As we told you in our last update, IRS reports that it currently has more than 10 million pieces of unopened mail—many of which are paper returns—due to office shutdowns from COVID-19. In the meantime, on July 1st IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig said that he expects all processing and call centers to be open and fully staffed by mid-month, to coincide with this year’s deadline.
This is welcome news for anyone who filed in March or April and is still waiting for their refund. IRS indicates that they are working through oustanding returns in the order in which they were received, and asking people to be patient—and not to call—if you have already submitted your return.We do not have access to any information about the status of your refund, but you may find an update through the “Check My Refund Status” link on the IRS website.
Just make sure you are ready with the following before clicking through:
School is officially over, we just celebrated the longest day of the year, and (illegal) fireworks are flying off the shelves—all signs that July is almost here. This year, it also signals that the automatic three-month tax day extension for 2020 has been whittled down to just a few weeks!
We continue to process returns as they come in, but one of the challenges we are facing is that part of our staff only works from January through April. That means we are short-staffed as we enter the home stretch this year, so it’s more important than ever that we have everything we need as soon as possible to keep things moving as the July 15th deadline approaches.
So, for those of you who put aside your taxes to take care of other responsibilities during the pandemic, now is the time to get us your information to avoid having to file for another extension. Do it today! You won’t regret it.If we do have your information, thank you, and you should be hearing from us soon. We can’t overstate enough how much we have appreciated your patience and understanding.
Like businesses all over the country, IRS is facing work backlogs and staffing challenges that are causing delays in communication and processing—and frustration among taxpayers.
Recently, we received a brief update from IRS with the good news that more than 11,000 employees were called back to work on June 1st. The bad news is that they are reportedly returning to more than 10 million pieces of unopened mail, and a case load that dates back to mid-March, when the shutdown began in earnest. We also learned that some IRS offices that had reopened had to close again due to local spikes in cases of the virus. What this means for all of us is that getting answers from IRS about specific personal tax situations will continue to be a difficult task for the foreseeable future.
In the meantime, if you have more general questions, irs.gov provides many helpful tools and resources that don’t require endless hours on hold listening to muzak. We recommend starting there if you have questions.
You know that feeling you get when a deadline approaches and you are afraid you might miss it? If you are someone who breathed a sigh of relief when the IRS announced a three-month extension to the filing deadline back in March, we want to help you avoid that feeling. Right now, we are urging all clients whose returns have not yet been filed to take a moment and make sure we have everything we need to process your return. And if we don’t, please send us your information as soon as possible!
If we do have your information and you have not heard from us, we appreciate your continued patience.
Unlike any previous year, we expect June to be especially busy. And until all phases of the state’s reopening are complete, like so many other businesses we must continue to work with greatly reduced capacity. So, since we all need ways to reduce stress during this pandemic, think of getting your taxes out of the way as a wellness exercise—and one less thing to worry about.
This is a public service reminder that it pays to open your mail. You may have heard that the US Treasury has issued four million prepaid debit cards instead of paper checks for stimulus payments. You may even have received one and, like many people who were expecting a check from the IRS, been confused and/or skeptical. We just hope you didn’t mistake it for junkmail.
It has been reported to us from clients who have received the debit cards that they arrive in a #10 standard white business envelope with first-class postage (not bulk mail). The return address is from Money Network Cardholder Services in Omaha, NE. Inside is a blue Visa debit card with white stars on it.There is a small sheet of paper enclosed that includes the blue and gold Treasury seal with Department of Treasury (see below). The insert reads: “This prepaid debit card is being sent to you on behalf of the US Department of the Treasury in place of a paper check. This card contains the money you are receiving as result of the Corona Aid Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). For additional information on Economic Impact Payments visit irs.gov/eip. This is safe, convenient, and secure.”
The envelope also comes with instructions on how to activate your card, which you can also find here: https://www.eipcard.com/ . You will need to register as a new user before you can access the funds. If you received the card and threw it away by mistake, you can request a replacement card by calling MetaBank Customer Service at 1-800-240-8100. this is the same number to check your balance.
IRS has also set up an FAQ page for taxpayers here.
