IRS Tax News

  • 27 Jun 2022 7:59 AM | Anonymous

    WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service announced today that it has prescribed tax rates for 121 taxable substances that are subject to the Superfund chemical excise tax imposed by section 4671(a) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code).

    Taxable substances are those substances listed in either section 4672(a)(3) of the Code or Notice 2021-66.  Substances may be added or removed from the list of taxable substances at a later date.

    The rates will be included in the instructions to Form 6627, Environmental Taxes, and under Recent Developments for Form 6627, Environmental Taxes

    Taxable Substance                             Tax Rate per Ton

    1,3-butylene glycol                                $ 7.28
    1,4 butanediol                                       $ 4.68
    1,5,9-cyclododecatriene                         $ 9.74
    2-ethyl hexanol                                     $ 7.16
    2-ethylhexyl acrylate                             $ 7.34
    acetone                                                $ 20.06
    acetylene black                                     $ 10.52
    acrylic acid resins                                  $ 5.65
    methacrylic acid resins                           $ 14.94
    acrylonitrile                                           $ 9.38
    adipic acid                                             $ 6.13
    adiponitrile                                            $ 8.57
    allyl chloride                                          $ 10.38
    alpha-methylstyrene                               $ 9.93
    ammonium nitrate                                 $ 1.49
    aniline                                                  $ 9.40
    benzaldehyde                                        $ 8.47
    benzoic acid                                          $ 7.31
    bisphenol-A                                           $ 10.23
    butanol                                                 $ 6.31
    butyl acrylate                                        $ 6.84
    butyl benzyl phthalate                            $ 12.15
    carbon tetrachloride                               $ 10.62
    chlorinated polyethylene                         $ 10.25
    chloroform                                            $ 10.51
    chromic acid                                         $ 4.37
    cumene                                                $ 9.74
    cyclododecanol                                     $ 9.05
    cyclohexane                                         $ 10.02
    decabromodiphenyl oxide                      $ 17.99
    di-2 ethyl hexyl phthalate                      $ 7.37
    diethanolamine                                     $ 6.01
    diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A                $ 13.86
    diisopropanolamine                               $ 12.76
    dimethyl terephthalate                          $ 5.91
    dimethyl-2, 6-naphthalene dicarboxylate $ 6.81
    di-n-hexyl adipate                                 $ 8.23
    diphenyl oxide                                      $ 13.73
    diphenylamine                                      $ 10.28
    epichlorohydrin                                     $ 12.89
    ethyl acrylate                                       $ 4.09
    ethyl alcohol for nonbeverage use           $ 5.94
    ethyl chloride                                        $ 4.52
    ethyl methyl ketone                               $ 7.60
    ethyl benzene                                        $ 9.74
    ethylene dibromide                                $ 9.03
    ethylene dichloride                                 $ 6.62
    ethylene glycol                                      $ 4.38
    ethylene oxide                                      $ 6.23
    ferrochrome ov 3 pct. carbon                  $ 4.83
    ferrochromium nov 3 pct                        $ 4.83
    hexabromocyclododecane                       $ 9.11
    hexamethylenediamine                           $ 8.93
    isobutyl acetate                                      $ 4.47
    Isophthalic acid                                      $ 6.23
    isopropyl acetate                                    $ 4.54
    Isopropyl alcohol                                    $ 6.82
    linear alpha olefins                                  $ 9.74
    maleic anhydride                                    $ 5.75
    melamine                                               $ 4.28
    methyl acrylate                                       $ 5.39
    methyl chloroform                                   $ 6.37
    methyl isobutyl ketone                            $ 23.65
    methyl methacrylate                               $ 14.75
    methylene chloride                                  $ 10.33
    monochlorobenzene                                $ 10.12
    monoethanolamine                                 $ 5.96
    monoisopropanolamine                           $ 11.74
    nickel oxide                                            $ 7.03
    normal butyl acetate                               $ 4.47
    normal propyl acetate                             $ 3.73
    nylon 6/6                                               $ 8.67
    ortho-dichlorobenzene                             $ 10.35
    ortho-nitrochlorobenzene                         $ 7.49
    para-dichlorobenzene                              $ 10.35
    para-nitrochlorobenzene                          $ 7.49
    para-nitrophenol                                     $ 8.59
    pentaerythritol                                        $ 3.86
    perchloroethylene                                    $ 10.89
    phenol                                                    $ 12.47
    phenolic resins                                        $ 9.86
    phosphorous pentasulfide                         $ 2.49
    phosphorous trichloride                            $ 6.21
    phthalic anhydride                                   $ 7.01
    poly 1,4 butyleneterephthalate                  $ 7.21
    poly(propylene)glycol                               $ 10.38
    poly(propylene/ethylene)glycol                  $ 8.84
    poly(propyleneoxy)sucrose                        $ 2.04
    poly(propyleneoxy/ethyleneoxy)sucrose     $ 2.57
    polyalphaolefins                                        $ 11.37
    polybutadiene                                           $ 9.74
    polybutene                                               $ 9.74
    polybutylene                                            $ 9.74
    polybutylene/ethylene                              $ 9.74
    polycarbonate                                          $ 10.84
    polyethylene resins, total                          $ 9.74
    polyethylene terephthalate pellets              $ 6.82
    polypropylene                                           $ 9.74
    polypropylene resins                                  $ 9.74
    polystyrene homopolymer resins                 $ 9.93
    polyvinylchloride resins                               $ 7.46
    propanol                                                    $ 5.47
    propylene glycol                                         $ 10.38
    propylene oxide                                         $ 13.60
    styrene                                                     $ 9.93
    styrene-butadiene, latex                            $ 9.84
    synthetic linear fatty alcohol ethoxylates     $ 7.12
    synthetic linear fatty alcohols                     $ 9.29
    terephthalic acid                                       $ 6.23
    tetrabromobisphenol-A                              $ 14.79
    tetrachlorophthalic anhydride                     $ 8.95
    tetrahydrofuran                                         $ 5.78
    toluene diisocyanate                                  $ 10.85
    toluenediamine                                         $ 9.18
    trichloroethylene                                       $ 10.79
    triethanolamine                                         $ 6.04
    triisopropanolamine                                   $ 12.84
    trimethylolpropane                                    $ 4.63
    urea                                                         $ 3.01
    vinyl acetate                                             $ 3.83
    vinyl chloride                                            $ 7.46


