IRS not answering the phone

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dual
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IRS not answering the phone

Post by dual »

I received an amount due letter from the IRS that was incorrect. They did not include the payment I made through pay1040.com. The letter says if I don't agree with them to call 800.829.0922. I do this and after about five minutes of menus I got to the end where I get to talk with somebody but they say due to call volume we can't answer your call and then they hang up. I tried this several times yesterday and today again with the same result.

So my questions are:
is there an alternative to mailing a response to their general address?
Is there somewhere on their website where I can respond?
Is there a better address than The Internal Revenue Service, Fresno California here in California?

edit: I found the payment on my irs.gov account. So I will send them a letter with a screenshot of the payment page and other information.
Last edited by dual on Thu May 06, 2021 10:03 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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HueyLD
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Re: The IRS does not answer the phone

Post by HueyLD »

Contact your congressperson or senator.
livesoft
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Re: The IRS does not answer the phone

Post by livesoft »

I saw news article this week that said the IRS only answers about 24% of the calls.
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Re: The IRS does not answer the phone

Post by Stinky »

You say that the letter asked you to call a phone number if you did not agree with the letter.

Did the letter also give an option for responding via return letter? Every letter that I've ever received from the IRS has given me the option of responding in writing.
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dual
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Re: events that require unfreezing credit

Post by dual »

Stinky wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 9:54 am You say that the letter asked you to call a phone number if you did not agree with the letter.

Did the letter also give an option for responding via return letter? Every letter that I've ever received from the IRS has given me the option of responding in writing.
no they did not include an address, just the phone number.

The only address was at the top left of the letter

internal revenue service
Fresno California 93888-0010
Last edited by dual on Thu May 06, 2021 9:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The IRS does not answer the phone

Post by 2tall4economy »

I had to call the irs multiple times to settle my fathers estate. Most annoying thing ever.

What I found was if you call the minute they open up, you’re on hold 5 minutes. If you call in the afternoon, you’re on hold (literally) 2 hours.

So call first thing and see. Or write a letter
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Post by dual »

2tall4economy wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 9:59 am I had to call the irs multiple times to settle my fathers estate. Most annoying thing ever.

What I found was if you call the minute they open up, you’re on hold 5 minutes. If you call in the afternoon, you’re on hold (literally) 2 hours.

So call first thing and see. Or write a letter
they do not give me the option to hold. They just hang up.
I called early this morning and they did say that their hours are 7 AM to 7 PM. I called at 7:01 AM and they hung up after the menus
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RickBoglehead
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Re:

Post by RickBoglehead »

dual wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 10:00 am
2tall4economy wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 9:59 am I had to call the irs multiple times to settle my fathers estate. Most annoying thing ever.

What I found was if you call the minute they open up, you’re on hold 5 minutes. If you call in the afternoon, you’re on hold (literally) 2 hours.

So call first thing and see. Or write a letter
they do not give me the option to hold. They just hang up.
I called early this morning and they did say that their hours are 7 AM to 7 PM. I called at 7:01 AM and they hung up after the menus
Sometimes not everyone turns on a phone system at the exact minute they say. Did you try again at say 7:10 or 7:15?

If they didn't give you another option, then keep trying.

I can't disagree with HueyLD more. OP has called a handful of times, right in the peak of tax season. Why on earth would you try to utilize your elected officials, who shouldn't be able to do anything with IRS issues? This isn't a crisis, this isn't an emergency.
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Re: The IRS does not answer the phone

Post by HueyLD »

I guess we can agree to disagree.
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Re: The IRS does not answer the phone

Post by Big Dog »

why not just make a copy of your pay1040 transaction and send it to Fresno, certified mail. That way you have a record of responding in a timely manner.

Many feds are still "working" from home so it will not get better any time soon. Yes, you could contact your elected officials, but until the WH tells the workers to go back into the office.....
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Re: The IRS does not answer the phone

Post by RickBoglehead »

I guess a lot of people didn't hear the news of payment processing delays recently?

From Accounting Today:

The IRS also experienced delays last week in its Modernized e-File system when trying to process the quarterly estimated tax payments that the IRS insisted were due April 15, despite the May 17 extension for filing individual tax returns.

“We identified a delay in processing Form 1040 balance due, Form 1040-X amended, and Form 1040-ES estimated tax payment requests submitted via Modernized e-File,” the IRS announced in a QuickAlert for Tax Professionals on Thursday. “The issue has been resolved, and pending payments are being processed. The taxpayer's account will be credited with the original requested payment date(s)."

