. The taxpayers were forced to live in a hotel at a great cost, because they did not have the funds to place a deposit on a more affordable rental unit. But for the delays in IRS processing their refund, they would not be losing the funds. The manual refund was issued to the taxpayer with interest and advocacy was provided to the taxpayer.
• Program Management- During the beginning of the fiscal year, I discussed with all employees the 2021 Program letter, and the performance objectives and metrics aligned with the organizational goals to achieve the desired organizational results and outcome. I reinforce to the employees that the mindset is not achieving numerical goals, instead it’s customer advocacy and employee engagement. I ensure casework is strategically assigned taking into consideration the strengths of each team member. Inventory is assigned without regard to sex; race; age; color; nationality or religion I work closely with the congressional offices to ensure that constituents are up to date on TAS capacity to resolve taxpayer problems.

• Met with case advocates weekly to provide case direction and feedback based on the Advocacy, Communication, and Employee Engagement (ACE) model. A Case Review and Coaching calendar was developed and provided to each employee and was also posted outside my cubicle.
• The calendar listed the case advocates assigned day and time for the consultations and showed my availability for case discussion outside of their scheduled time. The outcome of the reviews was communicated to employees face to face, and by directly documenting TAMIS. Employees are engaged because they know support is available if they are struggling with cases or may just not know what the next course of action should be.
• Served as the point of contact for Case Advocates working complex examination cases due to my examination background. Performed reviews of the examination administrative files with the assigned Case Advocate to determine that there were no taxpayer rights violations and ensure that the examiner did not make a mistake in assessing the taxpayer. This in-depth review often led to OARS being issued to Examination requesting audit reconsiderations. For example, a Case Advocate elevated an Earned Income Credit reconsideration to me. I recommended issuing a TAO because exam was not taking the recommended action, and the taxpayer was facing eviction. A TAO was issued resulting in a favorable outcome and prevented further harm to the taxpayer.
• Conducted outreaches with the Wage and Investment, Small Business and Self-Employed Divisions of the IRS, as well as external outreaches at parent teacher conferences. The outreaches were conducted to spotlight the work TAS does and to ensure that all stakeholders are on the same page with providing the best advocacy available to the taxpayers. The outreaches are also an education tool, so the other functions are aware that TAS is not an enemy trying to tell them what to do, but advocate for taxpayers that are often at their wit ends and don’t have any other recourse.
• Assisted with Intake Advocate duties for 4 months during a period of office transition. These duties were primarily focused on being the first point of contact for taxpayers who called on TAS for assistance. I handled the Intake Line. I called back the taxpayers or powers of attorney and answered inquiries to determine if a case met TAS criteria. The cases that met TAS criteria were loaded and assigned to a Case Advocate to provide individualized and custom-tailored assistance. I also educated the taxpayers or directed them to another government agency if the case was not an IRS issue.

