Have a Tax Problem? ....Need Help?
Taxpayer Advocate Service
The Taxpayer Advocate Service office at the IRS is there to protect individual and business taxpayer rights and to reduce taxpayer burden.
Contact the Philadelphia Taxpayer Advocate's office:
600 Arch St., room 7426
Philadelphia, PA, 19103
215-861-1304 or 215-861-1613
You may also call the Taxpayer Advocate Service Case Intake Line to see if you are eligible: 1-877-777-4778 or TTY/TTD: 1-800-829-4059
Low Income Taxpayer Clinics
Are you being audited and have trouble affording professional tax assistance? You may qualify for help from Low Income Taxpayer Clinics or other organizations that provide free assistance in tax disputes. Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITCs) represent low income taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service in audit, appeals, and collection issues, for free or for a nominal charge. Low Income Taxpayer Clinics receive partial funding from the IRS. However, the clinics and their volunteers are completely independent of and are not associated with the federal government.
Contact a local Low Income Tax Clinic:
Villanova University School of Law Federal Tax Clinic
610-519-4123 or 888-829-2546 (for English)
866-655-4419 (for Spanish)
Frequently Asked Questions:
I owe federal income taxes that I can't pay in full:
If you owe the IRS money and you can not make the full payment due by the April 15th deadline, you can ask to make monthly installment payments for the full or partial amounts. You will need to complete and submit the IRS form #9465, Installment Agreement Request when you file your tax return.In most cases, the IRS will grant your request (as long as the taxes due do not exceed $10,000, and you have properly filed your returns over the past 5 years and are not under a current installment agreement). However, you are charged interest and penalties on the amount of taxes due under the installment agreement. Therefore, you are encouraged to pay any taxes due in full and consider less costly alternatives.
If you didn't receive a W-2 statement from an employer by January 31st:
Request it from your employer and verify, especially in cases where you have moved, that it is being mailed to your current address. You should allow the employer 2 weeks to get the W-2 to you. If you don't receive it within two weeks of from your request date or by February 15th you may request the necessary information from the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. You can also go to the IRS walk-in Center at 600 Arch St and request a copy to the missing W-2 information.
You or one of your dependents have been claimed under another tax return:
- If you or one of your dependents were properly claimed under another tax return [meaning that the person filing that tax return is eligible to claim you or your dependent, generally meaning that he/she is either the legal or custodial parent/guardian and provides more than 50 percent of the living expenses for you or your dependent (i.e., shelter, food, clothing, education, childcare)]; then you would file your return for any income you earned but you would not take the personal exemption on your tax return.
- If you were claimed by someone who is not eligible to claim you or your dependent (i.e., he/she is not the legal or custodial parent/guardian and did not provide more than 50 percent of the living expenses) then you would need to file a paper return. The IRS will process your return and later issue notices to both parties requesting the documentation necessary to identify the eligible party. You can also contact the IRS Taxpayer's Advocacy's office for assistance as well. Please note that you will need to provide the IRS with the necessary paperwork to support your claim as legal or custodial parent/guardian.
