IRS Form 911: A Complete Guide to Resolving Taxpayer Advocate Service Requests
Personal TaxesFighting a legal battle against the IRS requires the resources and expertise most taxpayers don’t have. Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) assists taxpayers who exhaust their options in trying to prevent or stop the IRS collection process.
Filing Form 911 is the first step you need to take when requesting help from TAS, but whether the agency will consider your case depends on the circumstances.
TAS assists taxpayers facing financial hardship, or system issues, so its advocates can help you only with specific tax problems.
In this guide to resolving Taxpayer Advocate Service Requests, we’ll tell you when using this agency could be a good idea and show you how to fill out IRS Form 911.
Table of Contents
What Does The Taxpayer Advocate Service Do?
It’s difficult to deal with tax liens, wage or social security garnishment, and anything else the IRS might throw at you if you don’t know your rights. That’s why the IRS established Taxpayer Advocate Service in 1996.
This independent agency within the IRS assists taxpayers suffering from the actions the IRS has taken against them. It’s also tasked with solving problems that affect all taxpayers by proposing new legislation or improving administrative processes.
The agency offers its services to taxpayers facing the following issues:
- Financial hardship: A taxpayer cannot cover living expenses due to the IRS collection action.
- Taxpayers can’t afford legal representation: The IRS takes action that requires taxpayers to have legal representation they cannot afford.
- Asset seizure: TAS helps taxpayers avoid adverse action.
- System issues: The IRS has delayed processing beyond the legal timeframe or failed to respond to a taxpayer before a specific date.
TAS can’t help you prepare your taxes or deal with issues that fail to meet the significant hardship criteria. Still, the agency can aid you if the IRS doesn’t release your refund 90 days after you filed a return or respond to your inquiries.
It’s worth noting that the agency’s advocates don’t offer the same quality of representation as hired tax professionals.
Getting Help From TAS
Form 911 is the official request for help from TAS. You can download the form from the agency’s website after determining you qualify for Taxpayer Advocate Service.
Income isn’t among the criteria TAS considers when approving applications, so you can use the agency’s services regardless of how much you earn. Besides individuals, TAS also assists businesses and charities that encounter economic hardships.
Don’t contact TAS before exploring all other avenues and trying to speak with an IRS representative about how to solve the tax issue.
Moreover, you’ll be asked to provide the agency with all correspondence you had with the IRS regarding the problem you’re dealing with.
TAS will only help you deal with IRS notices if you’ve already been in touch with the IRS and failed to get any meaningful information about your requests from the case officer.
TAS won’t offer their assistance to taxpayers under the following circumstances:
- A taxpayer didn’t follow the official IRS guidelines for the issue at hand.
- A case is under criminal investigation.
- A taxpayer refuses to pay a tax debt.
- Issues that aren’t directly related to taxes.
Breaking Down IRS Form 911
Filling out the IRS Form 911 and sending it to the local TAS office will officially request the agency’s help with the tax issue you’re dealing with.
You can download the Request for Taxpayer Advocate Service Assistance form from the TAS website, but you cannot file its digital version. Let’s see how to fill out this form.
Section I
This four-page document has three sections. The first section contains taxpayer information. In most cases, this is the only section of the form you’ll have to fill out.
Fields one through five of this section are used for personal information, so this is where you have to enter your full name, SSN, address, fax number, and email address.
You should enter your spouse’s name and SSN in the fields 2a and 2b if your filing status is married filing jointly. You can skip these fields if your filing status is Single or Head of Household.
Insert your or your spouse’s name in field six to let TAS know who they should contact if you don’t have a legal representative. Leave this field blank if you already hired a tax professional.
IRS Form 911 collects information regarding the best time of day for TAS to call, so you should enter the appropriate information in fields seven and eight.
Check the box in field 7b if you consent to TAS leaving confidential information regarding your case on your answering machine.
You can enter your language preferences in field nine and insert the tax return number and the tax period in fields ten and eleven.
The description of the tax problem you’re dealing with should be in field 12a, while the reason you’re contacting the TAS and the type of assistance you’re requesting should be in field 12b.
The description should list the hardships you’re facing and the steps you already took to fix the problem. Don’t worry if the description is too long to fit in the form because you can attach additional sheets to Form 911 containing a detailed explanation of your situation.
You and your spouse must sign and date the form before filing it.
Section II
This section of IRS Form 911 should be blank if you don’t have a legal representative.
Your representative will have to attach Form 2848 if the IRS doesn’t already have this document on file and provide their CAF number on Form 911, along with their address and contact details.
Section III
The final section of IRS Form 911 is filled out by the person who will review your application, and you shouldn’t enter any information here.
The last two pages of Form 911 contain the instructions on how to fill out the form. Please read the instructions carefully before filling out the form and sending it to TAS.
You don’t have to print these two pages of Form 911, as your application can only contain the document’s first two pages.
Filing IRS Form 911 And Further Steps
TAS allows you to file Form 911 via fax or mail, but e-filing this form isn’t an option. The form should be sent to a local TAS office. You can use the TAS Office Locator on the agency’s website to find the correct mailing address or fax number.
An advocate assigned to your case will contact you within a month after you file Form 911 with details regarding your application. They’ll mail you a follow-up letter if they cannot reach you over the phone.
You can call the local TAS office if your case is urgent and you can’t wait several weeks to hear back from an advocate or don’t get an update on your application’s status one month after filing it.
The advocate in charge of your case will suggest the best course of action, act as your representative before the IRS and take steps to prevent the IRS from executing the advert action.
Remember that TAS has the right to contact individuals who can confirm your hardship claim is truthful, so avoid including false information on Form 911.
Consequences of Frivolous Use of IRS Form 911
We already established that TAS doesn’t help taxpayers resolve all tax issues they may encounter. In addition, you may have to pay a $5,000 penalty if you file Form 911 despite failing to meet the eligibility criteria.
Hence, you shouldn’t file this form if you need assistance preparing your tax return or if the argument you present to an advocate can be interpreted as frivolous. The Qualifier Tool can help you determine if TAS can help solve your problem.
Also, you should consider TAS alternatives such as the Collections Appeals Program, Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, or Collection Due Hearing Process if you determine that the Taxpayer Advocate Service can’t help with your case.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some facts and questions to help you understand more about the IRS Form 911.
TAS will aid taxpayers who cannot secure food, shelter, or clothing, commute to work, keep a job, get medical care, and continue their education if the IRS seizes their property or garnishes their wages.
You can speak with your advocate directly after your application has been approved and an advocate has been assigned to your case.
All TAS offices have phone numbers you can call in an emergency but remember that you may not be able to reach an advocate the first time you call and may have to wait a day or two for them to call you back.
Filing this form won’t stop collection action, but your advocate can ask the IRS to pause it until they review your case.
Relying on IRS Form 911 to Resolve Tax Issues
Taxpayer Advocate Service can help you if you’re facing an audit or some other potentially difficult tax situation.
Nevertheless, filing Form 911 and contacting this independent agency within the IRS isn’t always the right solution to your problems.
That’s why you should use the Qualifier Checker on the TAS website to determine if you’re eligible to request assistance from one of its advocates.
Author:
Logan is a practicing CPA and founder of Choice Tax Relief and Money Done Right. After spending nearly a decade in the corporate world helping big businesses save money, he launched his blog with the goal of helping everyday Americans earn, save, and invest more money. Learn more about Logan.
