If you need something from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), don’t expect to get it right away. In fact, you should accept the fact that they’ll probably take weeks or even months to get back to you. Unfortunately, the IRS is inundated with requests and so backlogged that everything is taking longer than usual. Let’s take a closer look at a number of common scenarios and their anticipated wait times.
Paper Tax Returns
Did you file a paper tax return? If so, you may want to know that the IRS is opening these returns within normal timeframes. Any paper and electronic individual refund returns that they received before April 2021 have been processed as long as they didn’t have any errors that warranted further review. Note that as of October 29, 2021, the IRS had 6.8 million unprocessed individual returns.
Letters or Notices
At some point in time, the IRS may have sent you a letter or notice that required you to take action. If you sent in the missing form or document they asked for, understand that while the IRS may have received it, they’re taking longer to process it.
So how long will you have to wait? It depends as the IRS is processing responses in the order they received them. While they’re opening mail within their normal timeframe, processing is taking longer due to social distancing and lack of resources.
Payments and Miscellaneous Forms
If you sent the IRS a payment or a miscellaneous forms, be prepared to wait as well unless you sent them a check, which they’ll cash within 60 days. If you’re requesting an ITIN, it will be a while as they’re currently working on ITINs they received in July 2021.
Did you send them an identity theft Form 14039:? If so, you’ll have to wait at least 120 to 250 days. When it comes to Forms 2848, 8821, 1139 or 1045, the IRS hasn’t provided a specific wait times. These forms will be processed in the order they were received.
Contact CRC Today
At Clark, Raymond & Company (CRC), we have many clients waiting on the IRS. Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do to speed up the process so you will have to be patient. What we can do, however, is provide you with top-notch tax services and answer your questions along the way. Whether you’re a privately held business, non-profit organization, or individual, we look forward to serving you. Contact us today at 425-861-8500 for more information.
