The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel's (TAP) 2013 recruitment membership application period closed on April 1, 2013. TAP sincerely thanks all who submitted an application. During the open recruiting period, from February 22, 2013, through April 1, 2013, TAP received more than 400 applications for panel membership from American taxpayers living around the world. For the first time this year, TAP accepted applications from U.S. citizens living abroad or in a U.S. territory to raise awareness of issues facing international taxpayers.
To select new members, TAP will thoroughly review all applications submitted during the recruitment period. The TAP director will submit TAP membership recommendations to the National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) Nina Olson and the IRS commissioner for approval, and then to the Department of the Treasury for final selection. Stay tuned for the introduction of new Panel members, who will begin their three-year terms in December 2013.
Thanks again to those who volunteered to speak up on issues that impact taxpaying citizens nationwide by applying for TAP membership. If you are interested in volunteering to serve as a TAP member but were unable to apply during this year’s application period, please visit the Join TAP page to sign up for an email alert when TAP member openings are available in your area. You may also check this site early spring 2014 for information on the next recruitment period.
The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP) is actively seeking volunteers to serve on the panel. TAP is a Federal Advisory Committee that listens to taxpayers, identifies taxpayers’ issues and makes suggestions for improving IRS customer service and satisfaction. TAP members serve three-year terms and commit 200 to 300 hours each year to identify concerns about IRS service and suggest changes. Apply before the April 1, 2013 deadline!
TAP reports directly to the Secretary of the Treasury, the IRS Commissioner and the National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA), who leads the Taxpayer Advocate Service, an independent organization within the IRS that provides oversight of the TAP.
TAP is seeking members or alternate members in the following states: California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Washington. For the first time this year, TAP is also expanding recruitment efforts to U.S. citizens living abroad or in a U.S. territory.
TAP represents taxpayers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the interests of U.S. taxpayers living overseas, including dual citizens, who must meet U.S. tax obligations. To learn more about being a TAP member, to find out if there are openings in your state or to apply, visit the Join TAP page.
The Treasury Department and IRS are pleased to welcome new members to serve on the nationwide Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP).
The Treasury Department and IRS selected 26 new TAP members to join 51 returning members, for a total of 77 volunteers serving on the 2013 Panel. These new members were selected from almost 400 applicants, or a pool of previously approved alternates, on November 26, 2012. TAP sincerely appreciates the efforts of all individuals who submitted an application to serve as a TAP volunteer.
TAP members selected Richard Bilancia of Loveland, CO, as 2013 national chair of the Panel. Rich was the 2012 chair of the SB/SE Decreasing Non-Filers Project Committee and is entering his third and final year on the Panel. Members also selected Colleen Hitchcock, from Lacey, WA, as 2013 national vice-chair. Colleen, also a third-year member, served as the 2012 chair of the Toll-Free Project Committee.
TAP members are crucial to the success of helping the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) identify ways to improve customer service and satisfaction. Members focus on specific taxpayer issues through Project and Joint Committee work and provide direct input to the IRS on new and existing IRS programs and initiatives. Members represent diverse experiences, training, backgrounds and interests.
Want to get involved? TAP’s next recruiting period for new members will open in February 2013. If you are interested in applying, please visit the Join TAP page to receive email updates about future TAP member vacancies.
New Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Members Selected for 2013
NTA Nina Olson released her 2012 Annual Report to Congress on Jan. 9, 2013. The report identifies the most serious problems facing taxpayers today and provides the IRS and highest levels of government with recommendations to fix them. The NTA identifies the complexity of the U.S. tax code as the most serious problem facing taxpayers today and recommends that Congress greatly simplify it. The NTA describes the rise in tax-related identity theft as another of the most serious problems facing taxpayers and recommends the IRS maintain its centralized “traffic cop” unit to handle these complex cases. For more information and access to the full report, visit the 2012 Annual Report to Congress site.
The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP) has released its 2011 Annual Report, which fulfills TAP’s responsibility under its charter to provide an annual written report that summarizes TAP’s activities and recommendations during the preceding year. Read the 2011 Annual Report news release.