  • 27 Jun 2022 7:59 AM | Anonymous

    WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today issued frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding the reinstated Superfund chemical excise tax to help those taxpayers who may be impacted and tax professionals.

    These FAQs detail what the Superfund chemical excise tax is, how the tax is computed and who may be liable for the tax. The Superfund chemical taxes will be reported on Form 720, Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return, and Form 6627, Environmental Taxes.

    The excise taxes imposed on certain chemicals and imported chemical substances were reinstated beginning on July 1, 2022, under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

    There are two separate Superfund chemical excise taxes: a tax on the sale or use of “taxable chemicals” and a tax on the sale or use of imported “taxable substances.”

    Specifically, the reinstated taxes impose an excise tax on the sale or use of a taxable chemical by the manufacturer, producer or importer of the taxable chemical. They also impose an excise tax on the sale or use of a taxable substance by the importer of the taxable substance.

    These FAQs provide general information. At the time of publication of these FAQs, 151 substances are listed as taxable substances. That number will likely change as substances are added to or removed from the list of taxable substances.

    More information can be found at Excise Tax on IRS.gov.


  • 23 Jun 2022 11:11 AM | Anonymous

    WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service announced today that more forms can now be amended electronically. These include people filing corrections to the Form 1040-NR, U.S. Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return and Forms 1040-SS, U.S. Self-Employment Tax Return (Including the Additional Child Tax Credit for Bona Fide Residents of Puerto Rico) and Forms 1040-PR, Self-Employment Tax Return – Puerto Rico.

    “This initiative has come a long way from 2020 when we first launched the ability to file amended returns, which was an important milestone to help taxpayers and the tax community," said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. "This new feature will further help people needing to make corrections. This development will also assist the IRS with its inventory work on the current backlog of amended returns. This is another tool we’re using to help get us back on track.”

