Office of the Taxpayer Advocate

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Office of the Taxpayer Advocate
TASLogo Black CMYK 300dpi TASLogo-e1603980641534.png
Agency overview
HeadquartersInternal Revenue Service Building
1111 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20224
United States
Employees1,998 (2009)[1]
Annual budget$206 million (2019)[2]
Agency executives
  • Erin M. Collins, National Taxpayer Advocate
  • Bridget T. Roberts, Deputy National Taxpayer Advocate
Parent agencyInternal Revenue Service
Websitewww.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov

The Office of the Taxpayer Advocate, also called the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS), is an office within the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, reporting directly to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue.[3] The office is under the supervision and direction of the National Taxpayer Advocate who is appointed by the Secretary of Treasury. The office was created under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights 2, an act of the United States Congress which became law on July 30, 1996. The office replaced the previous Office of the Ombudsman within the IRS.[4]

Responsibilities[]

The TAS consists of approximately 1,800 employees. About 1,400 of these are Case Advocates, who personally assist taxpayers in resolving their problems with the IRS. To qualify for this personal assistance, taxpayers must be experiencing economic harm or significant cost (including fees for professional representation), have experienced a delay of more than 30 days to resolve their tax issue, or they have not received a response or resolution to the problem by the date that was promised by the IRS.[5]

In addition, the TAS identifies systemic problems that exist within the Internal Revenue Service and, to the extent possible, propose changes in the administrative practices and identify potential legislative changes which may be appropriate to mitigate such problems.[6] These observations and proposals are presented to Congress each year in the National Taxpayer Advocate's "Annual Report to Congress."[5]

The National Taxpayer Advocate may, upon application from a taxpayer, issue a Taxpayer Assistance Order (TAO) if the Advocate determines that the taxpayer is suffering (or is about to suffer) a "significant hardship" resulting from the way the U.S. Federal tax law is being administered, or if the taxpayer meets other prescribed requirements.[7][8] The TAO may require the IRS to release property that has been levied, or to cease any action, or to take legally permitted action, or to refrain from taking an action against the taxpayer, under various provisions of the tax law.[9]

Leadership[]

The National Taxpayer Advocate is the head of the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate, is appointed by the Secretary of Treasury, and reports directly to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue.[6] The Advocate acts as an ombudsman for the taxpayer. In addition to the duties as the head of the office, the Advocate is responsible for submitting annual reports on objectives and recommendations to the Committee on Ways and Means of the United States House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the United States Senate.[6] The reports are submitted without any prior review or comment from the Commissioner, the Secretary of the Treasury, any other officer or employee of the Department of the Treasury, or the Office of Management and Budget.[6]

The first National Taxpayer advocate was W. Val Oveson, who served from 1998 to 2000.[10] Nina E. Olson was the National Taxpayer advocate for 18 years, retiring on July 31 of 2019.[11] The office then sat vacant for a few months, headed by acting director Bridget T. Roberts.[12] Erin M. Collins has been the National Taxpayer Advocate since March 30 of 2020.[13][14]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "A Statistical Portrayal of the Taxpayer Advocate Service for Fiscal Years 2005 Through 2009" (PDF). TREASURY INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR TAX ADMINISTRATION. 2010-08-16. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  2. ^ https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/266/02.-IRS-FY-2020-CJ.pdf
  3. ^ 26 U.S.C. § 7803, subsec. (c).
  4. ^ Pub.L. 104–168 (text) (pdf), 110 Stat. 1452, enacted July 30, 1996, §101(b)(1)
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b https://www.irs.gov/advocate/
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Pub.L. 104–168 (text) (pdf), 110 Stat. 1452, enacted July 30, 1996, §101(a)
  7. ^ 26 U.S.C. § 7811, subsec. (a)(1).
  8. ^ Internal Revenue Manual, IRM 13.1.1.1.1, Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Dep't of the Treasury (Aug. 21, 2000).
  9. ^ 26 U.S.C. § 7811, subsec. (b).
  10. ^ Lee Benson (2016-02-15). "A still youthful Val Oveson takes a look back". Desert News. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  11. ^ The Associated Press (2020-02-02). "Former national taxpayer advocate talks about your rights". WTOP. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  12. ^ Kelly Phillips Erb (2020-02-27). "IRS Names New National Taxpayer Advocate". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  13. ^ "Our Leadership". Taxpayer Advocate Service. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  14. ^ "New IRS Taxpayer Advocate Takes Office". CPA Practice Advisor. 2020-03-27. Retrieved 2020-08-30.

External links[]


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