You can really make a difference!
Write to your Members of Congress in 3 easy steps about how you've been impacted by the broken US tax laws! This will only take you an estimated 20 minutes, and it is much easier than you think!
Step 1: Find your two Senators’ and one Representative’s phone numbers
- Click here and search for your last US address or your US voting address, or your parents last US address if you have never lived in the US.
- Grab the Washington D.C. phone numbers (area code 202) for all three members.
Step 2: Call their offices!
- Call first, in order to identify the correct person to send your email to.
- When receptionist answers, read the following script:
Hi, my name is [name], I am a constituent and I would like to send an email to the person in charge of tax on the Congress[wo/man]'s legislative team. Could you tell me his or her email address so I can send them an email?
- Call during Washington D.C. office hours (9am to 5pm ET, weekdays) to increase your chances of success.
- Do not leave voicemail. After three unsuccessful attempts, email us at [email protected] and we'll see if we can help.
- Call your House representative first if you don’t have time for all three.
- Minimum credit (usually about $5) can get you connected through any internet device to reduce costs if you cannot make an international call.
Step 3: Send a separate email to each Member’s tax staff
• Copy, paste, and customize the following text to a separate email for each contact.
To: Tax staff email
Bcc: [email protected] (This is very important, don't forget to bcc us so that we know that you contacted your reps! This helps us track who contacted whom.)
Dear [Tax staff's first and last name],
My name is [your name], I am a proud constituent living in [city and country you live in].
I am emailing you about [brief description of the tax issue].
[Add your own personal story about how you've been impacted by the issue you're emailing about. The more personal, the better.]
[Conclude your email with what action you would like the staff to take. Do you want them to reply to your email? Call you to discuss the issue in more detail? Introduce a bill? Co-sponsor an existing bill that would fix the problem? The more specific your ask here, the better.]
Thanks,
[Your name]
If you do not receive a reply within 24 hours, send a follow-up email.
- Ask for confirmation that they received your email (1-2 minutes of your time).
- Message them on their social media platforms to help bump your email up to the top of their inbox.
- If the Congressional staff requests additional information or wants to speak to you further but you're not confident in doing this, forward us the email and then we'll advise you on next steps.
- If you receive any reply, please forward it to [email protected] so we know how the member's office responds.
Thank you so much for helping us with this very important work.
- If you have any questions on this action, please email us at [email protected].
- Feel free to share this webpage with anyone you think is interested in helping fix the tax problems for Americans abroad!