The IRS and Customer Service

If you have ever had to directly call the IRS then you know how difficult it can be to contact them. And it is predicted to only get worse. Be prepared to be very patient.

During the fiscal year 2013, the IRS answered only 61% of its taxpayers phone calls. That equated to 20,000,000 ( yes that’s millions) unanswered phone calls. This is a sharp drop from the 90% that were answered in 2004. The wait time in 2004 was less than 3 minutes compared to last year’s wait time of 18 minutes.

The taxpayer advocate blamed a lack of resources and training. It is predicted to get worse due to more spending cuts last week by the House and the Senate.

The IRS has said that it will stop preparing taxes for people who need help, such as the elderly and the disabled. It will also answer only tax law questions, and this will only be done during the normal filing season which ends on April 14.

The best advice given is to get started on your taxes early and if you have questions to start calling the IRS now.

Person CPA Group can eliminate the stress of you having to deal with the IRS directly. Call us for more information on how we can help you this tax season. Our number is 504-780-8299 or you can email: karen@personhuffcpa.com