Taxpayers who file their tax returns on paper could face delays of a week or more on their refunds this tax season because of budget cuts, Internal Revenue Service commissioner John Koskinen warned. In a memo sent to IRS staff on Tuesday, Koskinen offered details on the impact of the recent budget cuts on IRS operations, which he warned would lead to a longer hiring freeze, fewer resources dedicated to customer service, tax enforcement and overtime, and a possible two-day furlough for IRS employees. The budget cuts will have an impact on taxpayers and preparers. “People who file paper tax returns could wait an extra week—or possibly longer—to see their refund,” Koskinen wrote. “Taxpayers with errors or questions on their returns that require additional manual review will also face delays.” “This will hurt taxpayer service and cost-efficiency efforts as well as reduce outside contractor support for critical projects,” said Koskinen. “This means that new taxpayer protections against identity theft will be delayed.” National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson, who heads the Taxpayer Advocate Service, delivered her annual report to Congresson Wednesday and commented on the impact of the successive rounds of budget cuts at the IRS (see Taxpayer Advocate Report Highlights Decline in Taxpayer Services, Promotes Taxpayer Bill of Rights). “The budget environment of the last five years has brought about a devastating erosion of taxpayer service, harming taxpayers individually and collectively,” she wrote. Olson wrote in her report to Congress about the declines in customer service at the IRS. She said the IRS is unlikely to answer even half the telephone calls it receives, and levels of service may average as low as 43 percent. Taxpayers who manage to get through are expected to wait on hold for 30 minutes on average and considerably longer at peak times. In addition, she pointed out, the IRS will answer far fewer tax-law questions than in past years. “During the upcoming filing season, it will not answer any tax-law questions except ‘basic’ ones,” Olson wrote. “After the filing season, it will not answer any tax-law questions at all, leaving the roughly 15 million taxpayers who file later in the year unable to get answers to their questions by calling or visiting IRS offices.” Tax return preparation assistance has been eliminated, according to Olson. With all of this being said, it will be very important to have a professional tax preparer handle your 2014 tax return preparation this year. Be sure to look for the credentials of EA or CPA when selecting your preparer. If you have any questions, please give us a call.
Posted on: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 23:23:26 +0000
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