• Worked as a Tax Compliance Officer in the Small Business and Self-Employed Division of the Internal Revenue Service. Contacted taxpayers by mail or telephone to address discrepancies and to request supporting documents. Maintained knowledge of tax code changes, and of accounting procedures and theory to properly evaluate financial information. Checked tax forms to verify that names and taxpayers’ identification numbers were correct, that computations had been performed correctly, or that amounts matched those on supporting documentations.
• Planned and conducted pre-classified individual and small business tax examinations by analyzing documentation provided by taxpayers to determine the correct tax liability. Advised taxpayers of their rights as defined in the examination and appeals guidelines. Conducted package audits to determine that other required returns were filed. During the pre-planning stages I conducted a thorough Financial Status Analysis to determine the taxpayer’s method of accounting and identified unreported income using various indirect methods including: Source and Applications of Funds Method, Bank Deposit and Cash Expenditure Method, and Unit Volume and Markup Method.
• Issued deficiency reports based on Internal Revenue Code and Regulation. Advised taxpayers of their rights as defined in the examination and appeals guidelines. Conducted package audits to determine that other required returns were filed. I understand the analysis of internal controls and used this to determine the depth and scope of the examinations. I completed Manager Concurrence Meetings timely, and conveyed time estimates for completion of an examination with individual and business taxpayers, based on risk analysis and audit development.
• During my 8-year career as a TCO, I conducted numerous audits. Some cases resulted in further investigation by other units and/or fraud referrals. An example of a case that resulted in further investigation occurred when I was assigned an individual return as part of a Return Preparer Project. I identified a pattern of the same preparer using different company names and alerted my manager. A referral was made to the Fraud Coordinator for program action.
• Used many applications to conduct research and create reports such as Report Generation Software (RGS), Accurint, Westlaw, Lexis Nexis, and Currency and Banking Retrieval system (CBRS). My knowledge of tax law and the ability to research and comprehend the law using the Internal Revenue Code enabled me to detect and develop significant issues to be pursued, based on large, unusual, or questionable items. I went to Tax Court to testify on one of my cases. Due to my fact-finding skills and because of the efficiency of my examinations, I was given details such as Employee E-File, E-File Monitor, Return Classification, Classroom Instructor, and On the Job Instructor.

• I was an OJI for Tax Law Phases I and II, and a back-up OJI for Phase III. During all phases of training, I managed (4) trainees. As an OJI, I conducted in-process case reviews, conducted case visitations, reviewed the classroom training material, reviewed the training recommendations, prepared workshops, conducted counseling sessions, and informal conferences with taxpayers and/or representatives when necessary. All reviews contained meaningful feedback that was timely and specific as to the direction needed to move the inventory in a timely fashion. I often conducted role plays with the trainees on different issues so they could be better prepared when they had to conduct their audits.

• Prepared the tax returns of Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Administration, and Criminal Investigations employees from February 2006 through April 2006 for the returns to be electronically transmitted to the Service Center. Corrected returns that had been rejected based on various reject codes and made the returns suitable to be electronically filed. Contacted the employees and notified them if there was missing information in their e-file package. Communicated with employees if there was any discrepancy in the tax shown on the paper returns, they submitted versus the electronic one created by me.

• Analyzed Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return to determine audit potential for office or field exam. Looked at the returns and selected only a few significant issues keeping in mind the collectability indicators such as bankruptcy, currently not Collectible, and Offer in Compromise indicators found on the charge-out sheets. The returns were analyzed to determine which ones would be accepted as filed or selected for examination taking into consideration items such as income, and how much time was left on the statutes. I further analyzed the returns to see if there was a pattern of deductions taken to see if the cases were possibly "Preparer Cases".

• Trained in complex tax laws to provide one-stop taxpayer assistance. Reviewed and analyzed taxpayer inquiries regarding a variety of tax and collection issues. Researched account using Internal Revenue Service Computer Systems and reviewed pertinent documents to make an accurate determination on the case. Researched account using Internal Revenue Service Computer Systems and reviewed pertinent documents to make an accurate determination on the case.
• Performed adjustments on customers’ accounts including, but not limited to refunds, address changes, credit transfers, etc. Often acted as an interpreter for the Spanish speaking taxpayers' that comprised 80% of the office's clientele.
• Made Currently Not Collectible determinations if a taxpayer had a financial hardship or a medical condition that prevented payments to the tax balance. I trained my coworkers in recognizing installment agreement indicators on the IRS Computer Systems. Always advised taxpayers of their rights as per IRS policy and procedures.
• As the Assistant Electronic Return Originator (ERO), I organized the electronic filing program, ensuring that all organizational work goals were met. I loaded the software onto the computers and trained my coworkers on the electronic filing program. I completed the reports and documents timely and accurately. When the returns rejected, I researched the ERO handbook and corrected the returns. I corresponded with taxpayers when their returns had errors, to ensure the returns were error free and the customers were satisfied.