The Taxpayer Advocate Service: Help When an IRS Problem Stalls

What the Taxpayer Advocate Service is

The Taxpayer Advocate Service, usually shortened to TAS, is an independent office inside the IRS. Its job is to help people whose tax problems are not being resolved through the normal channels or are causing real difficulty. It is not the office that sent your notice, and it is not a place to simply restate a disagreement about the tax itself.

Think of TAS as a safety net rather than a first stop. If a notice arrives, the usual path is to respond to the address or number on the notice. TAS becomes relevant when that path is not working.

Who may ask for its help

The IRS describes several situations where TAS may be able to step in. Read them as examples of the kind of problem it handles, not as a guarantee that your case will be accepted:

• Economic harm or significant cost, including professional fees, because of how the IRS is handling your matter.
• A delay of more than 30 days in resolving the issue.
• The IRS did not respond or resolve the matter by the date it promised.
• Financial hardship, or an immediate threat of adverse action.
• A systemic failure, meaning a problem in an IRS process rather than just your case.

Try the normal route first

The TAS request page asks you to make reasonable efforts to resolve the problem through regular IRS channels first, such as the phone number or address on the notice. Keep a short record of those attempts, including the date, whom you contacted and what you were told. That timeline makes it easier to explain later why you are asking TAS for help.

Example: a freelance photographer filed an amended return, heard nothing, and has called the number on her letter repeatedly without an answer. Meanwhile the delay is holding up a refund she needs for rent. A record of those calls and the effect of the delay is the kind of context a TAS request can use.

How to ask: Form 911

To request help, you complete Form 911, which is the Request for Taxpayer Advocate Service Assistance. The TAS website explains the options for sending it, which include email, fax or mail, and it notes that the form should be submitted by itself, without other forms or notices attached. The page says that if you have not heard from anyone within 30 days, you should contact the TAS office you sent it to.

Because contact details and instructions can change, use the TAS website for the current form and submission methods rather than relying on any address copied from an old letter or article. This page does not list street addresses for that reason.

What TAS can and cannot do

TAS exists to help with problems that have stalled or are causing hardship. There are limits you should know about before you rely on it:

• TAS does not give legal advice or tax preparation advice.
• It does not reverse legal determinations, and it does not review decisions made by the IRS Independent Office of Appeals or by a court.
• Do not assume that asking for help pauses a deadline. If your notice has a response date or a Tax Court filing deadline, keep track of it separately.
• No outcome is promised, and TAS may decline a case that does not fit its criteria.

Other places to turn

If your problem is mainly a dispute about the amount, a written response with supporting records, or an appeal, TAS may not be the right tool. IRS Audit Defense Pro is software that helps you organize the facts and draft a response letter you review and send yourself; it is separate from TAS and does not replace it.

If you need someone to represent you, a Low Income Taxpayer Clinic may help eligible taxpayers for free or a low fee, and the TAS website helps you find one. Attorneys, CPAs and enrolled agents may also represent you before the IRS.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Who may use the Taxpayer Advocate Service
• Submit a request for assistance (Form 911), Taxpayer Advocate Service
• Low Income Taxpayer Clinics

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