Identifying and Listing Telephone Numbers - Telephone numbers will be published for every TAC, except for cities that have multiple offices. For example, Houston, Texas has 3 TAC offices located in the Metropolitan Houston area. At least two TAC telephone numbers will be published to give coverage throughout the metropolitan area. Telephone numbers for offices for which there is no TAC located within an area code will also be published. These offices are defined as "§3709 PODs" .

Message Retrieval - There will be a designated primary and back-up FA employee for each location with a listed telephone number to retrieve messages. All telephones will be accessible from a remote location to allow messages to be retrieved more efficiently, including during the absence of the designated employee. Clerical employees, if available, should be used to retrieve messages.

Returning Calls - All calls will be returned within two business days regardless of the issue even if just to provide the taxpayer with the appropriate toll-free number to access in order to answer a technical or account related question. All employees returning calls (this includes e-mail messages) will state their name, ID (badge) number and the city (TAC location) at the beginning of the call (this includes e-mail messages).

Telephone Number Changes - All requests for telephone number changes or additions will be submitted to the FA Area Coordinator.

Call Tracking Procedures - All telephone calls, except hang-ups, will be tracked using the 3709 Daily Call Tracking/Transcription Sheet. See Exhibit 21.3.4-31 Detailed instructions for completing the log are included in the exhibit. The call tracking sheet will be maintained in each TAC for a period of two years (electronic or paper) in accordance with IRM 1.15.31-1 item #9, Records Control Schedule for Field Customer Service Office.

Taxpayer Requests Appointment - If a taxpayer requests an account appointment with an FA employee, the request will be routed to the Group Manager (GM) or designated technical employee for the TAC in which the taxpayer has requested an appointment. The GM (or designated technical employee) will contact the taxpayer to obtain any necessary information and schedule the appointment. Employees retrieving/returning messages should use the chart below to determine when to route a call to the GM or technical employee.

TACs With One Or Fewer Employees – If a taxpayer requests an account appointment in a TAC with one or fewer employees, advise the taxpayer that appointments cannot be made at that location since we would be unable to assist walk-in taxpayers. There is no special script for these TACs. Unless the taxpayer is disabled, offer the following options:

Scheduling Appointments – FA will schedule appointments for complex account issues as described below or when the taxpayer has special needs. The intent is to accommodate taxpayers with physical disabilities; however, any taxpayer who states they have a disability will receive an appointment. Appointments will not be made for return preparation over the 3709 phone line unless the taxpayer is disabled (see (9) below). There could be other instances when an appointment would be appropriate. Managers and technical employees must use their knowledge, experience and judgment to evaluate each circumstance. Probing skills should be used to determine if an appointment should be made or the issue can be resolved using toll-free numbers, visiting the TAC without an appointment or using IRS.gov. Following are situations that require FA to schedule an appointment for the taxpayer:

Scheduling Appointments For Taxpayers With Disabilities - In order to limit burden on disabled taxpayers, FA will schedule an appointment for any issue that is in scope. FA employees will not question the type or extent of a taxpayer’s disability. The following procedures should be followed:

TAC Closings - If a TAC is closed due to inclement weather or any other situation, procedures in IRM 1.4.11.8.2, Posting TAC Closings, should be followed.

There are instances when our taxpayers who are deaf/hard of hearing have a need for interpreter services as a form of reasonable accommodation. Taxpayers may have their own interpreter, but if they request we provide this service, there are procedures in place and an appointment must be arranged accordingly. Requests for sign language interpreters require advance notice in order to ensure availability and meet the taxpayers’ needs. American Sign language interpreter service can be obtained using the current blanket purchase agreement with TCS Associates. Managers need to coordinate with their territory consumer (scheduler) to schedule an ASL interpreter from TCS Associates. Interpreter requests for TCS Associates should be scheduled at least five business days in advance of the taxpayer appointment. Additional instructions, guidance, and local contacts can be found at http://win.web.irs.gov/eeo.htm under the Disability section, Interpreter Services.

Calls received on the 3709 phone line from a relay service or from a third party should be referred to a designated technical employee or the Group Manager to schedule an appointment according to procedures in IRM 21.3.4.3.2, Your Role and Duties While Assisting Taxpayers.

Taxpayers who are deaf/hard of hearing also have other options for obtaining assistance. They include:

When taxpayers who are blind or visually impaired visit TACs, they can usually tell you what type of assistance they need. The challenge is to resolve the taxpayers’ issues while being sensitive to the taxpayers’ limitations.

