This section describes the help that the IRS and other federal agencies offer to taxpayers who operate their own businesses.

Internal Revenue Service

The following describes assistance provided by the IRS. You can order free publications and forms, ask tax questions, and get more information from the IRS in several ways. By selecting the method that is best for you, you will have quick and easy access to tax help. See Free tax services, later.

Contacting your Taxpayer Advocate. If you have attempted to deal with an IRS problem unsuccessfully, you should contact your Taxpayer Advocate.

The Taxpayer Advocate represents your interests and concerns within the IRS by protecting your rights and resolving problems that have not been fixed through normal channels. While Taxpayer Advocates cannot change the tax law or make a technical tax decision, they can clear up problems that resulted from previous contacts and ensure that your case is given a complete and impartial review.

To contact your Taxpayer Advocate:

• Call the Taxpayer Advocate at 1-877-777-4778.
• Call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040.
• Call, write, or fax the Taxpayer Advocate office in your area.
• Call 1-800-829-4059 if you are a TTY/TDD user.

For more information, see Publication 1546, The Taxpayer Advocate Service of the IRS.

Small Business Tax Education Program. Small business owners and other self-employed individuals can learn about business taxes through a unique partnership between the IRS and local organizations. Through workshops or in-depth tax courses, instructors provide training on starting a business, recordkeeping, preparing business tax returns, self-employment tax issues, and employment taxes.

Some courses are offered free as a community service. Courses given by an educational facility may include costs for materials and tuition. Other courses may have a nominal fee to offset administrative costs of sponsoring organizations.

For more information about this program, call the IRS Monday through Friday during regular business hours and ask for your Taxpayer Education Coordinator. Check your telephone book for the local number of the IRS office closest to you or you can call 1-800-829-1040.

Your Business Tax Kit. Your Business Tax Kit is an assortment of IRS forms and publications to help taxpayers who operate their own businesses. To order the kit, see Free tax services, later. The kit consists of the following items.

Forms:

• SS-4, Application for Employer Identification Number
• 1040-ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals
• 9779, EFTPS Business Enrollment Form

Publications:

• 509,Tax Calendars
• 583, Starting a Business and Keeping Records
• 594, The IRS Collection Process
• 910, Guide to Free Tax Services
• 1544, Reporting Cash Payments of Over $10,000 (Received in a Trade or Business)

Free tax services. To find out what services are available, get Publication 910, Guide to Free Tax Services. It contains a list of free tax publications and an index of tax topics. It also describes other free tax information services, including tax education and assistance programs and a list of TeleTax topics.

