This section describes the help
the IRS and other federal agencies
offer to taxpayers who operate their
own businesses.
Internal Revenue
Service
You can get help with
unresolved tax issues, order
free publications and forms, ask
tax questions, and get more
information from the IRS in
several ways. By selecting the
method that is best for you, you
will have quick and easy access
to tax help.
Contacting
your Taxpayer Advocate.
If you have attempted to
deal with an IRS problem
unsuccessfully, you should
contact your Taxpayer
Advocate.
The Taxpayer Advocate
independently represents
your interests and concerns
within the IRS by protecting
your rights and resolving
problems that have not been
fixed through normal
channels. While Taxpayer
Advocates cannot change the
tax law or make a technical
tax decision, they can clear
up problems that resulted
from previous contacts and
ensure that your case is
given a complete and
impartial review.
To contact your Taxpayer
Advocate:
Call the
Taxpayer Advocate at
1-877-777-4778.
Call, write, or
fax the Taxpayer
Advocate office in
your area.
For more information, see
Publication 1546, The
Taxpayer Advocate Service of
the IRS—How to Get Help With
Unresolved Tax Problems.
Small
Business Tax Education
Program. Small
business owners and other
self-employed individuals
can learn about business
taxes through a unique
partnership between the IRS
and local organizations.
Through workshops or
in-depth tax courses,
instructors provide training
on starting a business,
recordkeeping, preparing
business tax returns,
self-employment tax issues,
and employment taxes.
Some courses are offered
free as a community service.
Courses given by an
educational facility may
include costs for materials
and tuition. Other courses
may have a nominal fee to
offset administrative costs
of sponsoring organizations.
For more information about
this program, call the IRS
Monday through Friday during
regular business hours.
Check your telephone book
for the local number of the
IRS office closest to you or
you can call 1-800-829-1040.
Free tax
services. To find out
what services are available,
get Publication 910, IRS
Guide to Free Tax Services.
It contains a list of free
tax publications and an
index of tax topics. It also
describes other free tax
information services,
including tax education and
assistance programs and a
list of TeleTax topics.
Internet. You can
access the IRS website 24 hours
a day, 7 days a week, at
www.irs.gov to:
E-file
your return. Find out
about commercial tax
preparation and
e-file
services available free
to eligible taxpayers.
Check the status of
your 2004 refund. Click
on
Where's My Refund.
Be sure to wait at least
6 weeks from the date
you filed your return (3
weeks if you filed
electronically). Have
your 2004 tax return
available because you
will need to know your
filing status and the
exact whole dollar
amount of your refund.
Download forms,
instructions, and
publications.
Order IRS products
online.
Research your tax
questions online.
Search publications
online by topic or
keyword.
View Internal
Revenue Bulletins (IRBs)
published in the last
few years.
Figure your
withholding allowances
using our Form W-4
calculator.
Sign up to receive
local and national tax
news by email.
Get information on
starting and operating a
small business.
.
Fax. You can get over
100 of the most requested forms
and instructions 24 hours a day,
7 days a week, by fax. Just call
703-368-9694 from the telephone
connected to your fax. When you
call, you will hear instructions
on how to use the service. The
items you request will be faxed
to you.
For help with transmission
problems, call 703-487-4608.
Long distance charges may
apply.
Phone. Many services
are available by phone.
Ordering forms,
instructions, and
publications.
Call 1-800-829-3676 to
order current-year
forms, instructions and
publications and
prior-year forms and
instructions. You should
receive your order
within 10 days.
Asking tax
questions.
Call the IRS with your
tax questions at
1-800-829-1040.
Solving problems.
You can get face-to-face
help solving tax
problems every business
day in IRS Taxpayer
Assistance Centers. An
employee can explain IRS
letters, request
adjustment to your
account, or help you set
up a payment plan. Call
your local Taxpayer
Assistance Center for an
appointment. To find the
number, go to
www.irs.gov/localcontacts
or look in the phone
book under
United States
Government, Internal
Revenue Service.
TTY/TDD equipment.
If you have access to
TTY/TDD equipment, call
1-800-829-4059 to ask
tax or account questions
or to order forms and
publications.
TeleTax topics.
Call 1-800-829-4477 and
press 2 to listen to
pre-recorded messages
covering various tax
topics.
Refund information.
If you would like to
check the status of your
2004 refund, call
1-800-829-4477 and press
1 for automated refund
information or call
1-800-829-1954. Be sure
to wait at least 6 weeks
from the date you filed
your return (3 weeks if
you filed
electronically). Have
your 2004 tax return
available because you
will need to know your
filing status and the
exact whole dollar
amount of your refund.
Evaluating the quality of our
telephone services. To
ensure that IRS representatives
give accurate, courteous, and
professional answers, we use
several methods to evaluate the
quality of our telephone
services. One method is for a
second IRS representative to
sometimes listen in on or record
telephone calls. Another is to
ask some callers to complete a
short survey at the end of the
call.
Walk-in. Many
products and services are
available on a walk-in basis.
Products.
