An official website of the United States Government (NON-Prod - Development Environment)Every year, the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) helps thousands of people with tax problems. This story is only one of many examples of how TAS helps resolve taxpayer’s tax issues. All personal details are removed to protect the taxpayer’s privacy.
A parent couple who filed as married filing jointly were denied by the IRS their claim for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC). The couple was also denied their claim for three dependency exemptions on their tax return for two tax years.
The case advocate requested and obtained documents to establish their relationship, but had difficulty proving their residency. Two of the children who lived with them were only one and three years old and had no school or child care providers. The parents did not receive social service benefits and their doctor statements were incomplete. At the case advocate’s suggestion, the taxpayers obtained a letter from their landlord stating who lived in the property they rented. The case advocate also had the taxpayers provide statements from utility companies to show amounts paid at their address.
If you need information on a specific tax topic, visit the TAS Get Help resource. It offers a step-by step guide on what you can do to settle some IRS issues on your own, what your taxpayer rights are and other options available to help you get resolution. Most issues can be resolved directly by working with the IRS. However, if you have tried, but are still unable to resolve an IRS issue, learn more about whether TAS can help you: TAS eligibility.
When working with the Taxpayer Advocate Service, each individual or business taxpayer is assigned to an advocate who listens to the problem and helps the taxpayer understand what needs to be done to resolve their tax issue. TAS advocates will do everything they can to help taxpayers and work with them every step of the way. Occasionally we feature stories of taxpayers and advocates who work together to resolve complex tax issues. Read more TAS success stories.
