The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) is an independent organization within the IRS whose employees assist taxpayers who are experiencing economic harm, who are seeking help in resolving tax problems that have not been resolved through normal channels, or who believe that an IRS system or procedure is not working as it should.The National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) heads the organization. Each state and campus has at least one Local Taxpayer Advocate, who is independent of the local IRS office and reports to the NTA. The goals of TAS are to protect individual and business taxpayer rights and to reduce taxpayer burden.TAS represents taxpayer interests and concerns within the IRS. This is accomplished in two ways: (1) Ensuring that taxpayer problems which have not been resolved through normal channels are promptly and fairly handled ("case advocacy"); or (2) Identifying issues that increase burden or create problems for taxpayers and bringing those issues to the attention of IRS management and making legislative proposals where necessary ("systemic advocacy").The NTA prepares an Annual Report to Congress describing at least 20 of the most serious problems faced by the IRS, along with recommendations for improvement.

National Tax Department; McLean, VA; San Francisco, CA