    Additionally, a new, electronic checkbox has been added for Forms 1040/1040-SR, 1040-NR and 1040-SS/1040-PR to indicate that a superseding return is being filed electronically. A superseded return is one that is filed after the originally filed return but submitted before the due date, including extensions.

    Taxpayers can also amend their return electronically if there is change to their filing status or to add a dependent who was previously claimed on another return.

    About 3 million Forms 1040-X are filed by taxpayers each year. Taxpayers can still use the "Where's My Amended Return?" online tool to check the status of their electronically-filed Form 1040-X.

    Forms 1040, 1040-NR and 1040-SR can still be amended electronically for tax years 2019, 2020 and 2021 along with corrected Forms 1040-SS and Form 1040-PR for tax year 2021.

    In general, taxpayers still have the option to submit a paper version of the Form 1040-X and should follow the instructions for preparing and submitting the paper form.

    The IRS continues to look at this important area, and more enhancements are planned for the future.


  • 22 Jun 2022 11:21 AM | Anonymous

    WASHINGTON — National Taxpayer Advocate Erin M. Collins today released her statutorily mandated mid-year report to Congress. The report expresses concern about continuing delays in the processing of paper-filed tax returns and the consequent impact on taxpayer refunds. At the end of May, the agency had a backlog of 21.3 million unprocessed paper tax returns, an increase of 1.3 million over the same time last year.

    “The IRS has said it is aiming to crush the backlogged inventory this year, and I hope it succeeds,” Collins wrote. “Unfortunately, at this point the backlog is still crushing the IRS, its employees, and most importantly, taxpayers. As such, the agency is continuing to explore additional processing strategies.” 

    The report points out that the significant majority of individual taxpayers receive refunds. “At the end of the day, a typical taxpayer cares most about receiving his or her refund timely,” Collins wrote. “Particularly for lower income taxpayers who receive Earned Income Tax Credit benefits, tax refunds may constitute a significant percentage of their household income for the year. Thus, these processing delays are creating unprecedented financial difficulties for millions of taxpayers and outright hardships for many.”

    Among business taxpayers, many have been waiting extended periods to receive Employee Tax Retention Credits for which they are eligible, in addition to their regular refunds.

    Key taxpayer challenges this year have included return processing delays, correspondence processing delays, and difficulty reaching the IRS by phone.

    Backlog of Unprocessed Paper Tax Returns

    More than 90% of individual income taxpayers e-file their returns, yet last year, about 17 million taxpayers filed their returns on paper. Some choose to file on paper. Some have no choice because they encounter e-filing barriers, such as when they are required to file a tax form or schedule the IRS cannot accept electronically. Before the pandemic, the IRS typically delivered refunds to paper-filers within four to six weeks. Over the past year, refund delays on paper-filed returns have generally exceeded six months, with delays of 10 months or more common for many taxpayers.

    The report says the IRS has failed to make progress in eliminating its paper backlog because “its pace of processing paper tax returns has not kept up with new receipts.” During the month of May, the IRS processed an average of about 205,000 individual income tax returns (Forms 1040) per week. Its Form 1040 backlog at the end of May stood at 8.2 million, with millions more paper tax returns not yet classified or expected to arrive before the extended filing deadline of October 15. The report says the IRS would have to process well over 500,000 Forms 1040 per week – more than double its current pace – to eliminate the backlog this year. “The math is daunting,” the report says.

    Forms 1040 are just one component of the paper tax returns processing backlog. Millions of business tax returns and amended tax returns (both individual and business) are also filed on paper. The overall backlog has increased by 7% over the past year as shown in the Figure 1.

    Figure 1: Status of Unprocessed Paper Tax Returns Comparing Weeks Ending May 22, 2021, and May 27, 2022

    Figure 1

    The IRS has publicly committed to reducing its paper tax return backlog to a “healthy” level by the end of the year, but it has not provided a definition of “healthy.”  “Historically, the IRS has paid refunds resulting from paper-filed returns within four to six weeks,” Collins wrote. “From a taxpayer perspective, returning to a four-to-six-week refund delivery period is a reasonable definition of ‘healthy.’”

