The Taxpayer Advocate Service is an independent organization within the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It is aimed at helping taxpayers and protecting their rights. There are generally four cases that TAS can take on:
- If you face a worsening financial situation due to tax difficulties and need help with searching for an expedited resolution;
- If you can’t solve your tax problem with the IRS by using common methods;
- If you face a complicated tax issue that involves many steps;
- And if you have a unique (never reviewed before) issue and the IRS tries to solve it with a standard and inadequate solution.
In this blog post, you will learn what TAS is, how it can help you and what steps you should take to request this help.
What is the Taxpayer Advocate Service?
Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) is a free service. It is your voice at the IRS.
The key responsibilities of TAS include helping individuals, businesses and organizations handle their tax-related problems (this includes large-scale tax disputes that involve many taxpayers). You are eligible for TAS assistance if, when you have gone through all of the appropriate channels with the IRS, your tax issue still remains unresolved. You may also seek assistance when you face an immediate action from the IRS that will harm you financially.
TAS has offices located all around the country, including Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.
How do I request Taxpayer Advocate Service Assistance and what is Form 911?
If you are sure that you can’t solve the problem with the IRS on your own, you first have to fill out IRS Form 911, which is titled the Request for Taxpayer Advocate Service Assistance. The form itself has two pages and includes detailed instructions on how to complete it. If you fill out the form and don’t get any answer from TAS within one week, call the office where you sent the form. You can find the necessary telephone number here.
How to complete the Request for Taxpayer Advocate Service Assistance
IRS Form 911 includes three sections.
The first section is titled Taxpayer Information. Here you have to indicate your name and the name of your spouse, you and your spouse’s taxpayer identification number (SSN, EIN or ITIN), your current address, email, fax number, tax form number (1040, 941, 710, etc.), tax period, telephone number and the best time for them to call. In this section you must also sign and date the form.
Section 2 is titled Representative Information. Here you should provide information about the authorized representative. This includes the name, Centralized Authorization File (CAF) number, mailing address, telephone number and a suitable time to call. This person then has to sign and date this section.
The third section is titled Initiating Employee Information and is to be completed by the IRS only.
Where to mail IRS Form 911
Once the form is completed, send it to the Taxpayer Advocate Service. You can send it via fax (find the necessary fax number here) or mail. Make sure you send it to your local TAS office. If you need to send the document from overseas, fax it to 1-855-818-5697 or mail it to the following address: Taxpayer Advocate Service, Internal Revenue Service, PO Box 11996, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00922.
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