Office of the Taxpayer Advocate

The Office of the Taxpayer Advocate, also called the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS), is an office that is independent of the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Government's tax collection agency, although the two bodies often work closely together. It is under the supervision and direction of the Taxpayer Advocate who is appointed by the Secretary of Treasury and reports directly to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. 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 Internal Revenue Service.[3]

Office of the Taxpayer Advocate
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

Responsibilities

The Taxpayer Advocate Service (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 Internal Revenue Service. 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.[4]

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.[5] These observations and proposals are presented to Congress each year in the National Taxpayer Advocate's "Annual Report to Congress."[4]

Leadership

The United States Taxpayer Advocate, also known as the National Taxpayer Advocate, is the head of the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate within the Internal Revenue Service, 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 was in office from 1998 to 2000.[7] Nina E. Olson was the National Taxpayer advocate for 18 years, retiring on July 31st of 2019.[8] The office then sat vacant for a few months, headed by acting director Bridget T. Roberts.[9] Erin M. Collins has been the National Taxpayer Advocate since March 30th of 2020.[10][11]

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. Pub.L. 104–168 (text) (pdf), 110 Stat. 1452, enacted July 30, 1996, §101(b)(1)
  4. https://www.irs.gov/advocate/
  5. Pub.L. 104–168 (text) (pdf), 110 Stat. 1452, enacted July 30, 1996, §101(a)
  6. Pub.L. 104–168 (text) (pdf), 110 Stat. 1452, enacted July 30, 1996, §101(a)
  7. Lee Benson (2016-02-15). "A still youthful Val Oveson takes a look back". Desert News. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  8. The Associated Press (2020-02-02). "Former national taxpayer advocate talks about your rights". WTOP. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  9. Kelly Phillips Erb (2020-02-27). "IRS Names New National Taxpayer Advocate". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  10. "Our Leadership". Taxpayer Advocate Service. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  11. "New IRS Taxpayer Advocate Takes Office". CPA Practice Advisor. 2020-03-27. Retrieved 2020-08-30.


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