The IRS is currently dealing with a huge backlog of tax returns, and stories are rampant of delayed responses to returns that have been properly filed. How can you avoid these problems and receive your tax return as quickly as possible? We’ve put together a few tips to help you do just that:
- E-file your tax return. The most important thing you can do to make sure that you quickly receive your refund is e-file your tax return. The IRS says approximately 90% of the more than 160 million individual tax returns expected for the 2021 tax year will be e-filed. The majority of these taxpayers will avoid any issues filing their return and getting their refund. If you do e-file, don’t forget to sign Form 8879, which authorizes the e-filing of your return.
- Stay calm if you receive a letter from the IRS. You may receive an IRS notice indicating you have an unfiled tax return or that you have an unpaid balance on your account. If the notice was mailed because of the backlog and you already filed the tax return in question or paid the amount due listed, the IRS says there is no need to call or respond to the notice. The IRS is continuing to process tax returns from previous years as quickly as possible.
- Use certified mail. If you must respond to the IRS, be sure to send your response via certified mail. Certified mail provides proof of when your coorespondence was mailed. So even if your response gets lost or caught up in the backlog, you’ll have evidence that you responded by the deadline listed on the notice.
- Prepare to be patient. The IRS received a record 282 million phone calls during its 2021 fiscal year. Only 32 million of these calls were answered. If you have to call the IRS, the best time to reach them is Wednesday through Friday, especially early mornings starting at 7 am Eastern time.