The IRS urged taxpayers not to submit the payments a second time if they were worried the payments didn't go through. "Taxpayers should not re-submit these payments. If a taxpayer re-submitted any of these payment requests due to the delay in processing they may cancel them by calling 1-888-353-4537," said the IRS. "Cancellation requests must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern time, at least two business days prior to the scheduled payment date.”

Some tax professionals were getting worried inquiries from clients when the payments wouldn’t go through last week. “Many advisers began getting calls beginning on April 16 from clients concerned that payments scheduled to have been withdrawn from their accounts on April 15 had not been withdrawn,” wrote Ed Zollars, a partner at Thomas, Zollars & Lynch, in his Current Federal Tax Developments blog for Kaplan Financial Education. “Reports on CPA society discussion forums and on TaxTwitter made it clear that this was not an isolated problem, impacting individuals all across the country. While some tax software providers’ support departments began reporting that the IRS was aware of the problem, the IRS did not publish anything official until a week later on April 22.”

If payment was made, simply wait for it to be processed. Or keep trying to call. I'll bet the IRS letter was sent before it was processed.
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Re: Re:

Post by tibbitts »

RickBoglehead wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 10:07 am I can't disagree with HueyLD more. OP has called a handful of times, right in the peak of tax season. Why on earth would you try to utilize your elected officials, who shouldn't be able to do anything with IRS issues? This isn't a crisis, this isn't an emergency.
I believe this is a totally appropriate issue for elected representatives to address. They need to know if an agency is effectively not available to taxpayers.

Presumably regardless of which party is in power, the government is in the process of adapting to frequently recurring or possibly permanent pandemic conditions. Elected representatives need to know if some agencies are responding effectively to that new requirement, while others aren't. In business, management/owners receive feedback through financial results; in government other feedback is required.
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Re: The IRS does not answer the phone

Post by Stinky »

Big Dog wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 10:10 am why not just make a copy of your pay1040 transaction and send it to Fresno, certified mail. That way you have a record of responding in a timely manner.

Many feds are still "working" from home so it will not get better any time soon. Yes, you could contact your elected officials, but until the WH tells the workers to go back into the office.....
Absent an address in the letter, I like this answer.

Plus continue trying to call.
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Re: events that require unfreezing credit

Post by dual »

So I thought I would be sneaky and instead of going to the option where I dispute, I chose an option to set up an installment payment plan. I figured since they get money they would answer that. No luck. they're not interested in receiving money they just hung up. Doh!
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Re: events that require unfreezing credit

Post by dual »

The letter says the amount is due May 24 so I will continue to call occasionally and hope that after May 17 they start answering. if no answer, on May 19 or so I will send them a 2day priority mail letter that gives me tracking and confirmation of receipt.
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Re: The IRS does not answer the phone

Post by Katietsu »

When did you make the payment relative to when you e filed? I made my payment online and I efiled on the same day last year. I received what sounds like the same letter as you even though I was under no obligation to pay them for another 6 weeks. Anyway, by the time I called the IRS, the payment had been credited and I was told to ignore the letter.

Consider creating an online account where you can look up payments yourself.

Wednesday and Thursday at 7 AM should be great times to call. You did call at 7 AM Eastern, right?
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Re: The IRS does not answer the phone

Post by hachiko »

DO NOT CALL

Send a letter. That way you have proof of the conversation. And as you've already seen, the IRS is using courtesy disconnects so you basically have no choice, but to send a letter.

If you filed your return with the Fresno service center, you can send the letter to the same place. Send proof of the payment transaction as well as a narrative (can be pretty short). Best practice is to include a copy of the notice in your response.

Before you send it, check the addresses on the IRS website. I think they're moving the Fresno processing to Ogden; just not sure exactly when.

You should get a letter in response saying something like "we received your letter, but need more time to review it." You may get several of those in the meantime. I wouldn't expect the issue to be resolved for several months at a minimum.
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Re: The IRS does not answer the phone

Post by HootingSloth »

The IRS is experiencing extraordinary delays in processing communications of all kinds, due to years and years of budget cuts combined with the pandemic. The practical responses you have received to try different methods of contacting them by phone and by mail are good ones. I know of a great many situations like yours, and even one where a taxpayer wants to voluntarily pay the IRS an 8-figure amount and has been delayed in doing so because of these problems. It may take a long time to work out.

