How to Fill Out Alabama Form 911AL: Request for Taxpayer Assistance

Alabama Form 911AL is the Request for Taxpayer Assistance that you submit to the Alabama Department of Revenue’s Office of Taxpayer Advocacy when a state tax problem has stalled or you believe the department is applying the law unfairly. The form is a two-page PDF available on the department’s website. You fill in your identification and tax details on page one, describe the problem and the relief you want on page two, sign it, and mail it to Montgomery.¹

Before You File: Make Sure You Qualify

The form itself recognizes two reasons to request help. You have tried to resolve a state tax issue through normal channels and exhausted the administrative remedies within the division handling your matter, or you believe Alabama’s tax laws, regulations, or policies are being administered unfairly and have impaired your rights.¹

Alabama Code Section 40-2A-4 is more specific about what the advocate handles: matters pending for an unreasonable length of time, cases where you could not get a reasonable response after several attempts to reach the assigned employee or that employee’s supervisors, release of levied property, erroneously filed liens, and failure to release a lien.²

One boundary to know up front. The advocate has no authority over taxes collected by or on behalf of a self-administered county or municipality. If your dispute involves a local tax that a city or county administers independently, Form 911AL is not the right channel.²

Page One: Your Identification and Tax Details

Taxpayer Information

At the top, enter your name exactly as it appears on your tax return along with your Social Security Number. If you file jointly, add your spouse’s name and SSN. Businesses enter the business name and Federal Employer Identification Number.¹

Fill in your current mailing address, city, state, and ZIP code. Give a daytime phone number and an email. Initial outreach from the advocacy office often comes by phone, so double-check the number.¹

Tax Type and Period

Specify which tax is involved: personal income tax, corporate tax, sales tax, withholding, or another category. Then list the tax periods at issue. For income tax, that is the calendar or fiscal year. For taxes filed quarterly or on another schedule, list each period that applies. Being precise here keeps the advocate from having to come back and ask before any work can start.¹

Page Two: Describe the Problem and the Relief You Want

This is the part that decides whether the advocate can act. Explain what happened, what you have already done to fix it, and what you want the advocate to do. Keep it factual. The advocate has full access to department records and personnel under the statute, so your account will be checked against internal files.²

A strong narrative covers four things:

A chronological account with the dates you contacted the department, the names of employees you spoke with, and any written notices or responses you received.
The administrative remedies you have already attempted within the appropriate division. The form instructions require that you exhaust division-level remedies before contacting the advocacy office.
The specific impact on you, such as an erroneous lien, a stuck refund, a penalty you believe was wrongly imposed, or an assessment you have evidence is incorrect.
The relief you are asking for: voiding an assessment, releasing a lien, granting a refund, waiving a penalty, or abating interest.

Knowing what the advocate is empowered to grant helps you frame the request. Under Section 40-2A-4, a taxpayer assistance order can declare that a tax, including a final assessment, was erroneously assessed and is not owed, or that a refund petition was wrongly denied. The advocate can also abate interest that accumulated because of delays caused by department staff and waive penalties for reasonable cause.²

Signature

The taxpayer or a corporate officer signs and dates the form at the bottom of page two.¹

If Someone Else Is Filing for You

A tax professional, attorney, or family member can submit the form on your behalf, but the advocacy office needs authorization to discuss your account with them. Attach a completed Alabama Power of Attorney, Form 2848-A.³

Where to Mail It and What to Attach

Send the signed form and supporting documents to:

Office of Taxpayer Advocacy
P.O. Box 327005
Montgomery, AL 36132-7005¹

Include copies of any notices, letters, or assessments from the department tied to your dispute, along with records of prior communication: emails, certified mail receipts, or notes from phone calls with dates and employee names. Fuller documentation up front means less back-and-forth before the advocate can begin.

If you want to confirm receipt or ask a procedural question before mailing, the advocacy office’s phone number is 334-242-1055.⁴

What Happens After You File

An advocate reviews your form and reaches out to discuss specifics or request anything missing. From there, the advocate works directly with the revenue division responsible for your issue. Because the statute gives the advocate access to department personnel, books, and records, they can review internal files you cannot see yourself.²

If relief is warranted, the advocate drafts a taxpayer assistance order setting out the facts, the reasons for granting relief, and the specific remedy. The order must be signed by the advocate and approved by the commissioner or assistant commissioner. Either the advocate or the commissioner may later modify or rescind an order in writing for good cause.²

Expect periodic updates as the review moves. Timelines vary with complexity. A straightforward penalty dispute tends to resolve faster than a case involving erroneous assessments across multiple tax periods.

1
Alabama Department of Revenue. Request for Taxpayer Assistance Form 911AL
2
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 40-2A-4 – Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights
3
Alabama Department of Revenue. Alabama Department of Revenue Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative
4
Alabama Department of Revenue. Taxpayer Advocacy