The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) is an organization within the Internal Revenue Service that is designed to help taxpayers resolve problems with the IRS. HOW IT WORKS The TAS was first formed in 1978. Over time, it gained more responsibilities and authority, primarily as the result of the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 and the passage of…
The Department of Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service (BFS) issues IRS tax refunds and Congress authorizes BFS to conduct the Treasury Offset Program (TOP). Through the TOP program, BFS may reduce your refund (overpayment) and offset it to pay: Past-due child support; Federal agency non-tax debts; State income tax obligations; or Certain unemployment compensation debts owed…
The IRS’s Failure to Establish Goals to Reduce High False Positive Rates for Its Fraud Detection Programs Increases Taxpayer Burden and Compromises Taxpayer Rights Over the past decade, the IRS has been significantly impacted by fraud and identity theft. To detect and prevent identity theft and other tax refund fraud, the IRS has established a…
There are two different being processed messages. One is “still being processed” and the other is “being processed” and they both have different meanings. If you have the “Being Processed” message The “being processed” message is a good sign. If you are seeing this message most likely your tax return is done and your return…
Based off last year’s 2017 Filing Season the PATH message lifted at 12:00 am Feb. 16 and everyone returned back to the Still Processing Message. Everybodys Where’s My Refund? statuses changed to the Still Processing because the PATH hold came to an end at 11:59 on February 15th. Four hours after the hold was lifted Friday, Feb 17,…
With millions of tax refunds being processed, the Internal Revenue Service reminds taxpayers they can get fast answers about their refund by using the “Where’s My Refund?” tool available on IRS.gov and through the IRS2Go app. More than 70 percent of taxpayers will receive a refund this year. The Internal Revenue Service issues nine out of…
Even without a government shutdown, taxpayers are having trouble getting through to the IRS at the start of the 2018 tax filing season. Busy signals and long hold times are leading to frustration. We’ve even heard of waits of longer than an hour on the “hotline” for tax practitioners. What’s more, the situation probably…
The Internal Revenue Service today announced steep declines in tax-related identity theft in 2017, attributing the success to the Security Summit initiatives that help safeguard the nation’s taxpayers. Key indicators of identity theft dropped for the second year in a row in 2017. This includes a 40 percent decline in taxpayers reporting they are victims…
With the surge of tax returns expected during the upcoming Presidents Day weekend, the Internal Revenue Service is offering taxpayers several tips and various time-saving resources to get them the help they need from the IRS quickly and easily. The IRS receives more phone calls on the day after Presidents Day than on any…
The IRS mails millions of letters to taxpayers every year for many reasons. Here are seven simple suggestions on how individuals can handle a letter or notice from the IRS: 1. Don’t panic. Simply responding will take care of most IRS letters and notices. 2. Read the entire letter carefully. If you don’t fully understand your…
