This backlog represents a fourfold increase from 2019 — the most recent year before the coronavirus pandemic — when the IRS closed its filing season with 7.4 million unprocessed returns, according to the report. These numbers reflect the IRS backlog as of May, and the agency may have made progress reducing it since then. The IRS backlog amounted to 11 million at the end of the 2020 filing season, fewer than a third of the current number of unprocessed returns.
As a result of the backlog, millions of taxpayers have to wait much longer for their tax refunds. In the current filing season, 70 percent of individual income tax returns included refunds, with the average refund amounting to about $2,800. Refunds are also important for delivering tax credits to low-income Americans, while some other taxpayers need their returns to be processed to proceed with things such as mortgage applications.
Calls for help to the agency from taxpayers skyrocketed amid the challenges. The agency received an average of about 45 million calls per year from 2018 to 2020. It received more than 167 million in 2021, a nearly 300 percent increase from 2018, with only 9 percent of calls answered by an IRS customer service representative.
The 1040 support line for individual income tax returns — fared even worse. That line received about 85 million calls, with only about 3 percent reaching a customer service representative
However, changes may be ahead. The Biden administration has proposed numerous tax law changes that some specialists fear could bring a new wave of updated forms, retroactive adjustments, and delays. The administration has also proposed increasing IRS funding by $80 billion and adding nearly 87,000 employees over the next decade to manage the workload.
In the meantime, patience may be taxpayers’ only option to combat delays and confusion when the next tax season rolls around.
Source: Jeff Stein
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Clergy Financial Resources serves as a resource for clients to help analyze the complexity of clergy tax law, church payroll & HR issues. Our professionals are committed to helping clients stay informed about tax news, developments and trends in various specialty areas.
This article is intended to provide readers with guidance in tax matters. The article does not constitute, and should not be treated as professional advice regarding the use of any particular tax technique. Every effort has been made to assure the accuracy of the information. Clergy Financial Resources and the author do not assume responsibility for any individual’s reliance upon the information provided in the article. Readers should independently verify all information before applying it to a particular fact situation, and should independently determine the impact of any particular tax planning technique. If you are seeking legal advice, you are encouraged to consult an attorney.
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Clergy Financial Resources
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