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Walkthrough 04 · 10 steps

Reading a Record of Account
Transcript

A Record of Account (ROA) is the single most useful transcript in a resolution case. This walkthrough reads an ROA end-to-end in TRH's viewer and highlights the codes that actually drive decisions.

Placeholder screenshots: every image block is a description of what the final annotated screenshot should show. Real screenshots with arrows and circles will be added before publish.
STEP 1
What a Record of Account shows
The ROA is a combined view: it stacks the Return Transcript (what the taxpayer filed) on top of the Account Transcript (what the IRS actually did — payments, assessments, penalties, adjustments). Return-only transcripts miss the IRS-side activity; Account-only transcripts miss the original filing details. For resolution work you want both. That's the ROA.
SCREENSHOT 1.1
Shows: Side-by-side comparison diagram with three columns: Return Transcript (shows what was filed), Account Transcript (shows IRS activity), and Record of Account (both combined).
Annotations:
  1. GREEN CIRCLE around the Record of Account column
  2. RED ARROW from "Return" and "Account" merging into "Record of Account"
  3. YELLOW CALLOUT: "ROA = Return + Account in one document"
When in doubt, pull the ROA. It's what almost every resolution workflow starts from.
STEP 2
Open an ROA in TRH's viewer
SCREENSHOT 2.1
Shows: TRH transcript viewer open on a full ROA with the structured section sidebar visible (Header, Return, Adjustments, Transactions, Statutes, Notes).
Annotations:
  1. RED ARROW at the section jump sidebar
  2. YELLOW CIRCLE around the "View raw" toggle top-right
  3. GREEN CALLOUT: "TRH parses the IRS text into navigable sections — you rarely need the raw view"
From the client's Transcripts tab, click the View button on an ROA row. TRH opens the structured viewer.
STEP 3
Header section
SCREENSHOT 3.1
Shows: Top "Header" section of the ROA viewer showing taxpayer name, SSN (masked), tax period, date transcript was printed, filing type (1040/1120 etc), cycle/posting info.
Annotations:
  1. YELLOW CIRCLE around the masked SSN
  2. RED ARROW at the "Date Printed" line labeled "Always check this — transcripts go stale"
  3. GREEN ARROW at the "Tax Period" labeled "Make sure this matches the year you intended"
The header confirms who, what, when. Always sanity-check the taxpayer name, tax period, and the date the transcript was printed — IRS data can shift between pulls.
STEP 4
Return section — what was filed
SCREENSHOT 4.1
Shows: Return Transcript portion of the ROA: AGI, Taxable Income, Tax, Withholding, Refundable Credits, Total Tax, Refund/Balance Due — each labeled field with a numeric value.
Annotations:
  1. GREEN CIRCLE around AGI line
  2. YELLOW CIRCLE around Total Tax line
  3. RED ARROW at "Balance Due" labeled "This is the filed-balance — not the current owed amount"
The Return section shows exactly what the taxpayer reported. Remember: this is as filed — not the current liability.
STEP 5
Adjustments section — subsequent changes
SCREENSHOT 5.1
Shows: Adjustments block listing any IRS changes after the original filing: amended returns, exam adjustments, math error corrections, each with a date and delta amount.
Annotations:
  1. RED CIRCLE around any TC 290 / TC 291 / TC 300 / TC 301 rows
  2. YELLOW CALLOUT: "Positive delta = more tax, negative = less"
  3. GREEN ARROW labeled "Adjustments affect CSED calculations — pay attention"
Any changes after the original filing show up here — amended returns, exam results, notices of deficiency. Adjustments often reset or extend statute clocks.
STEP 6
Transactions list — the ledger
SCREENSHOT 6.1
Shows: Chronological transaction list with columns: Date, TC Code, Description, Amount. TRH auto-highlights rows by category (assessment, payment, penalty, interest, freeze).
