The Taxpayer Advocate Service: free help when the IRS process is stuck
An office inside the IRS whose job is to help when normal channels have failed: economic harm, a delay of more than 30 days, or a promised response that never came. It costs nothing, and Massachusetts has its own counterparts.
THE CLOCK — MORE THAN 30 DAYS OF DELAY IS ONE OF THE TESTS
TAS says you may be eligible if you have experienced a delay of more than 30 days resolving a tax issue, or have not had a response by the date the IRS promised. It does not extend statutory deadlines on its own, so a Tax Court or hearing date still has to be met while TAS is involved.
What TAS is
The IRS describes the Taxpayer Advocate Service as an independent organization within the IRS whose employees help taxpayers experiencing economic harm, taxpayers whose problems have not been resolved through normal channels, and taxpayers who believe an IRS system or procedure is not working as it should.
It is free, confidential and available to businesses as well as individuals. There is at least one Local Taxpayer Advocate in every state, and because advocates are part of the IRS, they know how to move a case through it. The IRS says a qualifying taxpayer gets personalized help from an advocate who stays with the case until it is resolved.
It is not a place to shop for a better answer on the merits. It is a route for getting the IRS to act on a problem it has left sitting, or to stop doing something that is causing real harm.
IS TAS RIGHT FOR THIS? THREE QUESTIONS
- Is the problem causing you economic harm or significant cost, including fees for professional help?
- Have you been trying to resolve it for more than 30 days through normal IRS channels?
- Did the IRS promise a response or a resolution by a date that has now passed?
A yes to any one of these is the IRS's own description of who may be eligible.
Taxpayer Assistance Orders
Behind TAS's day-to-day case work sits a statutory power. On an application, the National Taxpayer Advocate may issue a Taxpayer Assistance Order where a taxpayer is suffering or about to suffer a significant hardship because of how the tax laws are being administered.
The statute says significant hardship includes an immediate threat of adverse action, a delay of more than 30 days in resolving account problems, significant costs including professional fees if relief is not granted, and irreparable injury or long-term adverse impact. An order can require the IRS to release levied property, or to take, stop or refrain from certain actions within a set time.
That is why TAS appears on so many IRS notice pages. The CP22A page, for example, points to TAS for people who have not been able to get answers after contacting the IRS several times.
How to ask for help
The formal request is Form 911, Request for Taxpayer Advocate Service Assistance (and Application for Taxpayer Assistance Order). The IRS also lists a TAS telephone number, 877-777-4778, on its notice pages. The IRS's advocate pages at irs.gov/advocate are the reliable starting point; the separate TAS website has at times been offline for updates.
A request goes further when it is specific: the tax years, the notices received and their dates, what has already been tried and when, what the IRS promised and did not do, and what harm is resulting. Copies of the relevant notices and any correspondence belong with it.
For people on low incomes, the IRS also points to Low Income Taxpayer Clinics, which are listed in IRS Publication 4134.
The Massachusetts counterparts
The Department of Revenue has two offices with similar roles. Its Problem Resolution Office helps taxpayers whose problems have not been resolved in a reasonable amount of time. Once a case is accepted, DOR says a staff member is assigned to it until the problem is resolved. DOR is clear that the Problem Resolution Office is not the place to dispute the validity of an assessment.
Where those channels have not worked, or an issue affects many taxpayers, DOR's Office of the Taxpayer Advocate acts as an independent voice in reviewing protracted individual cases. Contact details for both are on mass.gov.
As with the IRS, these offices help a process move. They do not replace an abatement application, an appeal to the Appellate Tax Board, or a payment agreement, and they do not stop the clocks on those.
Where this comes from
The statutes behind this page, so you can check any of it rather than take it on trust.
- IRC §7803(c)
- Establishes the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate within the IRS, under a National Taxpayer Advocate who reports directly to the Commissioner.
- IRC §7811
- Taxpayer Assistance Orders. Where a taxpayer is suffering or about to suffer a significant hardship, the Advocate may order the IRS to release levied property or to take, stop or refrain from certain actions.
This page explains what the IRS or the Massachusetts Department of Revenue does and cites the statute. It is not advice about your situation, which depends on facts none of this knows. Tell us what your letter says and what date is on it. Please do not send Social Security numbers or tax documents through the form.
Getting a levy released
Release is not discretion exercised on request. The statute lists the circumstances in which the IRS must release a levy, and the work is establishing that one of them applies.
Letter 5071C
A return was filed under your Social Security number or ITIN, and the IRS will not process it until you confirm it was yours, or tell it that it was not. There is no penalty clock, but nothing moves until you verify.
Massachusetts DOR debt
Resolving a federal balance does nothing for a state one. Massachusetts has its own assessment periods, its own collection powers, its own appeal route and its own personal liability rule for trustee taxes.
Currently not collectible
Where paying anything would leave you unable to meet basic living expenses, the IRS suspends active collection. Nothing is forgiven and the balance keeps accruing — but the collection period keeps running too, and for some accounts that is the entire strategy.
Questions about taxpayer advocate service.
- Who qualifies for Taxpayer Advocate help?
- The IRS says you may be eligible if you are experiencing economic harm or significant cost, including fees for professional representation; have had a delay of more than 30 days resolving a tax issue; or have not had a response by the date the IRS promised.
- Does the Taxpayer Advocate Service cost anything?
- No. The IRS says TAS is free and confidential, and available to businesses as well as individuals. There is at least one Local Taxpayer Advocate in every state.
- What is Form 911?
- Request for Taxpayer Advocate Service Assistance (and Application for Taxpayer Assistance Order). It is the formal way to ask TAS for help, and to apply for an order directing the IRS to act or stop acting where a significant hardship exists.
- Can TAS stop a levy?
- A Taxpayer Assistance Order can require the IRS to release levied property or refrain from an action, where the statutory test of significant hardship is met. Whether that applies depends on the facts, and TAS decides.
- Is there a Massachusetts taxpayer advocate?
- Yes. DOR has a Problem Resolution Office for problems not resolved in a reasonable time, and an Office of the Taxpayer Advocate for protracted cases and systemic issues. Neither is the route for disputing an assessment itself.
Tell us what the letter says and what date is on it.
Scope and price in writing before anything starts. Where what you need is something we do not do, you will be told that instead.
Please don't send Social Security numbers or tax documents through this form.