The Taxpayer Advocate Service is a special unit within the IRS which is responsible, besides other things, at helping taxpayers who are hitting a dead end for some reason when dealing with a tax notice or audit. They primarily are looking to handle systemic issues but will, with the right information, help resolve issues that the IRS Automated Under Reporting or Audit divisions just do not seem to grasp the answers on.

The Taxpayer Advocate (Nina Olsen) is also responsible for reporting to Congress the issues she sees with the tax law and the IRS, on an annual basis. She usually reports on the top 10 or 12 issues as well as commenting on the complexity of the tax law. Her report is always good reading and educational for tax professionals and taxpayers a like.