Taxpayer Rights Advocate

If you have trouble resolving a tax issue with the Department of Revenue and have exhausted all other administrative remedies, the Taxpayer Rights Advocate may be able to help.

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How to Contact the Taxpayer Rights Advocate
If you have exhausted all administrative options and still think you have a legitimate claim for relief, please contact the Taxpayer Rights Advocate office at:

Phone:

    (651) 556-6013
    TTY: Call 711 for Minnesota Relay

The office is open 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. weekdays.

Email:

Mailing address:

    Taxpayer Rights Advocate
    P.O. Box 7335
    St. Paul, MN 55107-7335

Click here for driving directions to the Department of Revenue's building.

History and Purpose
The Advocate's Office was established in 1990 as a place for taxpayers to receive an independent review of their tax situation while promoting and upholding the department's mission of fair and equitable application of the tax laws.

What we do
We respond to all requests for help. We listen to your problem, examine your situation, check department records and discuss your complaint with you. If you need a person to assist you, or if the department is being unresponsive, we can step in to help. Sometimes the help might be simply to connect you with the right person in the department's appropriate division.

The advocate helps:

  • ensure fair and consistent application of Minnesota tax law and department policies;
  • promote taxpayer issues and concerns to department policymakers and state legislators;
  • provide a fresh look at individual tax situations that have exhausted all other administrative avenues;
  • problem-solve and suggest options to taxpayer dilemmas;
  • negotiate to resolve impasses between the department and taxpayers;
  • provide an alternative to the standard lines of communications presently available to taxpayers within the department;
  • settle tax disputes between spouses (and ex-spouses) by administering the Joint Spouse Allocation and Innocent Spouse Allocation programs;
  • provide another access point to department information; and
  • advocate for individual taxpayer concerns when "significant hardship" situations occur.
The advocate cannot:

  • change Minnesota tax law for individual situations;
  • interfere with normal processing systems unless a documented hardship situation exists;
  • change time limits for filing, payment or refunds;
  • act as legal counsel for individual situations; or
  • help you with your federal income tax or taxes you pay to other states or local agencies (but we will give you names of people at those agencies who can help).
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    Contents
    Taxpayer Rights Advocate
    Innocent spouse allocation program
    Separation of liability program
    Significant hardship