‘We don’t have a magic phone number we can call.’ IRS backlog frustrating tax filers and workers
The Internal Revenue Service has at least 20 million tax returns that still need to processed, according to the National Taxpayer Advocate, an IRS watchdog.
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The backlogs are causing frustrations not just for people waiting on their tax returns but the professional tax filers too.
“It’s frustrating for us as tax practitioners because we can’t help our clients,” said Teresa Alley, an enrolled agent at Alley and Bradl. “We don’t have a magic phone number we can call. I wish we did.”
The phone wait times are up to 29 minutes on average, according to a mid-year report to Congress. Last year, only 10 percent of taxpayer calls were answered.
“It’s been much longer than that usually,” she told News Center 7′s James Rider. “Couple hours on hold is more normal than 20 minutes.”
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The IRS said it had hoped to get these tax returns done by the end of the year but the National Taxpayer says they IRS would have to double its current rate to make that deadline.
“I don’t know what to do,” Alley said. “It’s frustrating. I don’t know what to tell people.”
