NTA Blog: IRS Delays in Processing Amended Tax Returns are Impacting TAS’s Ability to Assist Taxpayers (November 10, 2021)

The National Taxpayer Advocate has made available for download their article, “IRS Delays in Processing Amended Tax Returns are Impacting TAS’s Ability to Assist Taxpayers”, published on The National Taxpayer Blog. The abstract is as follows:

In a previous blog, I highlighted the impact of the IRS’s processing delays and the resulting increase in cases on TAS’s ability to serve taxpayers. Today, I want to provide information on limitations TAS is facing in assisting individual and business taxpayers who have filed amended tax returns and are waiting for the IRS to process them. We know many individuals and businesses are frustrated by the delays, particularly those awaiting refunds.

As of October 30, 2021, the IRS had a backlog of over 2.7 million unprocessed amended returns. The IRS is processing these returns in the order received, and the current processing time posted on its operational page is more than 20 weeks. Our cases indicate that the processing time is considerably longer than 20 weeks, and as such, I have made the difficult decision to suspend accepting cases where the sole issue involves the processing of amended returns until the IRS is able to work through its backlog. We are also analyzing the upcoming filing season and expect to issue revised guidance for original filed returns.

Under our current procedures, TAS does not accept cases in which we cannot meaningfully expedite or improve case resolution for taxpayers. Amended returns fall into this category. Due to the broad impact of COVID-19, the IRS has faced significant challenges in all its return processing operations. Unfortunately, until the IRS processes a tax return, TAS cannot assist the taxpayer. For that reason, TAS will not accept new cases solely involving the processing of an individual or business amended return. TAS will continue to monitor IRS developments in amended return processing and will reevaluate this determination as the situation changes.

Click here to see the National Taxpayer Advocate’s summary of “IRS Delays in Processing Amended Tax Returns are Impacting TAS’s Ability to Assist Taxpayers”

Posted by Marin Larkin, Associate Editor, Wealth Strategies Journal.