Enough people paying attention to HueyLD's response is the only real way to solve these problems in the long run, if you are so inclined.
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Re: The IRS does not answer the phone

Post by increment »

Katietsu wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 11:38 am Wednesday and Thursday at 7 AM should be great times to call. You did call at 7 AM Eastern, right?
In past years I have tried to call from California before 7 AM and have been informed that they are not yet open. I believe that these calls are answered locally, or at least roughly in the same time zone.
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Re: Re:

Post by 8foot7 »

RickBoglehead wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 10:07 am
I can't disagree with HueyLD more. OP has called a handful of times, right in the peak of tax season. Why on earth would you try to utilize your elected officials, who shouldn't be able to do anything with IRS issues? This isn't a crisis, this isn't an emergency.
I can't disagree with your disagreement more. There is absolutely nothing wrong with involving your elected official -- whose staff absolutely can use other channels to reach folks within the IRS, and I'm surprised there are people who would not realize this -- when (a) the government demands money you've already paid; and (b) they tell you that in order to dispute, you must call them; and (c) they don't answer the phone when you try multiple times to follow their specific instructions to call.
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Post by dual »

increment wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 11:54 am
Katietsu wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 11:38 am Wednesday and Thursday at 7 AM should be great times to call. You did call at 7 AM Eastern, right?
In past years I have tried to call from California before 7 AM and have been informed that they are not yet open. I believe that these calls are answered locally, or at least roughly in the same time zone.
that was my experience also. I called about 0630 PDT and was told that they were closed and that their hours are 7 AM to 7 PM
Last edited by dual on Thu May 06, 2021 10:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
J295
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Re: The IRS does not answer the phone

Post by J295 »

Perhaps things are a bit different now, but in my experience from early 2000 through my retirement eight years ago this is not a recent phenomenon. Dealing with the IRS was extremely difficult, in terms of substance and communications. For anything of material consequence I suggest proceeding in writing and set your expectations low.
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Re: Re:

Post by investingdad »

8foot7 wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 12:00 pm
RickBoglehead wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 10:07 am
I can't disagree with HueyLD more. OP has called a handful of times, right in the peak of tax season. Why on earth would you try to utilize your elected officials, who shouldn't be able to do anything with IRS issues? This isn't a crisis, this isn't an emergency.
I can't disagree with your disagreement more. There is absolutely nothing wrong with involving your elected official -- whose staff absolutely can use other channels to reach folks within the IRS, and I'm surprised there are people who would not realize this -- when (a) the government demands money you've already paid; and (b) they tell you that in order to dispute, you must call them; and (c) they don't answer the phone when you try multiple times to follow their specific instructions to call.
My dad frequently uses his local congressman’s office for this sort of thing. That’s what they’re there for... to serve, represent, and help their constituency. Otherwise, what’s the point?

I agree with the suggestion.
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Re: Re:

Post by 8foot7 »

investingdad wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 12:26 pm

My dad frequently uses his local congressman’s office for this sort of thing. That’s what they’re there for... to serve, represent, and help their constituency. Otherwise, what’s the point?

Precisely. Our local guy sends a little postcard mailer every year or so. "Reach out to me anytime for anything you might need" or words to that effect. It's a good resource to get things unstuck -- sort of like talking to the executive customer service team at a megacorp when the phone tree reps are unwilling or unable to solve a thorny problem for you.
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Re: The IRS does not answer the phone

Post by hachiko »

You can call your congressperson.

But, you should still write the letter and send it, along with proof of payment, to the IRS.
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HueyLD
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Re: The IRS does not answer the phone

Post by HueyLD »

dual wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 9:46 am I received an amount due letter from the IRS that was incorrect. They did not include the payment I made through pay1040.com. The letter says if I don't agree with them to call 800.829.0922. I do this and after about five minutes of menus I got to the end where I get to talk with somebody but they say due to call volume we can't answer your call and then they hang up. I tried this several times yesterday and today again with the same result.

So my questions are:
is there an alternative to mailing a response to their general address?
Is there somewhere on their website where I can respond?
Is there a better address than The Internal Revenue Service, Fresno California here in California?
Dual,

Have you asked pay1040.com if your tax payment thru them has been received by the IRS? Maybe they can provide some kind of proof of receipt?
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Re: The IRS does not answer the phone

Post by vtjon »

I recall about 8-10 years solving an issue by faxing them a letter in response to a notice. Does the notice include a fax number? If so, you could try to fax a letter though that doesn't give you confirmation. That said, I did get a follow up letter a couple of weeks later that acknowledged my faxed letter.
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Re: The IRS does not answer the phone

Post by Brewman »

If you do chose to call - I found the below helpful in getting through - still took a few attempts but I did get a human. I used this about a month ago when trying to find out if there was an error that was holding up my BIL's refund
YMMV


"How do you speak to a live person at the IRS?
The IRS telephone number is 1-800-829-1040.
The first question the automated system will ask you is to choose your language.
Once you’ve set your language, do NOT choose Option 1 (regarding refund info). Choose option 2 for “Personal Income Tax” instead.
Next, press 1 for “form, tax history, or payment”.
Next, press 3 “for all other questions.”
Next, press 2 “for all other questions.”
When the system asks you to enter your SSN or EIN to access your account information, do NOT enter anything.
After it asks twice, you will be prompted with another menu.
Press 2 for personal or individual tax questions.
Finally, press 4 for all other inquiries. The system should then transfer you to an agent."
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dual
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Re: The IRS does not answer the phone

Post by dual »

Katietsu wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 11:38 am
Consider creating an online account where you can look up payments yourself.
I actually have an account at IRS.gov. I logged in and the payment was there from April 12, 2021. I saved a screenshot of the payments page on my IRS.gov account.

I will still send them a letter and include the screenshot along with a copy of the notice but more relaxed now.

Thanks for the idea.

And thanks for all the helpful responses. BH are the greatest!
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Re: The IRS does not answer the phone

Post by Seasonal »

I'm helping a relative with a similar tax issue - the IRS did not recognize an estimated tax payment. I called numerous times, including at opening trying the tricks suggested in this thread, and was never able to get through - due to extremely high call volume. I contacted the relative's congressperson. One of the congressperson's aides specialized in IRS issues and seems to have solved the problem. The aide was very friendly and responsive. I'd highly recommend this course.
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Post by dual »

so my lesson is that it is helpful to have an account at irs.gov. If I recall correctly, they do not make it easy. I ended up having to wait for them to mail me a PIN. But persist.
Last edited by dual on Thu May 06, 2021 10:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Re:

Post by Mitchell777 »

tibbitts wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 10:22 am
RickBoglehead wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 10:07 am I can't disagree with HueyLD more. OP has called a handful of times, right in the peak of tax season. Why on earth would you try to utilize your elected officials, who shouldn't be able to do anything with IRS issues? This isn't a crisis, this isn't an emergency.
I believe this is a totally appropriate issue for elected representatives to address. They need to know if an agency is effectively not available to taxpayers.

Presumably regardless of which party is in power, the government is in the process of adapting to frequently recurring or possibly permanent pandemic conditions. Elected representatives need to know if some agencies are responding effectively to that new requirement, while others aren't. In business, management/owners receive feedback through financial results; in government other feedback is required.
I had a phone message from my congressperson's office a few weeks ago. It was not meant for me. They dialed a wrong number. But it was clear the congressperson's office was trying to get an answer for a constituent who could not get through to one of the govt agencies.
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Re: events that require unfreezing credit

Post by hachiko »

dual wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 2:27 pm so my lesson is that it is helpful to have an account at irs.gov. If I recall correctly, they do not make it easy. I ended up having to wait for them to mail me a PIN. But persist.
If you know and trust someone who is a tax professional you can ask them if they'd be willing to file a POA for you and then they can pull transcripts for you easily and quickly. But, that's more of a fix for the inevitable future issues that come up, not a resolution for your current issue, since the IRS is way behind on processing POAs.

I'm not sure what sort of access individuals get without POAs though, so if that works for you, then you can ignore that suggestion.

Also, you obviously need to trust the person because, with a POA, they can take action on your accounts (as well as view a great deal of detail).
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Re: The IRS does not answer the phone

Post by bengal22 »

livesoft wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 9:51 am I saw news article this week that said the IRS only answers about 24% of the calls.
Call 4 times
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Re: The IRS does not answer the phone

Post by oslocal »

bengal22 wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 3:04 pm
livesoft wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 9:51 am I saw news article this week that said the IRS only answers about 24% of the calls.
Call 4 times
That still has a 33% chance of not working... 0.76 x 0.76 x 0.76 x 0.76 = 0.33
:twisted:
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Re: The IRS does not answer the phone

Post by pokebowl »

You are probably better off writing a letter in contestment. Even if a phone number is listed as the method of contact, usually the IRS is going to want documented proof for their own mess up which will require a letter. Another option is to schedule an appointment with a local IRS office to review the letter and your evidence of error. A less free method is to find a local H&R Block or other tax service in your area that will be willing to call on your behalf to the IRS, usually with phone numbers provided for tax professionals to get in touch with IRS employees quicker without the robot queue. :beer
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Re: The IRS does not answer the phone

Post by bengal22 »

oslocal wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 3:19 pm
bengal22 wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 3:04 pm
livesoft wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 9:51 am I saw news article this week that said the IRS only answers about 24% of the calls.
Call 4 times
That still has a 33% chance of not working... 0.76 x 0.76 x 0.76 x 0.76 = 0.33
:twisted:
So you're saying we got a chance.
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Re: The IRS does not answer the phone

Post by hachiko »

pokebowl wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 3:29 pm You are probably better off writing a letter in contestment. Even if a phone number is listed as the method of contact, usually the IRS is going to want documented proof for their own mess up which will require a letter. Another option is to schedule an appointment with a local IRS office to review the letter and your evidence of error. A less free method is to find a local H&R Block or other tax service in your area that will be willing to call on your behalf to the IRS, usually with phone numbers provided for tax professionals to get in touch with IRS employees quicker without the robot queue. :beer
Practitioner priority is also courteously disconnecting calls.
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dual
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Re: IRS not answering the phone

Post by dual »

IRS struggles to fill jobs, deal with backlog through difficult tax season

The Internal Revenue Service is having a hard time hiring enough staff to help it get through this year’s extended tax season and overcome its backlog of unprocessed tax returns.

A new report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, released Friday, provided interim results on the 2021 tax-filing season. The report revealed that more than 8.3 million individual tax returns and transactions remained to be processed as of the end of 2020.

IRS employees needed to vacate the offices and work remotely and didn’t start returning to their offices for months. In the meantime, millions of pieces of unopened mail piled up in trailers parked outside IRS facilities, and the IRS has been trying ever since then to catch up with all the new mail that’s been pouring into its offices. Staff shortages, despite funding increases in recent years to help the IRS comply with the Taxpayer First Act, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the CARES Act and other coronavirus relief packages, have made the challenge more difficult.
https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/ir ... tax-season

:oops:
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RickBoglehead
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Re: IRS not answering the phone

Post by RickBoglehead »

From WSJ, Sat, May 8th:

‘Where’s My Refund?’ Millions Are Waiting
https://wallstreetjournal-ny-app.newsme ... =798678b09

...His phone calls to the agency have been rejected due to high volume.

...In April he sought aid from his Congress member...

Note - he still doesn't have any answer despite this, merely further burdening the system by complaining to his Congress member.

... only about 2 out of every 100 calls are getting through.
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dual
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Re: IRS not answering the phone

Post by dual »

Where’s My Refund?’ Millions Are Waiting
Strategies for dealing with the IRS screwup:

E-file

Avoid refunds. If you have one apply it towards next year’s taxes and reduce withholding this year.

Contact your representative to keep the pressure on them. There’s no excuse for the screwup. Almost all the states are handling the tax situation better than the IRS. I mailed in my state tax return and they processed it within a week .
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Re: IRS not answering the phone

Post by HootingSloth »

dual wrote: Sun May 09, 2021 5:40 pm Contact your representative to keep the pressure on them. There’s no excuse for the screwup.
I strongly agree with the first sentence, but strongly disagree with the second sentence. https://www.cbo.gov/publication/56467
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dual
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Re: events that require unfreezing credit

Post by dual »

HootingSloth wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 5:00 pm
dual wrote: Sun May 09, 2021 5:40 pm Contact your representative to keep the pressure on them. There’s no excuse for the screwup.
I strongly agree with the first sentence, but strongly disagree with the second sentence. https://www.cbo.gov/publication/56467
I can't debate a link. I made my argument
Almost all the states are handling the tax situation better than the IRS. I mailed in my state tax return and they processed it within a week .
what is your argument?
HootingSloth
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Re: events that require unfreezing credit

Post by HootingSloth »

dual wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 3:04 pm
HootingSloth wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 5:00 pm
dual wrote: Sun May 09, 2021 5:40 pm Contact your representative to keep the pressure on them. There’s no excuse for the screwup.
I strongly agree with the first sentence, but strongly disagree with the second sentence. https://www.cbo.gov/publication/56467
I can't debate a link. I made my argument
Almost all the states are handling the tax situation better than the IRS. I mailed in my state tax return and they processed it within a week .
what is your argument?
I was being a bit too obscure; wasn't trying to be argumentative.

The excuse for the screwup is that their funding has been cut to the bone for the last decade. The IRS cannot reliably pick up the phone if they cannot afford to hire enough people to pick up the phone. I do not want to stray over into the political, so I have tried to stick with the CBO report, which lays out the facts very plainly. Tax practitioners like myself have seen these problems coming long before COVID, and it would be helpful if taxpayers understood the real source of the problems. Here is a letter from the American Bar Association Tax Section that also discusses these issues: https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam ... letter.pdf
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dual
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Re: irs not answering phone

Post by dual »

Tax practitioners like myself have seen these problems coming long before COVID, and it would be helpful if taxpayers understood the real source of the problems. H
thanks for your response. That makes some sense although the state tax agencies are doing better.

regardless of the reason, we have to deal with it. What strategies would you suggest to minimize the possibility of problems with the IRS when filing taxes?

or in my case, responding to a notice of error? I sent them a letter with all the particulars of my payment but it's not encouraging to read about the trucks full of letters in their parking lot.

Edit: The IRS may be underfunded but they still have managers and the managers should respond to their problems. For example, hire someone to set up an online system so people can communicate with that instead of having to use letters. Then their employees could respond to the electronic communication from home. Instead, the management’s answer seems to be shut down and not do their job./rant off :oops:
Last edited by dual on Thu May 13, 2021 11:39 am, edited 2 times in total.
maria00200
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Re: IRS not answering the phone

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I have been trying (on and off) to contact IRS via phone for 2 months now. I get the same result. They hang up on me. Doesn’t matter what day I try, or what time of day. I gave up for now and I’ll try again maybe in a month.
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Re: IRS not answering the phone

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maria00200 wrote: Thu May 13, 2021 10:27 am I have been trying (on and off) to contact IRS via phone for 2 months now. I get the same result. They hang up on me. Doesn’t matter what day I try, or what time of day. I gave up for now and I’ll try again maybe in a month.
"To talk to someone at the IRS I called 800-829-0922 and waited about 45 minutes before getting a live person. Someone mentioned to ignore the phone prompts and just stay on the line until all the recordings are finished. Similar to an individual who has a rotary phone. It worked.

Just thought I would pass this along since so many frustrations right now trying to contact the IRS."

I just posted this information on another post. I called the IRS 3 times in the past few months using the above procedure and got a person every time.
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goodenyou
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Re: IRS not answering the phone

Post by goodenyou »

I am STILL waiting for my (fairly large) 2019 refund. I e-filed in July 2020. It has never taken this long, but things are difficult now. It’s frustrating.
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dodecahedron
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Re: irs not answering phone

Post by dodecahedron »

dual wrote: Thu May 13, 2021 10:19 am
Tax practitioners like myself have seen these problems coming long before COVID, and it would be helpful if taxpayers understood the real source of the problems. H
thanks for your response. That makes some sense although the state tax agencies are doing better.
My experience (as someone who has systematically monitored tax administration for well over a decade) is that state tax agencies (specifically the one I am most familiar with, NY) have indeed been doing better than the IRS. Their budgets and staffing have not declined as much as the IRS.

State governments are highly motivated to fund their tax agencies, because they are constrained to operate under balanced budgets. 49 of the 50 states have balanced budget provisions in their constitutions. (Vermont is the exception.) Even in the absence of such constitutional provisions, financial markets would constrain states against running large deficits.

The US government is in the unique position of having capital markets apparently willing to lend it trillions of dollars at extremely low interest rates, which makes adequately funding its tax agency a less critical priority.
Last edited by dodecahedron on Thu May 13, 2021 12:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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SquawkIdent
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Re: IRS not answering the phone

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maria00200 wrote: Thu May 13, 2021 10:27 am I have been trying (on and off) to contact IRS via phone for 2 months now. I get the same result. They hang up on me. Doesn’t matter what day I try, or what time of day. I gave up for now and I’ll try again maybe in a month.
I can almost guarantee someone from your elected officials office will not hang up on you..
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