As tax season continues to ramp up, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is preparing for an influx of calls from taxpayers looking for assistance on their returns.
The agency explained that President’s Day weekend marks one of the busiest times of the tax season, and to try to get ahead of this, the IRS is encouraging taxpayers to utilize online tax resources – rather than calling the IRS phone lines.
“The IRS continues to see improvements this tax season compared to previous years, including better phone service,” said Doug O’Donnell, IRS acting commissioner. “But we always see a significant surge in phone traffic around Presidents Day.
“With the calendar advancing, millions of people turn their attention to taxes during this period. To avoid potential delays, we encourage people to check IRS.gov first, which can provide much of the same information instantly to taxpayers.”
Some of the online resources available to taxpayers include:
The IRS’ frequently asked questions page
The Tax Withholding Estimator
The Interactive Tax Assistant
Where’s My Refund?
The IRS Services Guide
IRS Free File
The Let Us Help You page
New online features make the filing process easier
In addition to trying to help taxpayers get assistance with their tax returns as quickly as possible, the IRS also announced that taxpayers will be able to upload more documents to their online accounts.
Rather than having to send in any of these forms by mail, taxpayers can upload them, and work to get an answer and their problem solved much faster than it would typically take.
Effective for the 2022 tax season, taxpayers will be able to upload the following documents digitally to their IRS accounts:
CP75 and CP75a, relating to the Earned Income Tax Credit
CP75d, relating to the Earned Income Tax Credit and other credits
CP09, related to claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit
CP06 and C096a, relating to the Premium Tax Credit
CP04, relating to combat zone status
CP05a, information request related to a refund
CP08, relating to the Child Tax Credit
When the IRS sends a request for more information, the letter will contain a link and an access code. Once taxpayers open the link, they’ll have to provide the access code and personal information – like their Social Security number or tax identification number – to ensure their identity is legitimate. From there, they’ll be able to upload the necessary documentation.
“This provides immediate benefit to taxpayers, who have nearly instant confirmation that documents were received by the IRS,” O’Donnell said. “This means people can have their issues resolved much faster, including getting refunds to affected taxpayers faster.”