Taxpayer Advocate no longer helping with amended returns

The backlog of unprocessed tax returns at the Internal Revenue Service has prompted the Taxpayer Advocate Service to reject requests for assistance where the only issue involves amended returns through the end of the year.

National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins, who runs the Taxpayer Advocate Service at the IRS, announced the move Wednesday in a blog post. The IRS has been facing a backlog of unprocessed tax returns since the start of the pandemic last year, when millions of pieces of unopened mail piled up outside IRS facilities. IRS officials have told Congress they have mostly caught up with the unopened mail, but the processing of all the tax returns is another matter.

The Taxpayer Advocate Service apparently is getting inundated with requests for help and has been unable to get the IRS to process the amended returns any faster, so it has made the decision not to accept requests when the decision only pertains to amended returns, at least through the end of December.

“Under our current procedures, TAS does not accept cases in which we cannot meaningfully expedite or improve case resolution for taxpayers,” Collins wrote. “Amended returns fall into this category. Due to the broad impact of COVID-19, the IRS has faced significant challenges in all its return processing operations. Unfortunately, until the IRS processes a tax return, TAS cannot assist the taxpayer. For that reason, TAS will not accept new cases solely involving the processing of an individual or business amended return. TAS will continue to monitor IRS developments in amended return processing and will reevaluate this determination as the situation changes.”

Tasos Katopodis/Bloomberg

The Taxpayer Advocate Service is still going to continue helping taxpayers with other issues. Collins said TAS would accept new cases if the main issue meets the case criteria detailed in Section 13.1.7 of the Internal Revenue Manual. The group, however, will mainly allocate its resources for now toward closing its current inventory of cases. TAS also plans to keep advocating for taxpayers at the IRS for changes to clear the unprocessed returns.

“On Nov. 9, 2021, I issued a Taxpayer Advocate Directive directing the IRS to complete processing all backlogged amended tax returns by Dec. 29, 2021, or provide a detailed plan for completing processing the backlog,” said Collins. “My TAD also directed the IRS to provide weekly updates to TAS on the progress in processing these returns and to post weekly updates on IRS.gov.”

Her office noted that taxpayers who are looking for the status of their amended tax returns can use the Where’s My Amended Return tool on IRS.gov. The IRS has also created a web page that includes updated information about IRS operations and backlogs.

“I appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through these unprecedented circumstances,” Collins wrote. “This is not a situation in which the IRS is unwilling to work with taxpayers or TAS. Rather, it has been caused by reduced staffing and the pandemic, which have created extraordinary challenges the IRS must overcome. We are aware of the problems taxpayers are experiencing, and we are continuing to advocate within the IRS to resolve them as quickly as possible.”