    Largely because of the likelihood that the IRS will carry a large inventory of unprocessed paper tax returns into the 2023 filing season, Collins issued a Taxpayer Advocate Directive (TAD) in March directing the IRS to implement 2-D barcoding or other scanning technology to automate the transcription of paper tax returns. “Today, the digits on every paper return must be manually keystroked into IRS systems by an employee,” Collins wrote. “In the year 2022, that doesn’t just seem crazy. It is crazy.” The IRS’s response to the TAD is due on June 27, 2022.

    The report credits the IRS with taking recent steps to address the backlog but notes “missed opportunities” to have acted earlier. “The IRS’s paper processing delays were evident more than a year ago, and the IRS could have addressed them more aggressively at that time,” Collins wrote. “Had the IRS taken steps a year ago to reassign current employees to processing functions, it could have reduced the inventory backlog carried into this filing season and accelerated the payment of refunds to millions of taxpayers. Had the IRS implemented 2-D barcoding, optical character recognition or similar technology in time for the 2022 filing season, it could have reduced the need for employees to engage in the highly manual task of transcribing paper tax returns. Had the IRS quickly used some of the $1.5 billion of additional funds provided by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), which was enacted 15 months ago, to hire and train additional employees, it could have worked through the backlog, answered more taxpayer telephone calls and otherwise improved taxpayer service.”

    At the end of May 2021, the IRS had an additional 15.8 million returns that had been suspended during processing and required manual review by IRS employees. The suspended returns consisted largely of
    e-filed returns on which taxpayers claimed Recovery Rebate Credit amounts that differed from the allowable amounts shown on IRS records. As of May 2022, the IRS had reduced the number of suspended returns to 5.4 million. The report credits the IRS with developing procedures to reduce delays among suspended returns, in part by automating the review process. However, e-filed returns suspended during processing did not generally result in extended refund delays. By contrast, unprocessed paper-filed tax returns have resulted in refund delays of six to 10 months or longer.

    Correspondence Processing Delays

    When a taxpayer receives a notice and is requested to respond or chooses to respond, the taxpayer must generally do so by mail. Through May 21, the IRS processed 5million taxpayer responses to proposed adjustments. It took an average of 251 days to do so – more than eight months. That is more than triple the processing time of 74 days in fiscal year 2019, the most recent pre-pandemic year. “When a math error or similar notice is generated in connection with a paper-filed tax return,” the report says, “the combination of the return processing delay and the correspondence processing delay may mean that the taxpayer must wait well over a year to get the issue resolved and receive the refund due.”

    There are currently over 336,000 taxpayers who could not file their returns or receive their refunds because identity thieves had already filed a return using their identifying information. These taxpayers must submit affidavits and other documentation to substantiate their identities. They now generally must wait at least a year to receive their refunds. The IRS website states: “[D]ue to extenuating circumstances caused by the pandemic our identity theft inventories have increased and on average it is taking about 360 days to resolve identity theft cases.”

    Telephone Challenges

    During the 2022 filing season, the IRS received about 73 million telephone calls. Only one out of 10 calls reached an IRS employee. Compared with the 2021 filing season, IRS employees answered less than half as many calls, but the percentage of calls answered remained about the same because they also received less than half as many calls. The time the average taxpayer spent waiting on hold rose from 20 minutes to 29 minutes. A comparison of telephone service during the 2021 and 2022 filing seasons is shown in Figure 2.

    Figure 2:  IRS Enterprise Telephone Results Comparing Weeks Ending May 21, 2021, and April 23, 2022

    Figure 2

    “The combination of more than 21 million unprocessed paper tax returns, more than 14 million math error notices, eight-month backlogs in processing taxpayer correspondence, and extraordinary difficulty reaching the IRS by phone made this filing season particularly challenging,” Collins wrote.

