Tax professionals across the country recently reported a surge in mistaken IRS balance due notices, as well as cases of failures to post payments made to taxpayer's accounts. The IRS is currently studying how widespread these cases are and the best options to address them. Here's what you can do if you've received one.
The Internal Revenue Service reports that it is making strong progress on clearing its backlog of unprocessed paper-filed returns, and that through the intensive efforts of staff, there has been a significant drop in the number of filers for the 2021 tax year who've been waiting on processing.
But it remains clear that a huge volume of mail remains unprocessed. And the efforts to clear the backlog of unprocessed returns is creating more mail for both taxpayers and the IRS. One notice in particular is causing issues this summer: the CP-14 balance due notice.
If the spouse of a taxpayer makes a Direct Pay payment for a balance due on a Form 1040 for a year that they filed jointly with their spouse (the primary taxpayer on the jointly filed return) there is really no reason that payment should not be automatically and correctly applied. And yet, tax professionals have reported that the CP-14s balance due notices continue to arrive in taxpayers’ mailboxes.
Other Types of Erroneous Notices
Other tax professional report that they have seen an increase in payments made by credit card being delayed in posting to a taxpayer’s tax transcript. And in some cases when the taxpayer has negotiated a payment plan, the delay is long enough that the client receives a notice that their negotiated installment agreement (IA) is about to default.
One tax professional observed that it seems that after the IRS resumed mailing of certain automated collections notices that were paused for the 2022 filing season, different parts of the IRS’ enormous computer system are not talking to each other correctly.
Check Your IRS Information Online
So, what's your first step if you believe that you've received an IRS balance due notice in error? Your best bet is to check the information in your IRS account online. You can access your federal tax information through a secure login at IRS.gov/account. After logging in, you can view:
- the amount you owe,
- your payment history,
- tax records,
- key information from your most recent tax return as originally filed.
You can find more information on how to access you online IRS account on this IRS page.
What Then?
You might then try to contact the IRS via phone at the number listed on your notice, or via mail. But there are reports of significant backlogs in responding to tax payer inquiries. So, if you owe more than $10,000 and the notices state that there are penalties and interest accruing, please consider seeking professional help.
We at Myrick CPA are highly experienced tax professionals who can represent and successfully guide you through any negotiation process with the IRS. Charles Myrick, a Certified Public Accountant, is a tax resolution specialist. He is highly knowledgeable and has more than three decades of experience in dealing with even the most difficult tax cases.
Contact the Myrick CPA team today to review your situation and to advise you on the most advantageous option to quickly resolve your situation.