The IRS is facing many challenges that have carried over from last year. According to the IRS, its workforce has shrunk by 17% from 2010, while its workload, as measured by the number of individual return filings, has increased by 19 percent. What are some issues and what can you do for this tax filing season?
- Avoid filing anything by paper when possible. The backlog at the IRS is in the millions. Even returns that were e-filed last year were suspended during processing, which was mostly due to Recovery Rebate Credit discrepancies.
- Use the ‘Where’s My Refund?” tools at irs.gov. However, this does not provide information on unprocessed returns or explain delays. Also, contacting the IRS for your refund status will probably be a waste of time. Supposedly, they will not be able to explain more than the “Where’s My Refund?” tool.
- Telephone service was the worst it has ever been and only about 11% of calls were answered. If you need to contact the IRS, then try various days and times. Mondays are not a good day.
- Make sure to provide all of your information to your tax preparer to avoid any discrepancies between IRS records and your tax return.
- If you received advance Child Tax Credits, the IRS encourages you to go to your online account with the IRS to obtain the amount because Letter 6419 that was sent out may not be accurate. If you report an inaccurate amount, then this will cause a delay with processing your tax return.
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