IRS Help Line Needs Help

If you have questions regarding your IRA, the IRS help line may not be the first place to go. 

Taxpayer advocate Nina Olson reports that every year, very few taxpayer calls are answered by the IRS.  In 2012, only 61 percent of calls were answered.  Yet, this is likely to be unsurprising as the IRS lacks the funds to do everything Congress demands of it and therefore, customer service has suffered as a consequence. 

Last week, Commissioner John Koskinen warned the IRS Nationwide Tax Forum that without additional funding, the level of phone service next year will drop to 53 percent.  While President Obama has done his part in asking Congress to raise the agency’s $11 billion budget, there will not be any additional funding. 

See Roberton Williams, IRS Help Line Is Out Of Service, Forbes, July 7, 2014.