Taxpayer Advocate Service
Categories: Tax, Ethics/Morals
The Taxpayer Advocate Service is an independent organization within the IRS’s fortress. If you need help with your taxes, that’s what they’re there for. Just remember that they’re a part of the IRS...not your lawyer.
Still, they’ll uphold both your rights and your responsibilities as a taxpayer. They have a Taxpayer Bill of Rights, which tells you all about your right to be informed about IRS actions, the right to challenge and appeal against the IRS, and all that stuff you hope you never really need to know about (but if you do...it’s there).
They can help you figure out what to do if you can’t pay your taxes, are dealing with identity theft (isn’t everybody these days? Thanks, Equifax), need to file for an extension, or need to fix a mistake after you’ve already filed your taxes.
The service is free, confidential, and will actually give you help...not some boilerplate responses. After all, they work for the IRS, so they want your taxes figured out, too.
