National Taxpayer Advocate Reports Improved Taxpayer Experience in 2023 Filing Season
The National Taxpayer Advocate, Erin M. Collins, has reported that the taxpayer experience significantly improved during the 2023 filing season, although many issues still require improvement.
The #IRS managed to catch up in processing paper-filed tax returns, issuing refunds quickly, and reducing wait times for taxpayers calling the IRS.
However, there were still challenges, including delays in processing #amended tax returns and taxpayer correspondence. Customer service representatives in the IRS's Accounts Management function were unable to answer phone calls simultaneously and process amended returns or correspondence, leading to delays in these areas.
The IRS achieved its goal of an 85% "Level of Service" in answering telephone calls, but this measure only includes calls to specific telephone lines and excludes a significant number of calls.
Processing delays were primarily experienced with paper-filed tax returns, as the IRS has not yet implemented automated scanning for these returns. The IRS aims to develop the capability to scan all paper-filed returns by the 2024 filing season.
Amended returns also faced delays due to manual processing, and a significant portion of delays in processing amended returns was attributed to claims for the Employee Retention Credit (ERC), with some being deemed fraudulent.
The processing of taxpayer correspondence and other cases also saw delays, and the IRS has not made significant progress in reducing its paper inventories. The use of outdated technology has been a common factor contributing to these challenges. Collins suggests that the IRS could have minimized delays by implementing technology solutions earlier, such as automating the processing of paper-filed returns and deploying chatbots for better communication.