    TAS Objectives for FY 2023

    As required by law, the Advocate’s report identifies TAS’s key objectives for the upcoming fiscal year. The report describes 14 systemic advocacy objectives, six case advocacy and other business objectives, and three research objectives. In light of the challenges taxpayers have been facing over the last two years, Collins wrote that TAS will be placing heavy emphasis on working with the IRS to improve the processing of tax returns and taxpayer service generally. Among the objectives the report identifies are the following:

    • Automating the processing of paper tax returns. On March 29, as noted above, Collins issued a Taxpayer Advocate Directive (TAD) directing the IRS to implement scanning technology by the start of the 2023 filing season so that paper tax returns can be machine-read and employees will not have to keystroke each digit on the return into IRS systems. After obtaining an extension for responding, the IRS’s answer to the TAD is now due on Monday, June 27. IRS leaders have indicated they are not likely to implement 2-D barcoding, but Collins has strongly urged them to implement a plan to achieve automation of paper processing in time for the next filing season. “Doing so is critical,” Collins wrote. “It is unacceptable that the agency is still paying thousands of employees to keystroke the data from millions of tax returns, digit by digit, into IRS systems – creating the current processing backlog and producing an error rate in transcribing individual returns last year of 22 percent.”
    • Reducing barriers to e-filing tax returns. Some taxpayers still prefer to file paper tax returns. However, many paper filers, perhaps the majority, would prefer to e-file their returns but are not able to do so. Among the barriers: some taxpayers must file IRS forms or schedules that the IRS does not accept through its e-file system; some taxpayers must include attachments (e.g., appraisals or disclosure statements) that cannot be filed by their tax software packages; some software packages block returns from e-file if the taxpayer overrides certain entries; IRS systems reject certain returns during the e-file process and require affected taxpayers to mail their returns instead; and some taxpayers live in areas of the country without broadband internet access or lack computer access and thus face greater difficulty in preparing and e-filing their returns. The report says the IRS must reduce e-filing barriers, so that more taxpayers can e-file and there will be fewer paper tax returns to transcribe or scan.
    • Improving the IRS’s hiring and training processes. In FY 2022, Congress increased the IRS’s overall budget by almost 6% and the taxpayer services portion of the budget by nearly nine percent. Many of the IRS’s challenges stem from inadequate staffing, including limited staffing in Submission Processing and telephone call centers. The report says that hiring and adequately training new employees will enhance the taxpayer experience.
    • Improving telephone service. Some taxpayer issues may be resolved through technology channels, and enhancing those channels must be a priority. But some issues are best resolved through a conversation, and some taxpayers are not comfortable with technology. The report says it is critical that taxpayers be able to reach the IRS by phone. As discussed above, IRS employees were only able to answer 10% of taxpayer telephone calls this filing season. “If a private company failed to answer nine out of 10 customer calls, customers would go elsewhere,” Collins wrote. “That, of course, is not an option for U.S. taxpayers, so it is critical that the IRS increase staffing in its telephone call centers to handle the volume of calls it receives.”

    IRS Responses to National Taxpayer Advocate Administrative Recommendations

    The National Taxpayer Advocate is required by statute to submit a year-end report to Congress that, among other things, makes administrative recommendations to resolve taxpayer problems. Section 7803(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code authorizes the National Taxpayer Advocate to submit administrative recommendations to the Commissioner and requires the IRS to respond within three months. Under this authority, the National Taxpayer Advocate annually transmits to the Commissioner all administrative recommendations proposed in her year-end report for response.

    The National Taxpayer Advocate made 88 administrative recommendations in her 2021 year-end report and then submitted them to the Commissioner for response. The IRS has agreed to implement 61 (or 69%) of the recommendations in full or in part.

    The IRS’s responses are published on the TAS website at https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/arc-recommendations-tracker.


    * * * * * * *

    The National Taxpayer Advocate is required by statute to submit two annual reports to the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance. The statute requires these reports to be submitted directly to the Committees without any prior review or comment from the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, the Secretary of the Treasury, the IRS Oversight Board, any other officer or employee of the Department of the Treasury, or the Office of Management and Budget. The first report must identify the objectives of the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate for the fiscal year beginning in that calendar year. The second report must include a discussion of the ten most serious problems encountered by taxpayers, identify the ten tax issues most frequently litigated in the courts, and make administrative and legislative recommendations to resolve taxpayer problems.

