Status: Open
Expected Completion Date: TBD

Quarterly Update:
1st Quarter: The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) continued looking for ways to expand our outreach efforts with a focus on reaching the underserved and giving taxpayers the tools to help resolve their issues sooner. Each Local Taxpayer Advocate (LTA) in TAS developed and implemented Outreach Plans including global quarterly outreach goals specific to Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Awareness Day, Pre-Filing Season Awareness, First-Time Filers, Small Businesses and Self-Employed, International/Taxpayers Living Abroad, and taxpayers with disabilities. We used Microsoft Teams to develop, publish, and deliver outreach materials for First Time Filers and Pre-filing Season Awareness Day. TAS will continue to develop outreach materials for underserved populations and update digital platforms once published.

2nd Quarter: TAS used social media, the TAS website, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams to encourage attendance at problem solving days and outreach and education events. Also, we partnered with community organizations, congressional offices, and new stakeholders to conduct these events to reach underserved populations including the financially distressed, first time filers, the houseless, Seniors, Veterans, new graduates, small business owners, self employed taxpayers, and first time filers. Further, we accommodated taxpayers’ schedules of individuals, small businesses, and the self-employed by partnering with the IRS on Saturday Face-to-Face Taxpayer Experience Days. TAS provided in-person assistance with account issues, answered tax questions, and opened new cases for those taxpayers facing financial hardships, long-term adverse impact, or systemic hardships.

Status: Open
Expected Completion Date: TBD

Quarterly Update:
1st Quarter: The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) continues to support the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP) by communicating TAP member availability for providing grassroots taxpayer insights, promoting relationships between TAP members and their Local Taxpayer Advocates (LTAs), and providing support to TAP with assistance with TAP newsletters, new releases, publications and TAP annual report.

2nd Quarter: TAS continues supporting the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP) to provide the taxpayers’ perspective on critical tax administrative programs used by the IRS and continuously looks for opportunities to identify grassroots issues through outreach conducted by the TAP members (460 issues were received in the 2nd quarter). The TAP volunteers work to gather independent taxpayer comments and suggestions regarding IRS service, customer satisfaction, and process improvements. Also, the TAP released its 2022 Annual Report and it is now available to the public. The annual report highlights some of the work and accomplishments from TAP members. Lastly, the TAP recruitment announcement is currently open to help to fill upcoming vacancies projected for the 2024 membership.

Status: Open
Expected Completion Date: TBD

Quarterly Update:
1st Quarter: The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) continues to support the Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITCs) through several activities including partnering with the IRS to develop additional strategies to reach underserved taxpayer populations, analyzing current LITC coverage data, conducting outreach to stakeholders, identifying new strategies to expand services, conducting joint LITC-Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) practitioner kickoff meetings, working with tribal leaders to encourage them to apply for an LITC grant, and exploring opportunities for outreach and meetings with stakeholders. To meet these challenges during the first quarter of Fiscal Year (FY) 2023,we have presented information to citizens of different tribes to discuss TAS and LITC, discussed the availability of LITC grants to serve citizens of tribal nations, and pursued new LITCs in multiple states.

2nd Quarter: TAS continues to support the Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITCs) and the Program Office with staffing and budgetary support. The Program Office continues to identify new ways to expand services and decrease underserved populations including, implementing a pilot program to attract organizations to the clinic program funded by the increased budget to IRS, opening a program to allow organizations that provide the majority or all of its representation through volunteers, and including a legislative recommendation in the Congressional Affairs Program materials for Local Taxpayer Advocates to discuss with their congressional partners. Further, the Program Office expects organizations will apply to provide education and then consider expanding to provide representation.

The Program Office continues to assist with outreach to historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) to encourage them to consider starting an LITC. The staff attended a symposium in Washington, DC where they met and talked with a number of professors and students from various universities including two HBCUs.