When Can a Business Ask the Taxpayer Advocate Service for Help?

November 13, 2026 · 2 min read

A business may be able to seek Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) assistance when an unresolved IRS issue causes financial hardship or when an IRS process fails to resolve the problem as expected. Form 911 requests assistance. Continue to track any response, filing or payment deadline while you pursue help.

What to check

Start with the IRS notice and the normal contact route for that issue. Record the business name and EIN, the form and period affected, the dates of prior contacts, and what the IRS said it would do. The TAS criteria describe different types of cases, including certain processing delays. The facts and documented effects matter. Form 911 asks what problem you are experiencing, what difficulties it has caused, and what help you are requesting.

Example

An LLC receives a notice about a filing it believes it already sent. The owner keeps the exact submission and delivery evidence, logs their IRS follow-up, and saves the notice deadline. If the normal channel remains unresolved and a TAS criterion may apply, this timeline helps the owner explain the issue and specify what needs to be corrected.

Before you proceed

Keep the original notice and mark its deadline.
Record IRS contact dates, case references and any promised response.
Use the current official Form 911 instructions for the request and submission channel.

Does sending Form 911 replace a reply to the IRS notice?

Treat the notice response and the assistance request as separate steps. Follow the notice's instructions and verify any deadline change through an official channel.