The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP) was established in October 2002 under the Federal Advisory Committee Act as a way of improving IRS responsiveness to taxpayers needs.  The panel offers a unique opportunity for citizens to participate in the improvement of both the American tax administration system and the organization of the IRS.  Panel members from every state provide input on IRS's strategic initiatives as well as provide a venue for raising issues identified by citizens.

TAP members serve a three-year term and generally spend between 300 and 500 hours a year on member activities. They meet in Washington, DC during the fall of the year for an annual meeting, have at least one face-to-face meeting in their geographic area (sub-committee), and hold monthly conference calls.  Each committee is empowered to work directly with the IRS to provide observations or recommendations on the issue before them, monitor the status and progress on the issue, and identify concerns in design and implementation of the issue.

The Department of the Treasury recognized that the panels are valuable partners for providing an effective forum for direct citizen input into Internal Revenue Service (IRS) decision making.  The Department of the Treasury, in response to a review of Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) Boards completed by the Administration, recommended nation-wide expansion of the TAP.

The TAP continues to act as a two-way conduit: serve as focus groups for the IRS providing input on strategic initiatives and providing a venue for raising issues identified by citizens. Panel members identify work service-wide issues and are closely linked to the IRS program owners. There are seven geographically based sub-committees and the Panels are demographically diverse with representation from each state.

Complete Panel Member Listing

Listing of Panel Members by Area

Committees

New Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Members Selected in 2009