The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has released a report detailing struggles the IRS is facing this tax season.
In the report, details show the backlog issues have been going on for quite some time now.
As of Nov. 2021 there were 7.8 million cases that needed to be looked into.
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Why did the investigation into the IRS happen?
An audit was done to look into the issues surrounding the backlog of tax returns that have built up since the COVID pandemic began.
Of the 7.8 million back logged returns, 56.8% of them are over-aged.
The goal with this audit was to find a way to help the Accounts Management Department within the IRS.
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What has the backlog done to taxpayers?
The reason for the Accounts Management Department to exist is to help individual and business taxpayers.
Unfortunately their ability to communicate with taxpayers has created a number of issues and not helped them complete their duty.
In interest alone, the IRS was forced to pay out $166.4 million dollars to taxpayers in interest from returns sitting too long.
What was found when the audit was done on the IRS?
It was discovered that tax processing centers were looking at 53 extra days to receive, process, and scan correspondence for the Accounts Management Department.
Electronic options for correspondence were suggested, and while the IRS plans to do this, there is no date for when it will begin.
Of the suggestions, the IRS did not agree to additional staffing or updating software.
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