How to Talk With an IRS Tax Advocate

IRS advocates work on your behalf when an IRS issue affects you.

The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) is designed to help taxpayers who are experiencing an economic hardship, a delay caused by the IRS or who were given incorrect information by an IRS representative. Taxpayer advocates can often expedite the processing of refunds, and delay enforcement of IRS debt collection or other impending IRS actions. Listed below are the easiest and most straightforward ways to contact your local IRS tax advocate.

Things You'll Need

• IRS Form 911
• Phone

Instructions

1. Call the Internal Revenue Service's customer service line at 1-800-829-1040, and request to be assigned a taxpayer advocate. In order to confirm that you meet the criteria for TAS assistance, the customer service representative will ask you a series of questions. Examples of situations which would be considered TAS criteria include eviction, foreclosure and the expiration of an IRS processing time frame. Once the representative determines that you meet the criteria, he or she will enter your advocate request into the queue, from which it will selected by a manager and assigned to a taxpayer advocate. The advocate will then call you within 11 days to discuss your case. The IRS representative will attempt to resolve the problem for you.

2. If you prefer not to call the IRS directly, call the National Taxpayer Advocate hotline at 1-877-777-4778. A national taxpayer advocate assistor will answer the line, and assign you a taxpayer advocate. Once your case is assigned, you will be given a case number and the contact information for your taxpayer advocate.

3. Download IRS Form 911, Request for a Taxpayer Advocate from a web-enabled computer or phone, save the form, print it and mail the completed form to your local processing center. You can also take it to a local IRS walk-in office. If you have trouble completing the form, a representative at the local IRS office can assist you.

Tips & Warnings

• Taxpayer advocates are not allowed to reverse IRS rulings or decisions. They can, however, postpone any IRS collection enforcement action and allow you to submit new information. In addition, advocates can also expedite the processing of tax returns if you meet TAS criteria.

• Always attempt to resolve the issue first with the IRS before contacting TAS, because TAS must allow the IRS an opportunity to correct the problem before they get involved.

References

• IRS: Taxpayer Advocate Service

Resources

• IRS: Form 911