 Internal Revenue Service IRS tax news join the taxpayer advocacy panel and health improve the IRS apply by April 8th IR 2022-37 February 16 2022 Washington the internal revenue service today announced it is seeking civic minded volunteers to serve on the taxpayer advocacy panel otherwise known as the TAP the TAP applications will be accepted through April 8th what is the taxpayer advocacy panel you might ask well here we go will give you the answer the TAP the TAP the taxpayer advocacy panel in other words is a federal adversary committee that serves a vital role in tax administration TAP members volunteer their time and energy to improve IRS services and taxpayers satisfaction by listening to taxpayers identifying significant taxpayer concerns and making recommendations to address those concerns the TAP the TAP is a diverse group of ordinary citizens who possess a sense of civic duty, patriotism and belief in an effective and well regarded tax system the TAP makes a difference by joining it joining it you can too so TAP successes in 2021 each year the TAP submits dozens of recommendations to the IRS in 2021 alone the TAP made 193 recommendations to the IRS many of which have already been implemented because of the TAP's recommendations in 2021 the IRS has improved many of its tax forms instructions and publications and clarified the information in several frequently used IRS letters when the IRS closed one of its processing centers in 2021 the TAP worked with the IRS to ensure news releases and other messaging was issued to alert impacted taxpayers in several states the TAP effectively advocated to have the IRS partner with volunteer tax preparation organizations to spread the message even further Martha J. Lewis 2020 new national TAP chair recently stated quote if we look at the past and all the TAP has accomplished is truly amazing we will have a lot of work to do especially in the area of taxpayers understanding what we do and how we can help them and quote who can apply to extend the to the extent possible the TAP includes members from all 50 states the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico as well as one member to represent U.S. citizens living and working abroad each member is appointed to the to represent the interest of taxpayers in their geographic location as well as taxpayers overall federal advisory committees are required to have a balanced representation of different viewpoints therefore applicants from underrepresented groups such as Native Americans and non tax professionals are particularly encouraged to apply TAP is currently seeking candidates in the following states Alabama Arkansas Arizona California Colorado Florida Iowa Idaho Illinois Indiana Kentucky Massachusetts Maine Missouri Mississippi Montana North Carolina North Dakota New Hampshire New Mexico Nevada New York Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Texas Vermont Wisconsin and West Virginia However candidates residing in all the listed locations are encouraged to apply and all timely applications will be considered TAP members must use U.S. citizens must be U.S. citizens who are current with their federal tax obligations and able to commit 200 to 300 volunteer hours during the year TAP members must also pass a federal Bureau of Investigation criminal background check members cannot be a federally registered lobbyists so you can that would be okay current current Department of the Treasury or IRS employees cannot serve on the panel former Department of the Treasury or IRS employees and former TAP members can be considered for appointment three years after their appointment or previous TAP member has ended tax practitioner applicants must be in good standing with the IRS meaning not currently under suspicion or disbarment new TAP members will serve a three year term starting in December 2022 applicants chosen as alternate members will be considered to fill any vacancies in their areas during the next three years More information for additional information about the TAP and to start the application process visit www.improvers.org there's a link to that here or you could call the toll free number at 888-912-1227 there'll be a link to this in the description so you can get this information from there so I won't read this stuff like five times like an infomercial or anything like that and select prompt number five callers outside the U.S. may call 214-413-6523 not a toll free number or email the TAP staff at there's an email address a video there's a video link here is also available with more information about the TAP about how to contribute to this dynamic group of volunteers so if you're interested in that there's more information here including that contact information and the video to possibly provide more information about them and there'll be a link to this in the description