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Sadly, we have all heard stories of people falling victim to financial scams. Scams can take many forms and often harm our most vulnerable citizens. For example, many of us have received phone calls or other types of messages from fraudsters impersonating IRS or law enforcement officials threatening jail time if a fabricated tax debt…

July 26, 2024 – The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) is happy to announce that our website is now available in 13 different languages. This expansion began back in 2022 with Spanish and now includes 11 of the other languages that are most widely used in the United States. “I am so excited that we can provide…

July 29, 2024 – Congress establishes certain refundable credits to assist taxpayers with particular expenses. In an attempt to prevent improper claims of these credits, Congress authorizes the IRS to ban taxpayers from claiming certain refundable credits for two years if it determines that the taxpayers claimed the credit(s) due to reckless or intentional disregard…

July 25, 2024 – The IRS Nationwide Tax Forums are back and in full swing this summer, and the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) just successfully concluded the first forum held in Chicago from July 9-11. There are many reasons to attend the IRS Nationwide Tax Forums, including getting continuing education credits, attending workshops, participating in focus…

July 18, 2024 – I’ve discussed the good and bad IRS responses to the administrative recommendations in my 2023 Annual Report to Congress. Now, it’s time to address the concerning responses that need improvement. Two Most Serious Problems – international information return (IIR) penalties and compliance challenges faced by taxpayers abroad – had disappointing responses from…

July 16, 2024 – Part of my job as the National Taxpayer Advocate is to hold the IRS accountable for operating in a manner that is fair, transparent, and efficient while upholding the rights of taxpayers. My 2023 Annual Report to Congress included several recommendations to improve IRS operations and protect taxpayer rights. To its credit,…

July 16, 2024 – Each year, I submit the National Taxpayer Advocate Annual Report to Congress with recommendations for administrative actions the IRS can take to resolve the most serious problems encountered by taxpayers. The IRS is statutorily required to respond to our recommendations, and while most of its responses are good, some are bad, and…

Don’t get taken in by shady solar panel scams   You may have heard stories about people being misled and fed false information by solar panel salespeople. Falling prey to these scams can end up costing you thousands of dollars.  Make sure you do your due diligence before purchasing solar panels for your home.  …

If you’re one of several thousand people who were affected by a brokerage acquisition over-withholding, you may be issued a Form 1042-S. This has been an issue for a significant number of taxpayers, so here are the steps to take to recover the over-withheld amount. If a brokerage firm issued you a Form 1042-S for…

July 8, 2024 – The IRS is in the midst of reinventing itself by offering taxpayers several new customer service options, including: Expanding document digitalization; Implementing chatbots to assist taxpayers; Adding more customer service representatives; Expanding the use of online taxpayer accounts; and Conducting a direct file pilot program. These enhancements will undoubtedly provide better customer…