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The Office of the Taxpayer Ombudsman was created
by the Internal Revenue Service in 1979 to serve as the primary advocate,
within the IRS, for taxpayers. This position was codified in the Taxpayer
Bill of Rights 1 (TBOR 1), included in the Technical and Miscellaneous Revenue
Act of 1988, Pub. L. 100–647.

This legislation included a provision, that authorized
the Taxpayer Ombudsman (now National Taxpayer Advocate), to issue Taxpayer
Assistance Orders (TAOs) when taxpayers were suffering or about to suffer
significant hardships because of the way the Internal Revenue laws were being
administered. This was expanded by the Commissioner to include any instance
where a taxpayer was suffering or about to suffer a significant hardship,
regardless of the cause of the hardship.

The Taxpayer Bill of Rights 2 (TBOR 2) was signed
into law July 30, 1996, as Public Law 104–168. TBOR changed the title
of the Taxpayer Ombudsman to Taxpayer Advocate while also changing the status
of the position.

The Taxpayer Advocate was to continue to fulfill
all of the responsibilities, which the position held in the past, but with
somewhat greater autonomy and enhanced authority to advocate changes within
the IRS that benefit taxpayers.

TBOR 2 described the functions of the Office of
the Taxpayer Advocate as:

The Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and
Reform Act of 1998 (RRA98) was signed into law July 22, 1998, as Public Law
105–206 and changed the Taxpayer Advocate Services organization. RRA98
renamed the title Taxpayer Advocate to National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA). This
law significantly changed the appointment of the NTA from being an appointee
of the Commissioner to being an appointee of the Secretary of the Treasury,
after consulting with the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and IRS Oversight
Board.

RRA98 strengthened the independence of both the
NTA and the local advocate organization. Two key changes were mandated:

The intent of Congress was to ensure both the
independence and objectivity on the part of Advocates in dealing with tax-related
concerns. Therefore, all employees in the TAS report directly to the NTA or
delegate thereof. This provides an independent perspective and ensures taxpayer
cases get an impartial review while providing full accountability within the
Advocate organization.

The National Headquarters is comprised of the
National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA), Deputy National Taxpayer Advocate (DNTA),
and Executive Director, Systemic Advocacy (EDSA) and Program Directors and
their staffs. The NTA serves as the advocate for taxpayers within the IRS.
He/she also oversees the overall administration of the nationwide Taxpayer
Advocate Service by ensuring the interests of the individual taxpayer are
represented in all aspects of the policies and procedures of the Internal
Revenue Service. All employees in the TAS organization report directly to
the NTA or delegate thereof.

In addition to serving taxpayers one at a time,
the NTA also serves all taxpayers by reporting regularly to the Congress of
the United States. It is the responsibility of the NTA to keep Congress fully
up-to-date on the Advocates success at resolving taxpayer problems, as well
as report any systemic issues that may be adversely affecting taxpayers. To
accomplish this, the NTA publishes two reports a year that are submitted to
the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee and testifies
before Congress on these matters.

Supporting the NTA, DNTA and EDSA are managers
and their staffs responsible for such areas as Human Resources, Financial
Operations, Program Planning and Quality, Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP), Communications
and Liaison, Taxpayer Account Operations and the Office of Systemic Advocacy.
A senior level Technical Advisor, a Senior Advisor to the National Taxpayer
Advocate (Research) and Senior Advisor to the National Taxpayer Advocate (Annual
Report to Congress) are assigned to the NTA to conduct analysis, coordinate
research, assist in the preparation of the Annual Report to Congress and conduct
external outreach. The Special Counsel to the National Taxpayer Advocate and
staff are employed by the Office of Counsel to provide legal advice and support
the NTA and headquarters.

Major responsibilities include: IRM 13, Advocate
Advisory Board support and coordination, strategic planning of personnel,
training and budget, special project support, Taxpayer Advocacy Panel, NTAs
Annual Report to Congress, Annual Objective Report to Congress, Senate Finance
Committee Case Program and program direction and support.

Nine area offices (7 for field offices and 2 for
campuses) provide program guidance and direction to Local Taxpayer Advocates
(LTA), who report directly to the Area Taxpayer Advocates (ATA) also known
as Area Directors. The Area Taxpayer Advocate offices are responsible for:

The Area Director Advocates are also responsible
for reviewing and evaluating the program in their respective areas. They ensure
that the program is conducted in accordance with national guidelines and instructions
and that Local Taxpayer Advocates are carrying out their responsibilities.

The TAS has at least one Local Taxpayer Advocate
(LTA) located in each of the 50 states, as well as one in each campus. All
LTAs report directly to the 9 area directors and are responsible for resolving
all TAS cases. In addition, the local advocates are the liaisons with practitioner
communities within their area and with the congressional staffs for constituent
issues. They educate the public about the role of the advocate and solicit
feedback from them on recurring problems with IRS systems and procedures.

Depending on the size of the office, the LTAs
staff can be comprised of Associate Advocates (AA), Senior Associate Advocates
(SAA), Program Analysts, Technical Advisors, Group Managers and Administrative
Support.

Each TAS office must maintain means of communication
that are independent of the IRS. Each office must have a separate phone, fax
machine and post office address, as well as other independent electronic communication
access. In addition, TAS employees must inform taxpayers that the TAS operates
independently within the IRS office and reports directly to Congress through
the National Taxpayer Advocate. The LTA also has the discretion not to inform
the IRS of any contact or any information provided to the local TAS office
by a taxpayer.

The Executive Director, Systemic Advocacy (EDSA)
reports directly to the NTA. The Executive Director has oversight responsibility
for systemic advocacy and the NTAs annual reports to Congress. Two divisions,
Business Advocacy and Individual Advocacy, report to the EDSA. The Director,
Business Advocacy (DBA) and the Director, Individual Advocacy (DIA) are responsible
for identifying and raising awareness of systemic issues impacting taxpayers.

The EDSA oversees two project managers in addition
to the Directors of Advocacy. One project manager is responsible for the day-to
day production of the NTA Annual Report to Congress. The second project manager
is responsible for the advocacy initiative tracking system, assignment of
advocacy proposals, and a database which captures advocacy proposals and initiatives.
The TAS Office of Systemic Advocacy receives administrative and legislative
proposals from a multitude of sources, including internal and external sources.

Advocacy analysts assigned to DBA or DIA work
with the Operating Divisions/Functional Units to analyze and understand the
root causes of problems and support joint advocacy efforts. The ultimate goals
of the advocacy analyst are:

Also included under the auspices of the National
Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) are two programs, the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP)
and the NTA Toll-Free Number operation, that rely heavily upon employees/taxpayers
outside the Advocates organization:

The National Office NTA staff is responsible for
maintaining this handbook and will solicit comments and suggestions from Taxpayer
Advocate Service staff nationwide and Operating Divisions and Functional Units
prior to any substantial changes in operating procedures.

The following Outlook E-mail address has been
established for questions, requests for deviation, or recommended changes
to IRM 13: *Taxpayer Advocate Q&A.

The Advocate Advisory Board (AAB) has been established
by the National Taxpayer Advocate to provide input on strategic issues and
program direction.

The NTA makes executive decisions and signs all
policy decision documents.

The AAB meets quarterly to discuss issues affecting
the Taxpayer Advocate Service. Meetings are held at locations most cost effective
for the organization.

The AAB has regularly scheduled conference calls.

The AAB has 27 permanent members.