TAP’s accomplishments in 2011 include 41 recommendations and 25 projects the panel provided to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to improve IRS service and customer satisfaction.
The 2011 Annual Report highlights key TAP recommendations for IRS customer service improvements that include:
These recommendations are the work of TAP members, a group of volunteers from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, who offer taxpayer perspectives on critical tax administration programs and work to improve the IRS.
National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) Nina E. Olson was recently named one of Accounting Today’s Top 100 Most Influential People of 2012. The list includes leading innovators in the tax and accounting industry. Olson has been the NTA since 2001 and serves as an advocate for taxpayers to the IRS and Congress. She leads the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS), a nationwide organization of approximately 2,000 taxpayer advocates who help U.S. taxpayers resolve problems and work with the IRS to correct systemic and procedural problems.
The NTA is also responsible for oversight of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP), which works alongside TAS to help identify and solve issues important to taxpayers and serves as focus groups for taxpayers to help improve the IRS.
This recognition highlights the NTA’s efforts as the “voice of taxpayers,” including her Annual Report to Congress, in which she identifies and presents the top problems facing taxpayers in their dealings with the IRS. Accounting Today’s Top 100 changes each year, but the continued presence of the NTA on the list is a testament to her leadership and commitment to taxpayers.
In 2011, IRS Field Assistance management requested the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP), Taxpayer Assistance Center (TAC) Project Committee review the current distribution process of self-service forms and publications at the center locations. Easy access to IRS forms and publications is important for taxpayer compliance and the committee was tasked with determining how they could be better distributed to assist taxpayers in fulfilling their tax obligations.
The committee specifically focused on reviewing distribution processes, offering suggestions on product priorities and defining any new self-service products.
TAP members visited 28 Taxpayer Assistance Centers in 13 states in diverse areas of the United States, including rural, suburban and urban center locations. During these visits, committee members observed the physical arrangements of form racks, how they were managed and also discussed with staff how the self-service forms racks could be improved for optimal taxpayer assistance.
The 2011 Taxpayer Assistance Center Committee Report was submitted to the IRS in December 2011 and includes 15 TAP recommendations on improving access to self-service forms and publications at the centers. The committee believes that if implemented, the recommendations could have a significant impact on improving the distribution process of self-service forms and publications in the centers.
The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP) is comprised of approximately 80 members from across the United States, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. We have recently received increased feedback about tax issues from U.S. taxpayers living abroad. To those taxpayers who have contacted TAP, please know that the issues facing international taxpayers are very important to us.
While we do not have a panel member that lives abroad, we greatly value feedback from international taxpayers. Our TAP member from Puerto Rico represents the interests of U.S. taxpayers living overseas, including dual citizens, who must meet U.S. tax obligations. As part of TAP, this individual wants to hear suggestions from U.S. taxpayers living abroad about improving IRS processes and procedures.
If you have tax-related questions or issues you think may affect citizens living abroad, or suggestions for improving tax processes and procedures for international taxpayers, please submit your comment via the Speak Up! page. We will review all comments and take them into consideration as we make recommendations to the IRS.
Thank you for your feedback!
National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) Nina E. Olson released her Objectives Report to Congress on June 27, 2012, identifying priority issues the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) will focus on during the upcoming fiscal year. The report expresses particular concern about the taxpayer impact of expired and expiring tax provisions and the rise in tax fraud and tax-related identity theft.
The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP) works alongside TAS to help identify and solve issues important to taxpayers and serves as focus groups for taxpayers to help improve the IRS.
The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel's (TAP) recruitment membership application period for this year closed on April 27, 2012. We would like to extend sincere thanks to all who submitted an application to serve as a TAP volunteer. During the open recruiting period, from March 19 through April 27, 2012, we received more than 380 applications for panel membership.
Next steps of the panel membership selection process will include rigorous review of TAP applications in May and Interviews of the top applicants in June. The TAP Director will submit recommendations for panel membership to the National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) Nina Olson and the IRS Commissioner for approval, and then to the Department of the Treasury for final selection. The new TAP members will begin their three-year terms in December 2012.
