FOIA Appeals Fail So Often, Taxpayers See a Broken System

Tax attorney Mary McNulty was quoted in a Tax Notes article examining the high sustention rate of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) appeals at the IRS. FOIA requests first go the IRS' disclosure office, then to the Independent Office of Appeals (Appeals). According to U.S. Department of the Treasury reports, an average of 93 percent of administrative appeals processed each year were affirmed between 2008 and 2024, even reaching 100 percent in 2012. National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins expressed concerns about the number of affirmations in her 2023 report to Congress, saying the trend indicates taxpayers are being deprived of their rights and turning to more costly litigation. Attorneys interviewed by Tax Notes, including Ms. McNulty, shared similar sentiments. She commented that in her experience, Appeals typically agrees with the disclosure office's findings without asking for additional information or providing a more detailed explanation of its decision, a result she called "disheartening."

"Appeals routinely sustains the disclosure office's determination and does not address the arguments in our appeal," she said.

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