TAS Case Acceptance Criteria: Will the Taxpayer Advocate Take Your Case?

The Taxpayer Advocate Service is free, independent and often effective. It is also selective. TAS accepts cases that meet its written criteria, and the criteria live in the Internal Revenue Manual at IRM 13.1.7, Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) Case Criteria. The current manual transmittal is dated March 9, 2026.

Understanding the criteria does two things for you. It tells you whether to file a Form 911 at all. And it tells you how to describe your problem so the advocate can see the fit quickly.

The four groups and nine criteria

IRM 13.1.7 sorts nine criteria into four groups.

Economic burden (criteria 1 through 4)

These are the hardship cases. Under IRM 13.1.7.3.1:

1. The taxpayer is experiencing economic harm or is about to suffer economic harm.
2. The taxpayer is facing an immediate threat of adverse action.
3. The taxpayer will incur significant costs if relief is not granted, including fees for professional representation.
4. The taxpayer will suffer irreparable injury or long-term adverse impact if relief is not granted.

The TAS website gives practical examples of financial hardship: facing the loss of your home, going without food, utilities or transportation to work, incurring significant costs such as representation fees, or suffering lasting damage such as lost income or harm to your credit.

Systemic burden (criteria 5 through 7)

These are the "the system is broken for me" cases. Under IRM 13.1.7.3.2:

1. The taxpayer has experienced a delay of more than 30 days to resolve a tax account problem.
2. The taxpayer has not received a response or resolution to the problem or inquiry by the date promised.
3. A system or procedure has either failed to operate as intended or failed to resolve the taxpayer's problem or dispute within the IRS.

The TAS website describes these as an IRS delay of more than 30 days past regular processing time, a missed promised response or resolution date, or an IRS system or procedure that failed to resolve your problem. It also says TAS can help with refund issues after the IRS's published processing timeframe has passed.

Best interest of the taxpayer (criterion 8)

1. The manner in which the tax laws are being administered raises considerations of equity, or has impaired or will impair the taxpayer's rights.

The manual says to use this criterion only if the case fits no other.

Public policy (criterion 9)

1. The National Taxpayer Advocate determines compelling public policy warrants assistance to an individual or group of taxpayers.

The manual gives the National Taxpayer Advocate sole authority to decide which issues fall under criterion 9 and says it should be used only when the case fits no other criteria.

How the criteria line up with the statute

Criteria 2 through 5 track the examples of significant hardship that Congress wrote into IRC 7811(a)(2), the Taxpayer Assistance Order statute: an immediate threat of adverse action, a delay of more than 30 days in resolving account problems, significant costs including representation fees, and irreparable injury or long-term adverse impact. The regulation under that section adds that significant hardship includes situations where a system or procedure fails to operate as intended or fails to resolve the taxpayer's problem. So when your problem fits these criteria, you are also building the record for a possible order. See Taxpayer Assistance Orders.

What TAS generally will not accept

IRM 13.1.7.4 lists exclusions. Among them:

• complaints or inquiries that only question the constitutionality of the tax system,
• inquiries involving frivolous tax strategies intended to avoid or delay filing or paying federal taxes,
• certain refund-scheme freezes and certain wage verification holds, and
• certain systemic burden inquiries, such as some original return processing, unpostable return and identity theft issues, which the manual says are generally not accepted under the systemic criteria.

That last category surprises people. A slow refund on an original return may not qualify on delay alone, at least until it passes the IRS's published processing timeframe. If your situation also involves economic harm, the economic burden criteria may still apply. Describe both.

How to show your case fits

The advocate reading your request is matching your facts to these criteria. Help with that.

For economic burden, prove the harm and the timing. A levy notice, a shutoff notice, an eviction or foreclosure date, a medical appointment. Dates matter. "Next week" is stronger than "soon."

For systemic burden, prove the delay or the broken promise. Give the date you first contacted the IRS, every follow-up, and any date an employee promised. The Form 911 instructions specifically ask for the date of first contact when delay is the issue. A call log turns a frustration into evidence.

For best interest, explain the unfairness in concrete terms. Which right is being impaired, and how? The Taxpayer Bill of Rights gives you the vocabulary.

Ask for something specific. The relief requested on line 12b of Form 911 should be a concrete action: release a levy, process a response, issue a refund, reconsider a decision.

Writing your facts in the language of the criteria

Advocates read many requests. The ones that move fastest say plainly which criterion applies and prove it in a sentence or two. Some examples of how that sounds:

• Criterion 1, economic harm: "The levy took $2,140 from my checking account on October 3. My rent of $1,650 is due November 1 and I have no other funds. Lease and bank statement attached."
• Criterion 2, immediate threat: "The IRS notice dated September 28 says it intends to levy my wages. My employer's payroll office has received the notice. Copies attached."
• Criterion 5, delay: "I first contacted the IRS about this payment on June 4, 2026. I called again on July 10 and August 22. The account still shows the payment on the wrong year."
• Criterion 6, missed promise: "On August 22 the employee told me the correction would be made within 30 days. It has not been made."
• Criterion 7, failed system: "I submitted the same response twice through the method the notice specified. Both times I received a new notice that does not reflect my response."

Short, dated, documented. That is what a qualifying case looks like on paper.

Try the normal channels first, usually

TAS describes itself as help for problems you have not been able to resolve with the IRS. For most systemic issues, that means you should have tried the regular route first: called the number on the notice, responded in writing, and given the IRS a fair chance. Economic burden cases are different. If a levy is about to take your rent money, you do not need to wait 30 days to ask for help.

What happens after TAS accepts a case

Acceptance means an advocate is assigned and will contact you. Under IRC 7803(c)(4)(A), at the first meeting the local advocate must tell you that taxpayer advocate offices operate independently of other IRS offices and report to Congress through the National Taxpayer Advocate. The advocate then works with the IRS function involved to resolve the problem. You should keep doing your part: answer the advocate's requests quickly, send documents in the format asked for, and keep meeting any IRS deadlines that still apply. If the case stalls and the hardship is serious, ask the advocate whether a Taxpayer Assistance Order is appropriate.

A quick self-test

Ask yourself these questions. A "yes" to any one suggests you should consider filing Form 911.

• Is the IRS about to take, or has it taken, money or property you need for basic living expenses?
• Will you lose something important, like your home, your job or your car, if this is not fixed soon?
• Are you about to spend significant money on professional fees because the IRS has not acted?
• Has the IRS taken more than 30 days beyond its normal processing time to fix an account problem?
• Did the IRS miss a date it promised you?
• Did an IRS system or procedure fail to work the way it is supposed to?

If yes, read Form 911 step by step and file it. If no, the regular channels, or a representative, are usually the faster path. And either way, remember that a TAS request does not pause your IRS deadlines.