You can walk in to many
post offices, libraries,
and IRS offices to pick
up certain forms,
instructions, and
publications. Some IRS
offices, libraries,
grocery stores, copy
centers, city and county
governments, credit
unions, and office
supply stores have a
collection of products
available to print from
a CD-ROM or photocopy
from reproducible
proofs. Also, some IRS
offices and libraries
have the Internal
Revenue Code,
regulations, Internal
Revenue Bulletins, and
Cumulative Bulletins
available for research
purposes.
Services.
You can walk in to your
local Taxpayer
Assistance Center every
business day to ask tax
questions or get help
with a tax problem. An
employee can explain IRS
letters, request
adjustments to your
account, or help you set
up a payment plan. You
can set up an
appointment by calling
your local Center and,
at the prompt, leaving a
message requesting
Everyday Tax Solutions
help. A representative
will call you back
within 2 business days
to schedule an in-person
appointment at your
convenience. To find the
number, go to
www.irs.gov/localcontacts
or look in the phone
book under
United States
Government, Internal
Revenue Service.
Mail. You can send
your order for forms,
instructions, and publications
to the Distribution Center
nearest to you and receive a
response within 10 business days
after your request is received.
Use the address that applies to
your part of the country.
Western part of U.S.:
Western Area
Distribution Center
Rancho Cordova, CA
95743-0001
Central part of U.S.:
Central Area
Distribution Center
P.O. Box 8903
Bloomington, IL
61702-8903
Eastern part of U.S.
and foreign addresses:
Eastern Area
Distribution Center
P.O. Box 85074
Richmond, VA 23261-5074
CD-ROM for tax products.
You can order Publication 1796,
IRS Federal Tax Products CD-ROM,
and obtain:
Current-year tax
forms, instructions, and
publications.
Prior-year forms and
instructions.
Frequently requested
tax forms that can be
filled in
electronically, printed
out for submission, and
saved for recordkeeping.
Internal Revenue
Bulletins.
Buy the CD-ROM from National
Technical Information Service
(NTIS) at
www.irs.gov/cdorders for $22
(no handling fee) or call
1-877-233-6767 toll free to buy
the CD-ROM for $22 (plus a $5
handling fee). The first release
is available in early January
and the final release is
available in late February.
CD-ROM for small businesses.
Publication 3207, The Small
Business Resource Guide, CD-ROM
2004, is a must for every small
business owner or any taxpayer
about to start a business. This
handy, interactive CD contains
all the business tax forms,
instructions and publications
needed to successfully manage a
business. In addition, the CD
provides other helpful
information, such as how to
prepare a business plan, finding
financing for your business, and
much more. The design of the CD
makes finding information easy
and quick and incorporates file
formats and browsers that can be
run on virtually any desktop or
laptop computer.
It is available in early
April. You can get a free copy
by calling 1-800-829-3676 or by
visiting the website at
www.irs.gov/smallbiz.
Comments on
IRS enforcement actions.
The Small Business and
Agriculture Regulatory
Enforcement Ombudsman and 10
Regional Fairness Boards
were established to receive
comments from small business
about federal agency
enforcement actions. The
Ombudsman will annually
evaluate the enforcement
activities of each agency
and rate its responsiveness
to small business. If you
wish to comment on the
enforcement actions of the
IRS, you can:
The Small Business
Administration (SBA) offers
training and educational
programs, counseling services,
financial programs, and contract
assistance for small business
owners. The SBA also has
publications and videos on a
variety of business topics. The
following briefly describes
assistance provided by the SBA.
Small
Business Development Centers
(SBDCs). SBDCs provide
counseling, training, and
technical services to
current and prospective
small business owners who
cannot afford the services
of a private consultant.
Help is available when
beginning, improving, or
expanding a small business.
Business
Information Centers (BICs).
BICs offer a small
business reference library,
management video tapes, and
computer technology to help
plan a business. BICs also
offer one-on-one assistance.
Individuals who are in
business or are interested
in starting a business can
use BICs as often as they
wish at no charge.
Service
Corps of Retired Executives
(SCORE). SCORE
provides small business
counseling and training to
current and prospective
small business owners. SCORE
is made up of current and
former business people who
offer their expertise and
knowledge to help people
start, manage, and expand a
small business. SCORE also
offers a variety of small
business workshops.
Internet. You can
access the SBA website at
www.sba.gov. While visiting
the SBA website, you can find a
variety of information of
interest to small business
owners.
Phone. Call the SBA
Answer Desk at 1-800-UASK-SBA
(1-800-827-5722) for general
information about programs
available to assist small
business owners.
Walk-in. You can walk
in to a Small Business
Development Center or Business
Information Center to request
assistance with your small
business. To find the location
nearest you, access the SBA on
the Internet or call the SBA
Answer Desk.
Other Federal
Agencies
Other federal agencies also
publish publications and
pamphlets to assist small
businesses. Most of these are
available from the
Superintendant of Documents at
the Government Printing Office.
You can get information and
order these publications and
pamphlets in several ways.