Thanks again to those who volunteered to serve your country and improve America's tax administration system by applying for TAP membership. If you are interested in volunteering to serve on the Panel but missed out on this year’s application period, please sign up for an email alert when TAP member openings are available in your area, or check this site early next spring for information on the 2013 recruiting period.
The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP) is actively recruiting volunteers in select states who can offer their time and talent to improve IRS customer service and satisfaction. There are two weeks left to apply!
By volunteering, you will be providing valuable insights that will affect change in tax administration and improve the relationship between the IRS and its customers
Are you ready to make a difference? Submit your application electronically by April 27, 2012. If you’ve already started the process, your saved application can be accessed and completed at any time before the deadline.
TAP is seeking members in the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia and Wisconsin. The panel also needs alternates for, Delaware, Hawaii, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.
TAP members serve three- year terms and commit 300 to 500 hours while serving on a variety of committees and making recommendations to the IRS. TAP represents taxpayers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. To learn more about being a TAP member, visit the Join TAP page.
National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) Nina E. Olson released her 2011 Annual Report to Congress on Jan. 11, 2012, identifying the combination of the IRS’s expanding workload and declining resources as the most serious problem facing taxpayers. The result, the report says, is inadequate taxpayer service, erosion of taxpayer rights, and reduced tax compliance. More information is available on the 2011 Annual Report to Congress page on the Taxpayer Advocate Service Tax Toolkit.
In addition, the NTA launched her new blog, National Taxpayer Advocate’s Blog: Taxpayer Rights and Taxpayer Burden, on Jan. 11, 2012, in conjunction with the release of her 2011 Annual Report to Congress. The NTA will address various issues that impact taxpayers on her blog. Check out the NTA's most recent blog post, updated Jan. 25.
The Treasury Department and IRS are pleased to announce the selection of 26 new members to serve on the nationwide Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP).
The new TAP panel members will join 56 returning members to round out the panel of 82 volunteers for 2012. The new members were selected from a pool of more than 400 interested individuals from across the country who applied during an open recruitment period last spring. TAP sincerely appreciates the efforts of all individuals who submitted an application to serve as a TAP volunteer.
“TAP members play an important role for the nation’s taxpayers,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. “The panelists provide the IRS with insights that help make the tax administration process better for all taxpayers.”
TAP listens to taxpayers, identifies issues and makes suggestions for improving IRS service and customer satisfaction. TAP members work with IRS executives on priority topics, primarily those involving the Wage & Investment and Small Business/Self-Employed operating divisions. Members also serve as a conduit for bringing grassroots concerns raised by the taxpaying public to the attention of the IRS.
Want to get involved? TAP’s next recruiting period for new members will open in March of 2012. If you are interested in applying, please visit Join TAP to receive email updates about future TAP member vacancies.
New Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Members Selected for 2012
The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP) has released its 2010 Annual Report. The report fulfills TAP’s responsibility under its charter to provide an annual written report that summarizes its activities and recommendations during the preceding year. Read the 2010 Annual Report news release.
The report summarizes TAP’s accomplishments in 2010, including 101 new recommendations and 34 completed projects the panel provided to the IRS. The Wall Street Journal article, “IRS Reminds Workers They Can’t Demand Turning Off Speakerphone,” highlights one of TAP’s recommendations agreed to by the IRS.
Key successes include the following IRS actions, which were implemented following suggestions by TAP:
2010 TAP Chair Sabby Jonathan also recognized the dedicated efforts of TAP’s volunteer panel members who work toward improving the taxpayer experience with the IRS. “It has been exceptionally rewarding working with people of diverse backgrounds, panel members as well as staff, all focused on a single goal; improving the IRS for the benefit of taxpayers. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is an effective and important group that enables ordinary citizens to bring about real change,” Jonathan commented. “With 237 million tax returns expected to be filed in 2011, improvements at the IRS initiated by the TAP have affected a great number of people.”
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Submit your comments and suggestions on improving the IRS. Call TAP at (888) 912-1227 or submit your feedback online.