Possible IRS Challenges during the 2020 Tax Season

Acting National Taxpayer Advocate Bridget T. Roberts reported that the IRS is among the lowest-performing federal agencies in providing a positive customer experience. In her 2019 Annual Report to Congress, she noted several issues affecting the IRS in providing a positive consumer experience and outlined some of the issues taxpayers can look out for in the coming 2020 tax season. We’ve highlighted the top five things to look out for this year.

1. Poor Customer Service
This one is a given based on feedback received from others or even your personal experience with the IRS. The report states the less than thirty percent of calls made (30%) in the 2019 fiscal year were answered by a customer service representative.

2. Old Technology
The current infrastructure is outdated or quickly getting there. There are plans however to improve the technology infrastructure, with the aim of becoming more efficient.

3. Staffing and Untrained Preparers
With a shrinking budget and workforce, the workload for current employees has increased. This coupled with the filing industry’s evolution has made it easier for untrained preparers to enter into the field.

4. Delayed Refunds
Filters have been implemented to prevent refund fraud. But with false positive rates being extremely high, taxpayers have experienced delays for legitimately filed returns.

5. Free File frustrations
This is a partnership with the IRS and a group of private-sector tax preparation providers. The aim is to offer free federal tax preparation software through IRS.gov. The software, however, was not largely accepted due to varying degrees of dissatisfaction.

Despite these challenges, you can always trust our highly trained, knowledgeable, professional, friendly staff at MWB Tax Solutions. We’re here to help you avoid all the hassle. Contact us or give us a call today.