Annotations:
  1. GREEN ARROW at a payment row (TC 670)
  2. RED ARROW at a penalty row (TC 270)
  3. YELLOW CIRCLE around the running balance column on the right
  4. BLUE CALLOUT: "Hover any row for a plain-English explanation"
The transaction list is the running ledger of every event on the account. TRH color-codes rows so payments, penalties, and freezes jump out.
STEP 7
Key TC codes to spot
CodeMeaningWhy it matters
TC 150Return filed & tax assessedStarts the ASED / CSED clocks
TC 290Additional tax assessedAudit adjustment — resets some statutes
TC 420Examination indicatorAccount is/was under exam
TC 520Collection activity suspendedBankruptcy, CDP, OIC pending — tolls CSED
TC 570Additional account action pendingFreeze on refund/account
TC 766Credit to accountPayment, refundable credit, or abatement
TC 846Refund issuedIRS sent money — usually good news
SCREENSHOT 7.1
Shows: TRH viewer with a tooltip open on a TC 520 row, explaining the code in plain English including "tolls CSED while active".
Annotations:
  1. RED CIRCLE around the TC 520 row
  2. YELLOW ARROW at the tooltip popup
  3. GREEN CALLOUT: "All TC codes have hover tooltips — no memorization required"
These seven codes cover the vast majority of what matters in resolution work. TRH's viewer tooltips everything so you can hover instead of memorizing.
STEP 8
Statute calculations — ASED, CSED, RSED
SCREENSHOT 8.1
Shows: "Statutes" panel in TRH viewer showing ASED (Assessment), CSED (Collection), and RSED (Refund) with calculated expiration dates, plus tolling events listed underneath.
Annotations:
  1. GREEN CIRCLE around the CSED expiration date
  2. YELLOW ARROW at the list of tolling events (TC 520, OIC pending, bankruptcy) that extended the CSED
  3. RED CALLOUT: "Verify TRH's math against your own — statute errors are career-ending"
TRH auto-calculates the three statute dates from the transaction history, and lists every tolling event that shifted the clock. Always verify the math on high-stakes cases.
Common mistakeTreating TRH's CSED as gospel without checking the tolling events. Tolls are derived from TC codes — unusual patterns (e.g., nested CDPs) can mislead any auto-calc.
STEP 9
Notes / freezes indicator
SCREENSHOT 9.1
Shows: "Notes & Freezes" callout box at the top of the viewer, showing active freezes (e.g., -A freeze, -L freeze, -R freeze) and explanatory text.
Annotations:
  1. RED CIRCLE around each freeze indicator
  2. YELLOW CALLOUT: "Freezes block refunds or collection — understand each before making representations"
  3. GREEN ARROW at the "View history" link that shows when each freeze was applied
Freezes can silently block refunds, stop collection, or flag exam risk. TRH surfaces active freezes at the top so you don't miss them.
STEP 10
Export the ROA for the case file
SCREENSHOT 10.1
Shows: Export menu on the ROA viewer with options: Export to PDF (structured), Export raw IRS text, Export transaction list to CSV.
Annotations:
  1. GREEN CIRCLE around "Export to PDF (structured)"
  2. YELLOW ARROW at CSV export, labeled "Useful for spreadsheet analysis"
  3. RED CALLOUT: "Pick structured PDF for court/audit file, raw text for IRS communications"
Export as PDF for the case file, or CSV if you need to do spreadsheet work on the transaction list. Raw-text export is available when you need to mirror exactly what the IRS produced.
Done. You can now read an ROA confidently. Ready to act on it? Try 06 — Running a Resolution Analysis.
Not legal or tax advice. This content is published by Tax Resolution Hub for educational use by tax professionals. It is not legal, tax, accounting, or investment advice, and does not create an attorney-client or preparer-client relationship. IRS systems, forms, procedures, and statutes change — always verify against current IRM guidance, the client's actual transcript, and the facts of the specific engagement before acting.