Mission:

The Taxpayer Advocate Service helps taxpayers resolve problems with the IRS and recommends changes to prevent the problems.

Strategic Priorities:

• Assist taxpayers in resolving problems with the IRS.
• Identify and address systemic and procedural problems through analysis of the underlying cause of the problem in order to take corrective action.
• Identify and address operational issues that affect taxpayers.
• Represent taxpayers' interests in the formulation of policies and procedures.
• Identify and develop legislative proposals to simplify the tax code and reduce taxpayer burden.
• Expand Taxpayer Advocate Services' outreach opportunities to assist and educate external customers.

Headquarters:

Washington, DC
Phone: (202) 622-6100
Fax: (202) 622-7854

Management Team:

Nina E. Olson, National Taxpayer Advocate
Chris Wagner, Deputy National Taxpayer Advocate

Area Offices:

New York/New England: Manhattan, NY
Richmond: Richmond, VA
Atlanta/International: Atlanta, GA
Milwaukee: Milwaukee, WI  
Dallas: Dallas, TX
Seattle: Seattle, WA
Oakland: Oakland, CA

Service Centers:

Small Business: Cincinnati, OH

Operating Division Offices:

W&I; and TE/GE: Atlanta, GA
SB/SE and LMSB: New Carrollton, MD

Local Taxpayer Advocate Service Offices:

At least one in every state

Visit The Taxpayer Advocate Service Web Site

Taxpayer Advocate Service

The Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (RRA '98) amended Internal Revenue Code sections 7803 and 7811, creating the position of the National Taxpayer Advocate and strengthening the Taxpayer Advocate organization by making it independent within the IRS. In the spirit of the legislation and the IRS' modernization, the Advocate Organization was restructured, the mission statement revised and the organization renamed the Taxpayer Advocate Service. The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) officially transitioned as a modernized organization on March 12, 2000.

The Mission of the Taxpayer Advocate Service is to help taxpayers resolve problems with the IRS and to recommend changes to prevent the problems. The organization fulfills its mission through taxpayer casework and through advocacy initiatives. TAS handles not only cases in which a taxpayer is suffering or about to suffer a significant hardship, but also cases in which the taxpayer, while not experiencing a hardship, would benefit from the involvement of TAS. Where TAS cannot provide a remedy for taxpayers because of deficiencies in administrative procedures or barriers imposed by the tax law, TAS will propose administrative solutions or legislative changes, as appropriate.

Unlike most of the IRS, the Taxpayer Advocate Service continues to be a geographically based organization. The field organization consists of nine Area Taxpayer Advocate Directors, seven of whom oversee casework by Local Taxpayer Advocates in assigned territories and two of whom oversee casework from Local Taxpayer Advocates in service centers. The field organization also includes two Operating Division Taxpayer Advocates, who are responsible for systemic analysis and advocacy. Both the Area Taxpayer Advocate Directors and the Operating Division Taxpayer Advocates report directly to the National Taxpayer Advocate. Seventy-four Local Taxpayer Advocates report to the Area Taxpayer Advocate Directors and are responsible for handling taxpayer cases at the local level.

Since TAS is structured around geographic rather than taxpayer segments, Taxpayer Advocates will handle all categories of taxpayer issues, irrespective of the subject matter, in their assigned territories. Thus, all taxpayers in a specific locality will go to the same advocate office, whether the taxpayer is a small business, a large corporation, a wage earner or a government entity. Local and area advocates will deal primarily with casework issues, i.e., issues involving specific taxpayers rather than broad organizational issues.

Broad organizational issues will be handled by the Advocacy Analysts assigned to and remotely managed by the Operating Division Taxpayer Advocates. Advocacy issues are generally those issues that impact a large segment of taxpayers or are issues that recur with some frequency. Depending on the nature of the problem presented, Advocacy Analysts will recommend either administrative solutions to the IRS or legislative solutions to the Congress through the National Taxpayer Advocate's Annual Report.

Key Contacts: