IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig stated in written testimony before a Senate subcommittee last year that on March 15, 2021, alone the IRS had received 8.6 million calls or about 1,500 calls per second.
During a more typical filing season, he said, the IRS would average 2 million to 3 million calls each day.
The backlogs led to more paperwork, leading to more phone calls, leading to more frustration, according to tax experts who are dealing with taxpayers regularly.
About 5 million pieces of taxpayer correspondence — with some dating at least to April 2021 and many taxpayers still waiting for their refunds nine months later — remained in the backlog in late December, according to the National Taxpayer Advocate's report.
The coalition is composed of a long list of groups including the American Institute of CPAs, Latino Tax Professional Association, National Association of Black Accountants Inc., the National Association of Enrolled Agents, the National Association of Tax Professionals, H&R Block and Prosperity Now.
The letter pointed out that the pandemic has "created unforeseen and long-lasting difficulties" for the IRS, taxpayers and tax professionals.
As part of the argument for more relief, the letter referred to the unprecedented number of unprocessed returns in comparison to years before the pandemic.
"Consequently, the IRS sends numerous mistargeted notices, liens and levies. Additionally, the IRS is only answering 9% of all calls and only 3% of calls regarding individual income tax returns, which prevents taxpayers from resolving these straightforward issues."
The IRS responds to confusion
Shortly after tax season began, the IRS caused more of an uproar among taxpayers who began receiving notices about 2020 returns that they had sent in long ago.
I heard from one taxpayer after another when I wrote a column in late January about how the IRS mailed letters that asked taxpayers to send in copies of their 2020 income tax returns — the same returns that they filed a year ago.
The letter, called Notice CP80, states: "Send your signed return to the address shown above. We'll assign the credit to the tax you owe and refund any over payment if you owe no other taxes or obligations."
Many of these taxpayers had already seen the IRS cash their checks for the taxes owed last year — so they wondered, why do they need to file a return? They knew they weren't owed any money — and they don't owe any money anymore.
Soon after taxpayers and others voiced their complaints, the IRS announced that it would "suspend notices in situations where we have credited taxpayers for payments but have no record of the tax return being filed."
Tax professionals on that forum call want to see more of these types of automated notices suspended while the IRS deals with its current glut of paperwork.
Many people who already got those letters, of course, still didn't know what to do.
"If a taxpayer has received a notice for a 2020 return they should not refile," according to Luis Garcia, a spokesperson for the IRS in Detroit.
Taxpayers also can establish and log into their tax account online at IRS.gov to view their tax status and any correspondence the IRS has sent, he said.
If you didn't file a 2020 return, obviously, you could have money that you might be owed based on the CP80 notice and would want to file to claim a refund.
The CP80 notice typically can help someone who might have forgotten to file a 2020 return after they faced a troubling event, such as a death or natural disaster. By filing a return later, they could still claim refund money they're owed, said Edward Karl, vice president of tax policy and advocacy for the American Institute of CPAs.
In most cases, an original return claiming a refund must be filed within three years of its due date for the IRS to issue a refund.
Late Wednesday afternoon, the IRS announced that it would temporarily suspend more than a dozen additional automated notices, including balance due notices and unfiled tax return notices. The IRS also is temporarily halting the mailing of automated collection notices normally issued when a taxpayer owes additional tax, and the IRS has no record of a taxpayer filing a tax return.
The IRS will continue to assess its backlog inventory of prior year returns to determine when to resume sending the notices.
But the IRS warned that some taxpayers and tax professionals may still receive these notices during the next few weeks. "Generally, there is no need to call or respond to the notice as the IRS continues to process prior year tax returns as quickly as possible," the IRS said.
The IRS is juggling its staffing
Finally, the IRS said Feb. 3 that it is moving 1,200 existing employees from other positions to deal with the unprecedented pileup. The employees have previous experience as tax examiners, customer service representatives, campus support and other key duties. They will remain on board to work through account management issues through September.
The IRS said it continues to explore multiple options to help taxpayers, including those with tax returns awaiting processing.
More: 3 big issues could delay your tax refund in 2022: What to know
More: IRS cashed the check but asked these taxpayers to re-send returns
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The American Institute of CPAs approved the move by the IRS to suspend the one automated notice and efforts to shift personnel to service centers but maintains more needs to be done.
More: IRS cashed the check but asked these taxpayers to re-send returns
“We are glad that the IRS seems to be listening and responding to the collective frustrations of all taxpayers," AICPA president and CEO Barry Melancon said in a statement.
But tax professionals want the IRS to do more to provide immediate relief, he said, and "move as quickly as possible to offer reasonable measures of relief as we are already in the beginnings of tax busy season."
"Time is of the essence," Melancon said.
The tax deadline this year is April 18. Yes, still two months away. But many tax pros remain on high alert.
Contact Susan Tompor: stompor@freepress.com Follow her on Twitter @ tompor freep.com/specialoffer. Read more on business and sign up for our business newsletter .
