Strengthening Taxpayer Advocacy Act

The Strengthening Taxpayer Advocacy Act empowers the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate to make its own staffing decisions and grants it direct access to IRS records, legal advice, and meetings to better assist individual taxpayers. Under this law, the IRS Commissioner must provide requested information and schedule meetings within two weeks, while the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate gains the authority to issue orders that can suspend tax collection actions during government funding lapses. Additionally, the bill removes a specific time limit that previously prevented the Taxpayer Advocate Service from acting when a taxpayer faces economic hardship due to IRS actions. These changes aim to improve the ability of the Taxpayer Advocate to intervene on behalf of individuals dealing with IRS issues.