When these taxpayers visit TACs unaccompanied, TAC employees should acknowledge the taxpayers, determine what services they need and assist them with obtaining Queuing Management System (Qmatic) tickets. This is especially important in TACs without Initial Assistance Representatives (IARs).

In contact recording (CR) sites, TAC employees should advise taxpayers who may not be able to read the CR signs, that their contacts are being recorded. If these taxpayers choose to opt-out of having their contacts recorded employees should follow Qmatic procedures.

Taxpayers with visual or motor skill limitations may ask for assistance in completing paperwork or writing a check. TAC employees should assist in this area as needed, taking care to ensure that the taxpayers know what is being written. The taxpayers can be expected to sign on their own behalf, and should let the assistor know of methods that would be helpful in executing the signature. Each taxpayer will need varying degrees of assistance based on their individual needs.

Elderly Taxpayers – A visit to the TAC may be a social outlet for the taxpayer. Engage these taxpayers, but control the conversation. Don’t assume the taxpayers don’t understand their tax situation. Listen completely before responding.

Illiteracy – Although not a disability, Illiteracy may be considered a limitation. Generally, the non-reading taxpayers will not volunteer this information, but instead may ask you what their notice or form says. If these taxpayers ask you to read or explain something, do so willingly and without question. Advise the taxpayers to visit again if they need additional assistance and provide them with the appropriate toll-free numbers to obtain assistance by phone.

It is impossible to know the proper response to every situation involving individuals who are disabled just as it is impossible to know every appropriate way to interact with non disabled persons. Remember the individual with a disability is first a person and should be treated as such. The following are some points to keep in mind when assisting taxpayers with disabilities:

Employees can assist taxpayers who visit TACs by accessing the Alternative Media Center website http://amc.enterprise.irs.gov/index.php for the list of available media and order processing instructions. The AMC has made alternative formats available through the same channels as printed products for both internal and external taxpayers. Orders for alternative formats already available will be shipped within 72 hours; all other requests will take 4-6 weeks to process.

Employees or Taxpayers can download Electronic Files from the Multimedia Electronic Publishing website. The Multimedia Electronic Publishing website contains a core repository of all the products published by the Internal Revenue Service. This is located on the Product Catalog Information web page. Listed below, are instructions for downloading AMC products or follow this link to download files from this site; http://publish.no.irs.gov/catlg.html. The AMC website also contains a list of products available in alternative media formats: ASCII text files (.txt), Braille Ready Files (.BRF) and Talking Tax Forms.

Ordering Tax Forms and Products from AMC: TAC employees, with the approval of their managers, may order AM products on behalf of their taxpayers by e-mail or Fax. Send e-mail media requests to altmc@irs.gov and Fax orders directly to AMC’s Help Desk at 202-622-2878. All orders to the AMC must contain the following information:

Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, persons with disabilities accompanied by service animals must be allowed building entry and access to Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs). Service animals are defined as dogs or other animals that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks to assist people with disabilities. These requirements apply to individuals with physical and/or mental disabilities. The following are guidelines for service animals at TACs:

FA Employees - Field Assistance Management Information System (FAMIS) will be used to track time, hours and units of FA employees working the employee e-file program. See http://win.web.irs.gov/field/field_FAMIS.htm for specific guidelines.

Other Employees - Employees detailed to work the employee e-file program will report their time to their respective business units as directed.

Find the appropriate Tax Law Category (TLC) in ITLA. The FA Search Engine is the most complete resource for determining the scope of the topic and which TLC should be used.

Advise the taxpayer you are going to cover the topic thoroughly. Use a purpose statement to let the taxpayer know you will be asking a series of questions designed to gather the necessary information to ensure they receive an accurate response.

Ask the questions in sequential order.

Address all questions with the taxpayer.

If you have to paraphrase a question to ensure the taxpayer's understanding, be sure to address all elements of the question.

Watch for any instruction the ITLA TLC provides to YIELD or STOP. Be aware of instructions that differ for Field Assistance (FA) and Accounts Management (AM). These differences generally occur because of scope differences between the AM and FA functions.

Be sure to read all assistor "notes" and/or "cautions" , and take any required actions. These notes and cautions are for the assistor only and are not meant to be shared with or read to the taxpayer.

Use the interactive links within the ITLA TLC to publications, forms, instructions and other resources. These links provide definitions and expanded explanations.

Link to and use self-populating worksheets when applicable or instructed to do so.

