Effects of IRS Delays

This tax season started with a bang, or, in the empty barrel. Less than 24 hours in tax season, IRS e-file system went down for 18 hours causing unexpected delays and back log of all applications filed before the system went down and they tried to file returns during down time. This delay seems to have set the stage for the rest of the collection season. Long processing times, delays in repayment and lack of information have made this tax season is difficult for everyone and painful for many.

Long processing times and delays in recovery have cause many taxpayers to wonder what is happening with their money. Many taxpayers rely on the refund to pay bills that are piling up through the winter, new accounts are receiving, not to mention the basic needs of life: shops, doctor visits, gas, etc. We have seen many taxpayers phone is ringing off the hook, visiting the offices their editors, and getting annoyed by the inconvenience, which, for some, is much more than just an inconvenience.

Not only did this delay caused problems for taxpayers, but the editors feel the consequences of this problem as well. Taxpayers have been reported to be harassing their preparers of returns, when the preparer has no authority or ability to do anything an IRS accepted the return to taxpayers. Having said that, one resource available to all of the IRS's Where's my refund system on the IRS Web site, which provides immediate confirmation that the return and the expected date for which the taxpayer can expect to receive funds. Unfortunately, this program is only adding more headaches this year. For a period of about 2 weeks or more (approximately), this program is not working properly, it takes away any preparer's ability to inform and update on the status of the taxpayer's return. Not only does it not work, it was shown that it is, giving the taxpayer or preparer false information just added to the confusion.

Until now, many taxpayers are still without their refunds, and organizers are still no answers for them. Being told that the wait is not satisfying, in fact, it can be annoying for all involved in the tax preparation industry. Perhaps, given the early-to problems with the system PTIN application and delay in issuing EFINs, we should expect the worst, but we did not. We expected some consistency and reliability in our tax system. Perhaps, with the proposed 1.3 billion increase in the IRS budget, the good people at the IRS can develop a system that works efficiently and effectively.