- quote -

At the risk of sounding mercenary -- hire a tax professional
if you do not think your friends are capable of handling it.

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Suri wrote:

(OP wants to contact the IRS to ask for information about
her return, but cannot use the toll-free numbers because
she's in India. She wants to know if there's an E-mail
option.)

Not that I know of. E-mail is insecure, and the IRS would
be quite justified in not sending out confidential
information by E-mail even if they could feel confident that
the request came from you rather than being forged. I found
secure E-mail once on the IRS site, but it deals only with
problems with the site, rather than problems with taxes.

Possibilities you may be able to investigate further:

The "where's my refund" link might be able to tell you if
your current tax return has been processed, although I
haven't checked if you can ask about dual-status returns
there, or if, in fact, you can ask about your return if your
stated address is outside the US.

Perhaps the
POA form can be faxed or E-filed? (Are you sure your friend
is an eligible individual for the POA? You mind need to
send, instead, the request to allow your friend access to
confidential tax information from your return. Different
form, entirely.)

Perhaps Publication 54 lists non-toll-free phone numbers for
the Philadelphia office? (You can find IRS publications at
their web site.)

Perhaps the US Embassy in India could contact the IRS. (I
realize their services are primarily for US nationals in
India, but they may have some way to dial a toll-free
number.)

Good luck!

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I filed for federal returns for the year 2003 in June. This
is after sending a request for an extension as I did not
receive some w-2 forms before April 2004.

My situation is a little complicated because I returned to
my home country from the US in 2003. Hence I filed as
dual-status. I mailed these forms around June 7th. These
have reached the IRS sometime in July. That the IRS has
received them was confirmed when my friend, who lives in the
US, called to find out.

The IRS has refused to divulge any more information about
what happened to my refund to my friend without us
submitting a power of attorney form. While I am making
preparations to send a signed copy of this form to my friend
to authorise him to enquire on my behalf, I am also
considering if there is another way for me to contact the
IRS directly by somthing like email. It will not be
possible for me call the IRS as I cannot use any of the toll
free numbers. I have used the IRS website to enquire, but
it did not say any information other than giving me another
toll free number to call. The IRS website does not list any
email addresses. Postal correspondence from India will take
ages. Can anybody suggest a practical and faster way of my
getting in touch with the IRS? Thanks a lot in advance for
any help in this matter.

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