Four private debt collection agencies, including a Cedar Falls firm, have been contracted by the Internal Revenue Service to begin collection of overdue federal tax debts next spring, the IRS announced. The new program, authorized under a federal law enacted by Congress in December 2015, enables these designated contractors to collect, on the government’s behalf, outstanding inactive tax receivables. The program will focus on older overdue tax accounts or cases in which lack of resources preventing the IRS from working on them. The selected contractors are CBE Group of Cedar Falls; Pioneer and Conserve, both in New York state; and Performant, a California firm. The IRS will give overdue taxpayers and their representatives written notice that their accounts are being transferred to a private collection agency. The agency will then send a second, separate letter to the taxpayer and representative confirming the transfer. To avoid confusion amid scammers impersonating the IRS, the agency said that the private collection agencies will not ask for payment on a prepaid debit card and that taxpayers will be informed about electronic payment options for taxpayers on IRS.gov/Pay Your Tax Bill. Payments made by check will be sent directly to the IRS, not the private collection agency.