Everyone has something to say. It could be recommendations for the maintenance of your car, suggestions on how to cure a cold, or the best way to get there. From gardening tips to herbal remedies, from baby feeding tips to the latest trend in super foods.
The message flows freely, and everyone is ready to add their two cents to our common penny, take the penny dishes.
Tax advice can be a little tricky. If you don’t know, the guide you offer can be loaded with big problems. Even in the professional tax community, wrong plans and completely wrong information creates a pit of tax traps. The IRS checks those traps quite regularly along the way.
So to all those who said, is there anywhere you can go for a certain tax plan without paying someone three figures an hour?
Absolutely. Why go to a third party when you can go to the source? He got it. The IRS stands ready to answer all your tax questions. Here are five resources that the IRS makes available to you.
Toll free tax assistance
The IRS general help line is 1-800-TAX-1040. This line is staffed by trained IRS reps Monday through Friday, from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., your local time.
Line 1040 is a support for both legal tax and accounting issues. Employees are trained in special areas about tax law, and when you explain your concern to the screener, you will see that it is transferred to someone who will help you
If you have a specific question on tax returns, such as why your refund is delayed, why you owe the IRS, or concerns about an audit or examination , prepared to identify yourself with your social security number, name, address on your last tax return and your date of birth.
If you need to check your refugee status after at least four weeks have passed, you can check online with the My Refugee Status application, or call 1-800-829-4477.
Local Taxpayer Assistance Centers
If you prefer or need face-to-face help, you’ll find free tax assistance available at one of the thousands of local IRS help centers, also known as walk-in facilities.
These sites operate on a first-come, first-served basis. No appointment is necessary, although it may be provided to you depending on the complexity of your concern.
Among other things, your local office will receive taxes, help with accounting questions, provide tax return forms and transfers, print tax forms, prepare current year federal tax return to qualify, and help arrange payments, as long as your account is not delinquent to the point that it is turned over to IRS collections.
To find the office closest to you, click on the link to Contact My Local Office on irs.gov.
Book your local Taxpayer Advocate
According to the IRS, the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) is an independent organization within the IRS. TAS helps individual and business taxpayers resolve concerns with the IRS through prompt and fair mediation of issues that are not resolved through normal IRS channels.
You can contact a Taxpayer Service attorney on the intake line to see if they are eligible by calling 1-877-777-4778. For more information on TAS, see IRS Publication 1546, IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service – How to Get Help with Unpaid Tax Problems.
Let your men do the walking
We’re talking electronic media here, so your fingers don’t do the walking anymore, your mouse does.
Check out our IRS.gov for a huge summary of information, all organized under user-friendly links and valuable topics. The IRS home page is broken down into four sections: Forms and Publications, Online Services, Filings and Payments, and Functional Section 1 Work Ad.
Google it
IRS advice is also available outside of their friendly website. The IRS uses new media and social media to share the latest information about tax changes, initiatives, products and services.
IRS2Go is a smartphone application that allows you to interact with the IRS using your mobile device. The IRS also offers YouTube video channels that provide short, informative content on various tax-related topics in English, American Sign Language and various foreign languages. . The IRS also uses Twitter, a site for podcasts and content.
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Taxpayer Help Centers – Open and ready to help you
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