Last week the Internal Revenue Service warned of a huge data breach of its on-line “Get Transcript” application that allowed tax returns of approximately 104,000 taxpayers to be accessed by identity thieves.
Has anyone had a client who was touched by this issue?
Now that tax season is over you can step back and breathe a little easier for a couple of weeks. Then you will begin receiving calls from the clients that are on extension or you may begin calling them. In many cases you will be calling them until October 15th – your next week of craziness.
During these next couple of days of peace and quiet – I would like to hear how your interaction with the Internal Revenue Service worked out this filing season. After IRS Commissioner John Koskinen announced “only to call IRS as a last resort,” I had visions of the phone ringing constantly with tax questions from consumers who were not members or clients. Amazingly the phones were normal – Whew! Maybe this was just us, I have to wonder how others faired over the last four months?? Thoughts? Comments?
In recent years, the IRS has been increasingly encouraging taxpayers to get the help they need through our website, IRS.gov. As the nation increasingly conducts business online, the IRS has seen strong growth in the use of services available on our website, particularly for taxpayers checking the status of their refunds, making payments or finding answers to their tax questions. Still, traffic in many Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs), particularly during the filing season, remains consistently more than IRS limited resources can support, forcing people to face lengthy wait times for help.
In order to more effectively use the expertise of IRS TAC employees, we will test delivering face-to-face service through an appointment process in a sample of TACs during this filing season. All taxpayers have been notified in advance. This test will help determine if an appointment-based service approach can improve efficiency and reduce taxpayer wait times particularly in this period of severe budget cuts. We are testing this program now during the high peak traffic period to better gauge the output of the testing and make adjustments for the needs of the taxpayers. The appointments will be beneficial to taxpayers who will know in advance that they can get the service they need without waiting. The first come, first served process currently in place cannot guarantee when or if a taxpayer can be helped. Taxpayers can often get the tax information they need or resolve a tax problem without having to call or visit an IRS office. Go to www.irs.gov for more information, and see service listing.
Please remember that taxpayers should always check IRS.gov for days and hours of service as well as services offered at the location they plan to visit by going to “Contact Your Local IRS Office.”