    The National Taxpayer Advocate blogs about key issues in tax administration. Click here to subscribe. Past blogs from the National Taxpayer Advocate can be found here. For media inquiries, please contact TAS Media Relations at TAS.media@irs.gov or call the media line at (202) 317-6802.

    About the Taxpayer Advocate Service

    The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) is an independent organization within the IRS that helps taxpayers and protects taxpayer rights. The local taxpayer advocate’s number is in local directories and at www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/contact-us. Taxpayers can also call TAS toll-free at 877-777-4778. TAS can help those who need assistance in resolving an IRS problem, if the problem is causing financial difficulty, or those who believe an IRS system or procedure isn’t working as it should. This service is free. For more information about TAS and taxpayer rights under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, go to www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov. Get updates on tax topics at facebook.com/YourVoiceAtIRS, Twitter.com/YourVoiceatIRS, and YouTube.com/TASNTA.


  • 21 Jun 2022 2:11 PM | Anonymous

    Notice 2022-29 sets forth updates on the corporate bond monthly yield curve, the corresponding spot segment rates for June 2022 used under § 417(e)(3)(D), the 24-month average segment rates applicable for June 2022, and the 30-year Treasury rates, as reflected by the application of § 430(h)(2)(C)(iv). 

    Notice 2022-29 will be in IRB: 2022-28, dated July 11, 2022.


  • 21 Jun 2022 1:38 PM | Anonymous

    WASHINGTON – Following intensive work during the past several months, the Internal Revenue Service announced today that processing on a key group of individual tax returns filed during 2021 will be completed by the end of this week. 

    Due to issues related to the pandemic and staffing limitations, the IRS began 2022 with a larger than usual inventory of paper tax returns and correspondence filed during 2021. The IRS took a number of steps to address this, and the agency is on track to complete processing of originally filed Form 1040 (individual tax returns without errors) received in 2021 this week. 

    Business paper returns filed in 2021 will follow shortly after. The IRS continues to work on the few remaining 2021 individual tax returns that have processing issues or require additional information from the taxpayer.

    As of June 10, the IRS had processed more than 4.5 million of the more than 4.7 million individual paper tax returns received in 2021. The IRS has also successfully processed the vast majority of tax returns filed this year: More than 143 million returns have been processed overall, with almost 98 million refunds worth more than $298 billion being issued. 

    IRS employees continue working hard to process these and other tax returns filed in the order received. The IRS continues to receive current and prior-year individual returns and related correspondence as people file extensions, amended returns and a variety of business tax returns. 

    To date, more than twice as many returns await processing compared to a typical year at this point in the calendar year, although the IRS has worked through almost a million more returns to date than it had at this time last year. And a greater percentage of this year’s inventory awaiting processing is comprised of original returns which, generally, take less time to process than amended returns. 

    To work to address the unprocessed inventory by the end of this year, the IRS has taken aggressive, unprecedented steps to accelerate this important processing work while maintaining accuracy. This effort included significant, ongoing overtime for staff throughout 2022, creating special teams of employees focused solely on processing aged inventory, and expediting hiring of thousands of new workers and contractors to help with this ongoing effort. 

    Additionally, the IRS has greatly improved the process for taxpayers whose paper and electronically filed returns were suspended during processing for manual review and correction – referred to as error resolution. Last filing season, an IRS tax examiner could correct an average of 70 tax returns with errors per hour. Thanks to new technology implemented this filing season, 180 to 240 returns can now be corrected per hour. As of June 12, 2021, there were 8.9 million tax returns in error resolution. As of June 10, 2022, there were just 360,000 returns awaiting correction.

    The IRS will continue its intense effort to make progress on processing these paper returns in the months ahead.

    “IRS employees have been working tirelessly to process these tax returns as quickly as possible and help people who are waiting on refunds or resolution of an account issue,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “Completing the individual returns filed last year with no errors is a major milestone, but there is still work to do. We remain focused on doing everything possible to expedite processing of these tax returns, and we continue to add more people to this effort as our hiring efforts continue this summer.”

    Rettig emphasized that adding sustained funding increases for the IRS will help the agency add more employees to process tax returns and answer phones as well as help improve technology and ensure fair enforcement of the tax laws.

