IRS Delays

Haven't heard back from the IRS? Don't hold your breath. Our CPAs and clients are noticing extended wait times for IRS processing. "What used to take six weeks is now taking six months," chimed in a team member in a meeting last week. In fact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration published a report on how extensive the problem is; here is one of the charts from that report:

Our recommendations are:

1. Make your tax payments online; don’t mail them. Use irs.gov website.

2. If possible, e-file your return with IRS. Mailed returns take longer to process.

3. Adjust your expectations, realizing that responses from the IRS are going to take a wildly unprecedented amount of time. Somehow, it feels less painful when you expected it in the first place.