The Data Review feature located in the upper right-hand corner of each question screen allows you to change answers to previously asked questions. Generally, if you must change more than one item, use the Restart function located at the top left-hand corner of every question screen.

Verbally provide the taxpayer with the correct and complete response from the generated Response Page.

Use the Summary section of the Response Page to clarify or change any previous probe answer the taxpayer provided. You are not required to read the response verbatim but you are required to cover all issues listed in the response in an accurate and complete manner. The Change feature located after each question in the Summary section allows you to change answers to previously asked questions. Generally, if you must change more than one item, use the Restart function located at the top left-hand corner the Response page.

You may provide the taxpayer with a printed copy of the Response Page.

If requested, and the taxpayer has all the necessary information, provide assistance with applicable forms or worksheets.

If a technical error (such as erroneous tax law direction or a misspelling) is discovered when using ITLA, submit feedback via the Feedback link at the top of the ITLA homepage. Once on the SERP Feedback homepage, select "Submitter Feedback Form," and then select "ITLA" from the dropdown menu on the resulting submission page. First time users will have to fill out a registration form before submitting the feedback. On the registration form, be sure to select "TAC (Taxpayer Assistance Center)" in the dropdown when identifying the "Campus" you work for. SERP Feedback should not be used to request answers to questions related to interpretation or clarification of tax law. Discuss those types of issues with your manager.

Determine the appropriate publication (this could be a form or instructions).

Identify the appropriate section of the publication, form or instructions.

As you gather all relevant tax law facts by questioning the taxpayer, address all appropriate sections of the publication, form or instructions to ensure you provide a complete and correct response.

Provide the taxpayer with a correct and complete response.

Show the taxpayer the answer to their question in the publication.

If requested, and the taxpayer has all necessary information, provide assistance with applicable forms or worksheets.

If the taxpayer requests it, provide the publication or other reference material to the taxpayer to take with them.

This IRM section addresses when a taxpayer asks a tax law question and the applicable year publication and ITLA TLC are not yet available.

When the appropriate tax year ITLA TLC and appropriate tax year publication are not yet available, follow procedures in IRM 21.3.4.3.6.1.2,Steps in the Publication Method For Non-ITLA Topics, using the most current publication. Use of the most current year ITLA TLC as a resource/guide for covering required probes is not precluded, provided the steps below are followed.

When the appropriate tax year publication is available but the appropriate ITLA TLC has not yet posted, follow procedures in IRM 21.3.4.3.6.1.2, Steps in the Publication Method For Non-ITLA Topics, and the steps below, using the tax year appropriate publication.

Follow these procedures until the current year TLC for that tax law topic is available electronically on the ITLA homepage (on SERP).

FA employees will contact a designated FA specialist (e.g., GS-11 ITAS) for technical support on tax law or account issues. If a designated FA specialist is not available to assist the taxpayer, the employee will attempt to contact a Subject Matter Expert.

If a designated FA Specialist or SME is not available or unable to assist, the FA employee will offer the taxpayer a referral based on whether it is an In-Scope tax law or an In-scope account issue.

When a designated FA Specialist/SME is not available or unable to assist with an in-scope tax law issue, the FA employee will offer the taxpayer a referral via the FA R-mail system. The FA employee will inform the taxpayer that they will receive a response within 15 business days. (IRM 21.3.5.4)

When appropriate, see ITLA Procedures Before Appropriate Year Publication and Tax Law Categories (TLCs) are Available in IRM 21.3.4.3.6.1.3.

All account inquiries, unless IRM specified, are in scope for FA. Some IRMs that may be used to perform your official duties are found in IRM 21.1.2.3.1,Multi-Functional IRMs. This reference is not all inclusive for FA account work. There are two types of in-scope account referrals.

Personal Account Referrals must be resolved by the originating employee by close of business the same day the taxpayer visits the TAC.

In-house Account Referrals must occur under any of the following circumstances:

The FA employee will:

In house referrals are also required when documents requested, such as account transcripts, are not obtainable by close of business the same day. See IRM 21.3.5.4.2.1.1.2,Requesting Documents When Creating e-4442 Referrals.

The FA employee will complete Form e-4442 on AMS. See IRM 21.3.5.4.2.1.1,Preparing an e-4442. Form 4442 (paper) will only be prepared if the Form e-4442 function is unavailable.

See IRM 21.3.4.3.7.3.3.1, FA Account Referral Tracking, for responsibilities of employees assigned to work In house inventory.