	Personal computer. With your personal computer and modem, you can access the IRS on the Internet at www.irs.gov. While visiting our web site, you can: Find answers to questions you may have. Download forms and publications or search for forms and publications by topic or keyword. View forms that may be filled in electronically, print the completed form, and then save the form for recordkeeping. View Internal Revenue Bulletins published in the last few years. Search regulations and the Internal Revenue Code. Receive our electronic newsletters on hot tax issues and news. Get information on starting and operating a small business. You can also reach us with your computer using File Transfer Protocol at ftp.irs.gov.
	TaxFax Service. Using the phone attached to your fax machine, you can receive forms and instructions by calling 703-368-9694. Follow the directions from the prompts. When you order forms, enter the catalog number for the form you need. The items you request will be faxed to you For help with transmission problems, call the FedWorld Help Desk at 703-487-4608.
	Phone. Many services are available by phone. Ordering forms, instructions, and publications. Call 1-800-829-3676 to order current and prior year forms, instructions, and publications. Asking tax questions. Call the IRS with your tax questions at 1-800-829-1040. TTY/TDD equipment. If you have access to TTY/TDD equipment, call 1-800-829- 4059 to ask tax questions or to order forms and publications. TeleTax topics. Call 1-800-829-4477 to listen to pre-recorded messages covering various tax topics. Evaluating the quality of our telephone services. To ensure that IRS representatives give accurate, courteous, and professional answers, we evaluate the quality of our telephone services in several ways. A second IRS representative sometimes monitors live telephone calls. That person only evaluates the IRS assistor and does not keep a record of any taxpayer's name or tax identification number. We sometimes record telephone calls to evaluate IRS assistors objectively. We hold these recordings no longer than one week and use them only to measure the quality of assistance. We value our customers' opinions. Throughout this year, we will be surveying our customers for their opinions on our service.
	Walk-in. You can walk in to many post offices, libraries, and IRS offices to pick up certain forms, instructions, and publications. Some IRS offices, libraries, grocery stores, copy centers, city and county governments, credit unions, and office supply stores have an extensive collection of products available to print from a CD-ROM or photocopy from reproducible proofs. Also, some IRS offices and libraries have the Internal Revenue Code, regulations, Internal Revenue Bulletins, and Cumulative Bulletins available for research purposes.
	Mail. You can send your order for forms, instructions, and publications to the Distribution Center nearest to you and receive a response within 10 workdays after your request is received. Find the address that applies to your part of the country. Western part of U.S.: Western Area Distribution Center Rancho Cordova, CA 95743-0001 Central part of U.S.: Central Area Distribution Center P.O. Box 8903 Bloomington, IL 61702-8903 Eastern part of U.S. and foreign addresses: Eastern Area Distribution Center P.O. Box 85074 Richmond, VA 23261-5074
	CD-ROM. You can order IRS Publication 1796, Federal Tax Products on CD-ROM, and obtain: Current tax forms, instructions, and publications. Prior-year tax forms and instructions. Popular tax forms that may be filled in electronically, printed out for submission, and saved for recordkeeping. Internal Revenue Bulletins. The CD-ROM can be purchased from National Technical Information Service (NTIS) by calling 1-877-233-6767 or on the Internet at www.irs.gov. The first release is available in mid-December and the final release is available in late January. Your comments on IRS enforcement actions. The Small Business and Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman and 10 Regional Fairness Boards were established to receive comments from small business about federal agency enforcement actions. The Ombudsman will annually evaluate the enforcement activities and rate each agency's responsiveness to small business. If you wish to comment on the enforcement actions of IRS, call 1-888-REG-FAIR (1-888-734-3247).

Small Business Administration

The Small Business Administration (SBA) offers training and educational programs, counseling services, financial programs, and contract assistance to small business owners. The SBA also has publications and videos on a variety of business topics. The following briefly describes assistance provided by the SBA.

Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs). SBDCs provide counseling, training, and technical services to current and prospective small business owners who cannot afford the services of a private consultant. Help is available when beginning, improving, or expanding a small business.

Business Information Centers (BICs). BICs offer a small business reference library, management video tapes, and computer technology to help plan a business. BICs also offer one-on-one assistance. Individuals who are in business or are interested in starting a business can use BICs as often as they wish at no charge.

Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE). SCORE provides small business counseling and training to current and prospective small business owners. SCORE is made up of current and former business people who offer their expertise and knowledge to help people start, manage, and expand a small business. SCORE also offers a variety of small business workshops.

	Personal computer. With your personal computer and modem, you can access the SBA on the Internet at www.sba.gov. While visiting the SBA web site, you can find a variety of information of interest to small business owners.
	Phone. Call the SBA Answer Desk at 1-800-UASK-SBA (1-800-827-5722) for general information about programs available to assist small business owners.
	Walk-in. You can walk in to a Small Busines Development Center or Business Information Center to request assistance with your small business. To find the location nearest you, access the SBA on the Internet or call the SBA Answer Desk.

Other Federal Agencies

Other federal agencies also publish publications and pamphlets to assist small businesses. Most of these are available from the Superintendant of Documents at the Government Printing Office. You can get information about and order these publications and pamphlets in several ways.

	Personal computer. With your personal computer and modem, you can access the GPO on the Internet at www.access.gpo.gov.
	Phone. Call the GPO at 1-202-512-1800. This is not a toll-free call.
	Mail. Write to the GPO at the following address. Superintendent of Documents U.S. Government Printing Office P.O. Box 371954 Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954

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