Prevent · Rights & Free Help
Your Rights & the IRS's Own Help Desks
Free help the IRS already pays for — gathered in one place, in your language. Plus the Taxpayer Bill of Rights: the ten promises the IRS itself makes to you.
Education only — not personal tax advice. Personal questions route to a credentialed pro.
The Taxpayer Bill of Rights
Published by the IRS in Publication 1 and at irs.gov/taxpayer-bill-of-rights ↗. These are the IRS's own words for its titles; the explanation under each one is ours, in plain language.
1. The Right to Be Informed
The IRS must explain its decisions about your account in language you can understand — you are entitled to clear explanations of the tax laws, IRS procedures, and any notice you receive, and to be told how to comply.
2. The Right to Quality Service
When you deal with the IRS you are entitled to prompt, courteous, professional help — to speak to a supervisor about inadequate service, and to receive communications you can understand.
3. The Right to Pay No More than the Correct Amount of Tax
You are only ever required to pay what is legally owed — including interest and penalties — and to have every payment applied correctly. If the IRS took too much, this right is the foundation of your refund claim.
4. The Right to Challenge the IRS's Position and Be Heard
You can object, present documents, and expect the IRS to actually consider your timely objection and respond — an IRS letter is an opening position, not a verdict.
5. The Right to Appeal an IRS Decision in an Independent Forum
You are entitled to a fair, impartial administrative appeal (IRS Appeals is separate from the office that made the decision), and generally to take your case to court — including Tax Court, where a Notice of Deficiency gives you 90 days to petition before you have to pay.
6. The Right to Finality
You are entitled to know how long the IRS has to audit you (generally 3 years), how long it has to collect (generally 10 years from assessment), and when an audit is finished. The clocks exist — and filing your real return is what starts them.
7. The Right to Privacy
IRS inquiries, examinations, and enforcement must be no more intrusive than necessary and must respect due process — including your rights before a levy, and the rules around searching your home or seizing property.
8. The Right to Confidentiality
Your tax information cannot be disclosed by the IRS except as the law authorizes — and you can act against employees or preparers who wrongfully use or disclose it.
9. The Right to Retain Representation
You may hire an authorized representative (attorney, CPA, or enrolled agent) to deal with the IRS in your place, and generally you will not be required to attend interviews with your representative absent a formal summons. Can't afford one? Low Income Taxpayer Clinics exist for exactly that — see below.
10. The Right to a Fair and Just Tax System
You are entitled to have the system consider facts and circumstances that affect your ability to pay — hardship, effective tax administration, and relief provisions are part of the system, not loopholes in it.
Free help the IRS already pays for
Before paying anyone — including us — know what is already free. These four desks are gathered here because most taxpayers have never been told they exist.
Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS)
The IRS's own independent organization whose job is to help taxpayers the normal system is failing. TAS can take your case if you are experiencing (or about to experience) economic harm from an IRS problem, or if you've tried the normal channels and the problem isn't being resolved. Start with Form 911 — in our Forms Library — or contact your local advocate.
Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITC)
Independent clinics — often at law schools and legal-aid nonprofits — that represent low-income taxpayers in IRS disputes (audits, appeals, collections, Tax Court) for free or a small fee, and help taxpayers who speak English as a second language. There is a clinic in most states; the IRS directory lists them all.
VITA & TCE — free tax preparation
The IRS's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs prepare returns for free — generally for people earning $67,000 or less (2025 program figure — verify for the current season), people with disabilities, limited-English speakers, and taxpayers 60+. Sites are staffed by IRS-certified volunteers. Find the sites near you with the official locator.
Your IRS Online Account
The IRS's own secure account shows your balance, payment history, transcripts, and notices — the same record the IRS works from. Setting one up (and enrolling in an IP PIN) is the single best fraud-prevention step a taxpayer can take. Our IRS Concierge walks you through it; this is where it lives.
Rights are only useful if the clock has not run
Almost every right above has a deadline attached — 90 days to petition Tax Court after a Notice of Deficiency, 30 days to request a Collection Due Process hearing after a final levy notice, 3 years to claim a refund. Decode any letter in the Notice Decoder to see which clock it starts, and run the Error Shield before you file the next one.