Section 6—Getting Tax Help(p27)

Go to IRS.gov to obtain information on:

• Free File—Use free tax software to prepare and e-file your tax return at www.irs.gov/freefile.
• Interactive Tax Assistant—Provides answers to tax law questions using a probe and response process.
• Online Services—Conduct business with the IRS electronically.
• Taxpayer Advocate Service—Helps taxpayers resolve problems with the IRS.
• Where's My Refund—Your refund status anytime from
  anywhere.
• Free Tax Return Preparation— Locate the site nearest you.
• Recent Tax Changes
• Tax Information for Innocent Spouses
• Disaster Tax Relief
• Identity Theft and Your Tax Records
• Online Payment Agreement (OPA) Application
• Applying for Offers in Compromise

Click on Forms & Pubs or go to www.irs.gov/formspubs to:

• View or download current and previous year tax forms and publications.
• Order current year tax forms and publications online.

To order tax forms and publications delivered by mail, go to www.irs.gov/formspubs and click on Order Forms & Publications.

• For current year tax forms and publications, click on Forms & Pubs by U.S. Mail.
• For tax forms and publications on a DVD, click on Tax Forms & Pubs on DVD (Pub. 1796).

There is live and recorded tax help available. You will not be charged for the call unless your phone company charges you for toll-free calls. Live tax help is available Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time. Assistance provided to callers from Alaska and Hawaii will be based on the hours of operation in the Pacific time zone. Recorded tax help is available anytime. Callers from Puerto Rico will receive assistance from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. local time.

Call 1-800-829-1040. People who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and who have access to TTY/TDD equipment can call 1-800-829-4059. Deaf or hard of hearing individuals can also access the IRS through relay services such as the Federal Relay Service at www.gsa.gov/fedrelay. Our menu allows you to speak your responses or use your keypad to select a menu option. Follow the voice prompts.

We care about the quality of the service provided to you, our customer. You can help us provide accurate, complete answers to your questions by having the following information available.

• The tax form, schedule, or notice to which your question relates.
• The facts about your particular situation.
• The name of any IRS publication or other source of information that you used to look for the answer.

To maintain your account security, you may be asked for the following information: (a) your social security number, date of birth, or personal identification number (PIN) if you have one, and (b) the amount of refund shown on your tax return, your filing status, the Caller ID Number shown at the top of any notice you received, the numbers in your street address, or your ZIP code.

If you are asking for an installment agreement to pay your tax, you will be asked for the highest amount you can pay each month and the date on which you can pay it.

We use several methods to evaluate our telephone service. For quality assurance purposes only, we may record telephone calls. A random sample of recorded calls is selected for review. We may also listen to live calls in progress. Finally, we randomly select customers for participation in a customer satisfaction survey.

If you do not fully understand the answer you receive, or you feel our representative may not fully understand your question, our representative needs to know this. He or she will be happy to take additional time to be sure your question is answered fully.

By law, you are responsible for paying your share of federal income tax. If we should make an error in answering your question, you are still responsible for the payment of the correct tax. Should this occur, however, you will not be charged any penalty.

Call 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676). You should receive your order within 10 working days.

Call 1-877-777-4778.

You should get an answer in about 30 days. For the mailing address, call us at 1-800-829-1040. People who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and who have access to TTY/TDD equipment can call 1-800-829-4059. Deaf or hard of hearing individuals can also access the IRS through relay services such as the Federal Relay Service at www.gsa.gov/fedrelay. Do not send questions with your return.

You can find answers to many of your tax questions online. Visit www.irs.gov/individuals. Here are some of the methods you may want to try.

• Frequently asked questions. This section contains an extensive list of questions and answers. You can select your question by category or keyword.
• Tax trails. This is an interactive section which asks questions you can answer by selecting Yes or No.
• Main index of tax topics. This is an online list of the TeleTax topics.
• Interactive tax assistance (ITA) provides answers to certain tax law questions using a probe and response process.

If you need assistance preparing your return, visit the nearest Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) or Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) site in your community. There are thousands of sites nationwide and each site is staffed by volunteers who are trained and certified to prepare federal income tax returns. VITA sites are also available at international and domestic military installations.

The VITA Program generally offers free tax help to people who make $50,000 or less and need assistance in preparing their own tax return. The TCE Program offers free tax help for all with priority assistance to people who are 60 years of age and older, specializing in questions about pensions and retirement issues unique to seniors.

Free electronic filing is offered and volunteers will help you claim the earned income credit, child tax credit, credit for the elderly, and other credits and deductions you can take.

These are some of the items to bring to the VITA/TCE site to have your tax return prepared.

• Proof of identification.
• Social security cards for you, your spouse, and dependents and/or a social security number verification letter issued by the Social Security Administration.
• Individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) assignment letter for you, your spouse, and dependents.
• Proof of foreign status, if applying for an ITIN.
• Birth dates for you, your spouse, and any dependents.
• Form(s) W-2, W-2G, 1099-INT, 1099-DIV, and 1099-R.
• A copy of your 2011 federal and state returns, if available.
• A blank check or anything that shows your bank routing and account numbers for direct deposit.
• Total paid to daycare provider and the daycare provider's tax identification number (the provider's social security number or the provider's business employer identification number).
• To file taxes electronically on a joint return, both spouses must be present to sign the required forms.

For more information on these programs and a location in your community, go to IRS.gov and enter keyword VITA in the search box. You may also contact us at 1-800-829-1040. To locate the nearest AARP Tax-Aide site, visit AARP’s website at www.aarp.org/money/taxaide or call 1-888-227-7669.

You can walk into your local Taxpayer Assistance Center (TAC) most business days for personal, face-to-face tax help. An employee can explain IRS letters, request adjustments to your tax account, or help you setup a payment plan. If you need to resolve a tax problem, have questions about how the tax law applies to your individual tax return, or you are more comfortable talking with someone in person, visit your local TAC where you can talk with an IRS representative face-to-face. No appointment is necessary—just walk in. Before visiting, check www.irs.gov/localcontacts for hours of operation and services provided. If you have an ongoing, complex tax account problem or a special need, such as a disability, an appointment can be requested by calling your local TAC. You can leave a message and a representative will call you back within 2 business days. All other issues will be handled without an appointment. To call your local TAC, go to www.irs.gov/localcontacts or look in the phone book under United States Government, Internal Revenue Service.

The IRS Video portal www.IRSvideos.gov contains video and audio presentations on topics of interest to small businesses, individuals, and tax professionals. You will find video clips of tax topics, archived versions of live panel discussions and Webinars, and audio archives of tax practitioner phone forums.

People who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and who have access to TTY/TDD equipment can call 1-800-829-4059. Deaf or hard of hearing individuals can also access the IRS through relay services such as the Federal Relay Service at www.gsa.gov/fedrelay. Braille materials are available at libraries that have special services for people with disabilities.

To better serve taxpayers whose native language is not English, we have tax products and services in various languages.

For Spanish speaking taxpayers, we have:

• Pub. 17(SP), El Impuesto Federal sobre los Ingresos, and
• www.irs.gov/espanol.

We also offer a Basic Tax Responsibilities CD/DVD in the following languages.

• Spanish.
• Chinese.
• Vietnamese.
• Korean.
• Russian.

To get a copy of this CD/DVD, call the National Distribution Center at 1-800-829-3676 and ask for Pub. 4580 in your language.

You should receive your order within 10 working days after your request is received.