    “Taxpayers and tax professionals deserve the absolute highest-quality service from the nation’s tax system,” Rettig said. “Long-term and consistent funding for the agency is critical to ensuring the IRS is prepared for future tax seasons. It’s also critical for the IRS to be ready to answer the call for the nation during the next crisis, just as the agency did delivering three rounds of historic stimulus payments and advance Child Tax Credit payments during the pandemic.” 

    The IRS reminds millions of taxpayers who have not yet filed their 2021 tax returns this year – including those who requested an extension until October 17 – to make sure they file their returns electronically with direct deposit to avoid delays. People who use e-file avoid the delays facing those who file paper returns; e-filed returns with no errors are typically processed in 21 days. 

    The IRS also urges people to file as soon as they are ready. There is no need to wait until the last minute before the October 17 extension deadline. Filing sooner avoids potential delays for taxpayers, and it also assists the larger ongoing IRS efforts to complete processing tax returns this year.

     Additional details on processing and other operations are available on a special page on IRS.gov


  • 21 Jun 2022 10:46 AM | Anonymous

    Revenue Procedure 2022-28 notifies taxpayers that the IRS will not issue letter rulings on whether a spin-off/termination transaction that involves excess assets results in an employer reversion under section 4980(c)(2) of the Code.  Rev. Proc. 2022-3 is amplified.

    Revenue Procedure 2022-28 will be in IRB:  2022-27, dated July 5, 2022.


  • 17 Jun 2022 1:36 PM | Anonymous

    Assistance for eligible taxpayers in setting up or modifying payment plans now available; more functions planned in 2022 to help taxpayers obtain account information
     
    Voice Bot Video

    WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service today announced expanded voice bot options to help eligible taxpayers easily verify their identity to set up or modify a payment plan while avoiding long wait times.

    "This is part of a wider effort at the IRS to help improve the experience of taxpayers," said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. "We continue to look for ways to better assist taxpayers, and that includes helping people avoid waiting on hold or having to make a second phone call to get what they need. The expanded voice bots are another example of how technology can help the IRS provide better service to taxpayers."

    Voice bots run on software powered by artificial intelligence, which enables a caller to navigate an interactive voice response. The IRS has been using voice bots on numerous toll-free lines since January, enabling taxpayers with simple payment or notice questions to get what they need quickly and avoid waiting. Taxpayers can always speak with an English- or Spanish-speaking IRS telephone representative if needed.

    Eligible taxpayers who call the Automated Collection System (ACS) and Accounts Management toll-free lines and want to discuss payment plan options can authenticate or verify their identities through a personal identification number (PIN) creation process. Setting up a PIN is easy: Taxpayers will need their most recent IRS bill and some basic personal information to complete the process.

    "To date, the voice bots have answered over 3 million calls. As we add more functions for taxpayers to resolve their issues, I anticipate many more taxpayers getting the service they need quickly and easily," said Darren Guillot, IRS Deputy Commissioner of Small Business/Self Employed Collection & Operations Support.

    Additional voice bot service enhancements are planned in 2022 that will allow authenticated individuals (taxpayers with established or newly created PINs) to get:

    • Account and return transcripts.
    • Payment history.
    • Current balance owed.

    In addition to the payment lines, voice bots help people who call the Economic Impact Payment (EIP) toll-free line with general procedural responses to frequently asked questions. The IRS also added voice bots for the Advance Child Tax Credit toll-free line in February to provide similar assistance to callers who need help reconciling the credits on their 2021 tax return.

    The IRS also reminds taxpayers about numerous other available self-service options.


  • 15 Jun 2022 2:09 PM | Anonymous

    Revenue Ruling 2022-12 provides various prescribed rates for federal income tax purposes including the applicable federal interest rates, the adjusted applicable federal interest rates, the adjusted federal long-term rate, and the adjusted federal long-term tax-exempt rate. These rates are determined as prescribed by § 1274. 

    The rates are published monthly for purposes of sections 42, 382, 412, 642, 1288, 1274, 7520, 7872, and various other sections of the Internal Revenue Code.

    Revenue Ruling 2022-12 will be in IRB:  2022-27, dated July 5, 2022.


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