If you receive a letter from the IRS or are the subject of an examination or an audit, it helps to know the rules of the road. You'll find them in the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, published in IRS Publication 1, Your Rights as a Taxpayer, available on the IRS website at tinyurl.com/3v9y9fy9.

Here is a summary:

The Right to Be Informed: "Taxpayers have the right to know what they need to do to comply with the tax laws. They are entitled to clear explanations of the laws and IRS procedures in all tax forms, instructions, publications, notices, and correspondence."

The Right to Pay No More than the Correct Amount of Tax: "Taxpayers have the right to pay only the amount of tax legally due, including interest and penalties, and to have the IRS apply all tax payments properly."

The Right to Challenge the IRS's Position and Be Heard: "Taxpayers have the right to raise objections and provide additional documentation in response to formal IRS actions or proposed actions, to expect that the IRS will consider their timely objections and documentation promptly and fairly, and to receive a response if the IRS does not agree with their position."

The Right to Appeal an IRS Decision in an Independent Forum: "Taxpayers are entitled to a fair and impartial administrative appeal of most IRS decisions, including many penalties, and have the right to receive a written response regarding the Off�ice of Appeals' decision. Taxpayers generally have the right to take their cases to court."

The Right to Finality: "Taxpayers have the right to know the maximum amount of time they have to challenge the IRS's position as well as the maximum amount of time the IRS has to audit a particular tax year or collect a tax debt."

That's all well and good, but realistically, what does this mean to an everyday taxpayer who receives correspondence from the IRS?

It's important to understand that a "conversation" starts with a letter, which can lead to a quick and easy resolution or just the opposite, an examination or an audit.

If you receive a letter, call your accountant, or if you do your own taxes, follow the instructions provided on the IRS website. See "What taxpayers should do if they receive mail from the IRS" (tinyurl.com/2p9kxtp9).

The IRS suggests you start by reading the letter carefully: "Each notice deals with a specific issue and includes any steps the taxpayer needs to take."

Review the information: "Typically ... taxpayer[s] will need to act only if they don't agree with the information, if the IRS asked for more information or if they have a balance due."

A balance is easy to handle, unless you disagree with the amount. Providing more information is also easy, unless there is an underlying interpretive question, or you simply don't agree with the information. In that case, you'll need to "follow the instructions in the [letter/notice] to dispute what the notice says. The taxpayer should include information and documents for the IRS to review when considering the dispute."

When must you call your CPA? Russell Abrahms, a CPA located in Fairfield, Connecticut, said that if the letter includes the threat of a tax levy or a summons, drop everything and call your tax adviser right away. Time is of the essence, added Abrahms. To get your bearings, look at the year and the type of tax.

But here is a cautionary note: Beware of scammers. Before responding to IRS correspondence, read "Recognize tax scams and fraud" (tinyurl.com/yvfyjuxb).

Before we leave this subject, don't forget that the Taxpayer Advocate Service (taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov) can be helpful as well. TAS is an independent organization within the IRS that seeks to "ensure that every taxpayer is treated fairly and that you know and understand your rights."

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Let me ask you a question: Suppose you have $100 in a savings account earning 2% interest a year. After five years, how much would you have?

That's the first question on FINRA's Financial Knowledge Quiz (tinyurl.com/2wyr882b), which is part of the FINRA Investor Education Foundation's 2024 National Financial Capability Study, set to be published in July.

Which answer would you choose if these were your multiple-choice options? 1) More than $102; 2) Exactly $102; 3) Less than $102; 4) Don't know.

Only 27% of test-takers nationwide correctly answered at least five of the seven quiz questions. FINRA's previous quiz in 2021 showed similar results.

I recommend spending a few minutes today taking the quiz to assess your own financial knowledge. Why? Because I believe you will do better than most test-takers. Explanations for the correct answers are provided after you take the quiz.

One area of greater public knowledge turned out to be inflation. Here is the question:

"Imagine that the interest rate on your savings account was 1% per year and inflation was 2% per year. After one year, how much would you be able to buy with the money in this account?"

The possible answers were "More than today," "Exactly the same," "Less than today" and "Don't know."

Fifty-eight percent of test-takers chose the correct answer of "Less than today," an increase from 53% in 2021. As explained on the answer page, "If the annual inflation rate is 2 percent but the savings account only earns 1 percent, the cost of goods and services has outpaced the buying power of the money in the savings account that year."

Wyoming test-takers beat others, with 68.21% answering the inflation question correctly. Minnesota, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin were each over 65%. Connecticut was at 61.56%.

Still, any score under 100% is hardly anything to cheer about. (Shouldn't every adult know the answer?)

