U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Https

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Improvements Are Needed to Ensure That Local Taxpayer Advocate Service Telephone Lines Are Properly Monitored

Report Information

Date Issued
Report Number
2024-IE-R018
Report Type
Inspection / Evaluation
Joint Report
Yes
Participating OIG
Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration
Agency Wide
Yes (agency-wide)
Questioned Costs
$0
Funds for Better Use
$0
View Report

Recommendations

In our January 2024 e-mail alert, we recommended that the National Taxpayer Advocate take action to ensure that local TAS telephone lines are properly monitored, and voicemail messages are addressed throughout the day to avoid full voice mailboxes preventing taxpayers from leaving a message for a call back when a representative is available.

In our January 2024 e-mail alert, we recommended that the National Taxpayer Advocate should update the recorded scripts to ensure consistent messaging on all local TAS telephone lines.

In our January 2024 e-mail alert, we recommended that the National Taxpayer Advocate should require local TAS offices to be consistent and provide a reasonable expected wait time for returning taxpayer and tax professional voicemail messages, e.g., 48 hours.

In our January 2024 e-mail alert, we recommended that the National Taxpayer Advocate should ensure that information is updated to ensure that both the IRS and TAS websites contain consistent and accurate information.