IRS faces a massive backlog due to the staff shortage in the pandemic. Several taxpayers will witness delays in tax payments this year. The IRS officials are yet to process 2020 tax returns. However, the officials assure taxpayers of efficient and quick tax processing this season. IRS has started the tax refunds and expects taxpayers to file their returns before the deadline. Abc news reports that IRS will hire 10,000 new employees to counter the adverse circumstances. The 2021 tax returns are the most difficult in history due to several stimulus payments and other federal checks.
This season has complicated tax returns
IRS announced the work plan for the tens of millions of tax returns this year. The new hiring will speed up the tax processing. IRS looks to higher freshers and contract workers to reduce the workload on its officials. Abc news reports that IRS has around 20 million unprocessed tax returns. The population increase and complication of the tax structure in the recent past have made the task more difficult—the government issued millions of stimulus and Child Tax Credit payments to struggling individuals and families amidst the pandemic. Taxpayers need to provide accurate information to the IRS for timely processing.
IRS needs to look into the work structure
The White House officials deem IRS incapable of serving US citizens even on the regular days; the proportion of beneficiaries to workers is not significant. The officials believe that the IRS work structure is very old and needs rejuvenation soon. The reports show that IRS will likely face similar problems in the future due to a lack of resources and workforce. IRS has urged taxpayers to file electronic returns to speed up the process. However, most of them have opted for checks; this results in slow processing and increased backlog. IRS advises taxpayers to provide correct information and seek expert advice before tax filing to avoid unnecessary delays.
Abc news quoted Caroline Buckner, a tax professor at the American University Kogod School of Business; he said, “IRS is at a competitive disadvantage, its absurd we have put so much work on the IRS. IRS has to change its narrative and the way it talks about its mission to one of the most important anti-poverty systems that we have in the US.”