As Gerri Walsh, president of the FINRA Foundation, said in a recent press release, "Overall, the findings show that knowledge of everyday financial concepts remains a challenge for many Americans" (tinyurl.com/3j9x84xd). Indeed.

Walsh added: "[C]ontinued efforts are needed to ensure all Americans fully understand the effects of economic factors on their personal finances." Absolutely.

I am a strong supporter of financial literacy education starting at age 5 and continuing through grade school, high school and college, and delivered both at school and at home.

What about you? In your societal circles of friends, colleagues and family, surely there are ways you can play a part to help share your own knowledge and to model sound decision-making.

If you need resources, there are plenty. Take a look at the FINRA Investor Education Foundation website (finrafoundation.org). You can view previous National Financial Capability studies at FINRA's Data and Downloads page (tinyurl.com/5n7uc7xw).

A resource for younger members of the family is the American Bankers Association website, which provides material for Grades K-8, High School/Young Adult and All Ages (tinyurl.com/2pwd33rs).

The goal when it comes to financial literacy is to start early and continue to seek knowledge throughout life. It's an investment of time that creates a pathway to financial security and goes far beyond celebrating one month a year (National Financial Literacy Month in April).

On a related note: I invite couples to a virtual presentation that I'm giving on Wednesday, April 30, hosted by Greenwich Library. This complimentary one-hour talk will help you, as a couple, create an action plan with the goal of achieving retirement security. Reserve your spot at juliejason.com/events/upcoming-events. This is one of my personal efforts to promote financial literacy education, as is my writing, and my pro bono efforts with local schools and nonprofits.

In the meantime, don't hesitate to write to me at readers@juliejason.com with questions and comments.

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Here's a question for you: At what age do you achieve the status of "senior"?

Is it age 50? 65? 75? Or perhaps 18?

It turns out that a helpline for SENIORS who are concerned about their investments (FINRA Securities Helpline for Seniors) is available for people of any age. While most calls are from older seniors, calls do come from "investors as young as 13, all the way up to 102," said Elizabeth Yoka in a FINRA podcast. The hotline "will assist anyone of any age" (tinyurl.com/43tnbjwb).

That's good to know. Make a note of this number -- 844-574-3577 -- in case you have questions you'd like to ask.

Yoka is the manager of FINRA's Vulnerable Adults and Seniors Intake team (VAST), the FINRA staff that handles the hotline's calls. FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, is a not-for-profit organization that regulates member brokerage firms doing business in the U.S.

You may want to call the hotline to talk over questions you have about investments or financial advisers. Perhaps you want to "better understand how to review your investment portfolio or account statements." Or, you have a concern about how your investment account is being handled. Or maybe you want to know whether your financial adviser has a disciplinary record. (FINRA is the creator of the online tool BrokerCheck, which gives people the ability to examine the background of a financial adviser or firm.)

A FINRA staff member will talk with you about your questions, and if they're not resolved during the call, the staff member will follow up with you or refer you to "another regulator or agency for help." Visit the helpline's website at tinyurl.com/3dc87a3s to learn more.

To give you an example, Yoka shared the story of a senior investor and his daughter who reached out about a potentially unsuitable variable annuity recommendation. The helpline contacted the firm that recommended the annuity, and eventually the firm canceled the policy and settled with the client for the amount of the original annuity plus $8,000 in interest.

In another example, a 74-year-old woman asked for help with a scammer who convinced her to close her investment accounts and transfer the money to her bank account, where it then would be sent to another account under the scammer's control. Her call to the hotline resulted in a recovery of nearly $250,000.

In the past ten years (through Dec. 31, 2024), the helpline has assisted with the return of more than $9.3 million to investors and made more than 2,750 referrals to state, federal and international regulators when the matter was beyond FINRA's jurisdiction, all starting with a phone call -- 32,000 of them from the U.S. and abroad (tinyurl.com/yc7p5tht).

Protecting investors is the overarching goal of FINRA in its role as a regulator of brokers, and the helpline is an example. This is the helpline's 10th anniversary.

"[E]ducation is key. Being aware of tactics perpetrators are using is paramount, as they are constantly changing and especially in today's digital world," explained Michael Paskin in the FINRA podcast. Paskin is the manager of the VAST Investigations team.

Education falls squarely into this time of year, as April is National Financial Literacy Month. The goal is to ensure that people make "informed financial decisions and build lasting security," according to a U.S. Treasury Department press release (tinyurl.com/v6cekyc5).

To build "lasting security," it helps to know how to recognize and avoid scams and just to keep learning.

Let's get back to age. You can share with your college-age family members that they can join AARP. While dedicated to the 50-plus population, membership is open to 18-year-olds on up. If you don't believe me, check the AARP webpage "Is an AARP Membership Worth It?" (tinyurl.com/mr4by6sk).

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