{"id":429008,"date":"2022-04-08T22:29:25","date_gmt":"2022-04-08T19:29:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/irs-answering-only-20-of-taxpayer-phone-calls\/"},"modified":"2022-04-08T22:29:25","modified_gmt":"2022-04-08T19:29:25","slug":"irs-answering-only-20-of-taxpayer-phone-calls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/irs-answering-only-20-of-taxpayer-phone-calls\/","title":{"rendered":"#IRS answering only 20% of taxpayer phone calls"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2d251cc7b25\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2d251cc7b25\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/irs-answering-only-20-of-taxpayer-phone-calls\/#%E2%80%9CIRS_answering_only_20_of_taxpayer_phone_calls%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;IRS answering only 20% of taxpayer phone calls&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CIRS_answering_only_20_of_taxpayer_phone_calls%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;IRS answering only 20% of taxpayer phone calls&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Internal Revenue Service agents are answering just a fraction of all incoming customer service calls as the embattled agency struggles with a record volume of inquiries and a massive backlog of tax returns, IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig acknowledged during a Senate hearing this week.<\/p>\n<p>The commissioner detailed the IRS\u2019s struggles with customer service in response to a question from Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) of the Senate Financial Committee \u2014 who noted that delayed tax returns and unanswered phones created a \u201cvery, very frustrating\u201d situation for taxpayers.<\/p>\n<p>Rettig said the IRS expects to return to \u201cnormal\u201d levels of phone service during the 2022 fiscal year, which he defined as \u201cright around 70%\u201d of calls answered, as the agency recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re currently running about 19% to 20% level of service,\u201d Rettig said.<\/p>\n<p>The IRS previously warned it was receiving a record level of incoming phone calls. In 2021, the agency received more than 145 million calls from January 1 through May 17, or more than four times its normal call volume.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/irs-tax-phone-calls-05.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig\" class=\"wp-image-21832845\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/irs-tax-phone-calls-05.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/irs-tax-phone-calls-05.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/irs-tax-phone-calls-05.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig testified before the Senate Finance Committee.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Rettig noted the IRS\u2019s efforts to boost customer service would depend on whether another COVID-19 spike further hampers its operations. He argued the IRS has made significant progress in clearing its tax return backlog \u2014 which would free up more agents to answer the phones.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur efforts are working. We\u2019re trending in the right direction. During the summer, you\u2019ll start seeing the impact of this,\u201d Rettig said.<\/p>\n<p>As of March 31, the IRS had 2.7 million unprocessed individual tax returns received in calendar year 2021 and about 2.3 million unprocessed returns from calendar year 2022, according to Rettig. The IRS typically enters filing season with a backlog of <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roximately 1 million tax returns from the previous year.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/irs-tax-phone-calls-04.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"IRS building\" class=\"wp-image-21832844\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/irs-tax-phone-calls-04.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/irs-tax-phone-calls-04.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/irs-tax-phone-calls-04.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>The IRS is plagued with a backlog of unprocessed tax returns.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Rettig said President Biden\u2019s 2023 budget proposal contains enough funding for the IRS to achieve an 85% answer rate on customer service calls. The Biden administration has proposed an expansion of the IRS, arguing it would help to close the \u201ctax gap,\u201d the difference between what is owed and what is actually collected.<\/p>\n<p>The IRS has faced bipartisan pressure to alleviate the backlog. Rettig and other federal officials have attributed the agency\u2019s struggles to staffing shortages, outdated <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> and a lack of necessary funding.<\/p>\n<p>In January, the IRS warned that taxpayers were in for a \u201cfrustrating\u201d filing season due to the logjam.\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/04\/08\/irs-answering-only-20-of-taxpayer-phone-calls\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;IRS answering only 20% of taxpayer phone calls&#8221; Internal Revenue Service agents are answering just a fraction of all incoming customer service calls as the embattled agency struggles with a record volume of inquiries and a massive backlog of tax returns, IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig acknowledged during a Senate hearing this week. The commissioner detailed&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":429009,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/irs-tax-phone-calls-99.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[127733,81842,73434,46483],"class_list":["post-429008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-4-8-22","tag-customer-service","tag-irs","tag-taxes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=429008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/429009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=429008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=429008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=429008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}