Received Letter from Taxpayer Advocate Service Without Any Prior Contact?

This is actually a good thing! TAS is legit and they're prob trying to help w/ your refund. It sounds like your return got flagged for expedited processing bc of the medical expenses you mentioned. The IRS sometimes auto-refers cases to TAS when: • You mentioned financial hardship on your return • Your refund's been delayed 45+ days • You have medical issues requiring $ asap Def call the # on the letter to confirm it's real, but most likely they're just trying to help speed things up for u!

I had exactly the same experience 37 days ago. The TAS letter was legitimate in my case. They were assigned to help with my refund that included significant medical expense deductions (exactly $12,847 in my case). I was confused at first too. If you want to verify the letter is legitimate and understand what's happening with your case, I found https://taxr.ai extremely helpful. It analyzed my transcript and confirmed the TAS assignment was triggered by the medical expense flags on my return. It also showed me exactly where my case was in the process and when I could expect resolution - within 21 days in my situation.

I've seen this happen before with my sister-in-law last tax season. She had major medical expenses and never contacted TAS, but they reached out to her. In her case, the IRS had automatically flagged her return for TAS assistance because of the large medical deductions. They ended up helping her get her refund processed within 2 weeks after she responded to their letter. Have you checked if your refund status shows any delays or holds? That might explain why they're contacting you proactively.

The TAS is actually one of the few parts of the IRS that genuinely tries to help taxpayers (shocking, I know! 😂). But here's the thing - they're also notoriously hard to reach by phone. When I got a similar letter, I spent 3 days trying to call back before I discovered Claimyr (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c). It got me through to a real human at TAS in about 30 minutes instead of the endless busy signals. I'm usually skeptical of these services, but when you need to confirm whether a government letter is legitimate or not, waiting days isn't really an option. The TAS advocate I finally spoke with explained they were assigned to my case automatically because of processing delays.

Be careful with this! I got a similar letter on April 3rd last year that looked legitimate, but when I called the number, they asked for my full SSN and bank account info right away. That was a red flag. The real TAS never asks for complete personal info on initial contact. I ended up calling the official IRS number on April 5th to verify, and they confirmed no TAS case had been opened for me. The scammers had just gotten really good at making fake IRS letterhead. The timing is suspicious too - scammers know people are anxious about refunds this time of year.

Let me clarify how the Taxpayer Advocate Service actually works, since there's some confusion here: 1. The TAS can be assigned to cases through several channels: - Direct taxpayer request - Internal IRS referral - Congressional office referral - Automatic system flags 2. According to the TAS website (www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov), they do proactively contact taxpayers when their returns show potential hardship indicators or significant delays. 3. To verify if your letter is legitimate: - Call the main TAS number (877-777-4778) NOT the number on the letter - Check if the letter has Form 911 enclosed (this is their standard assistance form) - Verify if the letter references specific details about your return The medical expenses you mentioned are likely what triggered the automatic referral.

From a technical perspective, the IRS uses specific criteria to auto-refer cases to TAS, including: - Refund delays exceeding 60 days from filing date - Schedule A with medical expenses exceeding 7.5% of AGI - Hardship indicators in return data - Form 8962 (Premium Tax Credit) with certain codes I received an auto-referral in the 2023 tax season with $9,800 in medical expenses. The TAS advocate saved me approximately $1,240 in penalties by identifying an error in how my medical deductions were processed. Their service costs nothing and they have direct lines to specialized IRS units that can resolve issues faster than the general phone lines.