If you need answers from the IRS, you better try on-line first. The Internal Revenue Service is going to try harder to deliver answers to taxpayers over the internet and may soon dramatically scale back telephone and face-to-face service, National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson said in her annual report to Congress. That means 150 million individual taxpayers and 11 million businesses seeking help and information from the IRS better start thinking about setting up on-line accounts.
The Advocate expresses particular concern about IRS intentions regarding what is not stated in the plan. “Implicit in the plan — and explicit in internal discussion — is an intention on the part of the IRS to substantially reduce telephone and face-to-face interaction with taxpayers,” Olson’s report said.
Additionally, the IRS announced that the 2016 filing season to file your 2015 returns (paper and electronic) will open on Tuesday, January 19, 2016. So there are no more tiered filing dates this season –all taxpayers file at the same time. Further, Tax Day has been pushed out this year to Monday, April 18, 2016 (not April 15). And, if you file your return in Maine or Massachusetts, due to Patriots Day, the deadline is Tuesday, April 19, 2016.
What does this mean to you? Now there is no longer an advantage to filing your tax returns on paper in early January instead of waiting for e-file to begin. The IRS will process both types of tax returns at the same time. However, your calls to IRS information centers will go largely unanswered and those who do get through will get answers to only the simplest questions.
If you have unanswered questions, or need help with this year’s tax season or you are ready to resolve an ongoing tax problem, you’ll need to work with certified professionals with years of experience on your side like Tax Defense Partners. We have been helping individuals and business owners for almost 20 years. CALL Tax Defense Partners today for your FREE consultation.
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