Rep. Crawford Sends Letter Asking IRS to Address Backlog

Letter

This week, Representative Rick Crawford (AR-01) joined several of his colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary Yellen to urge the IRS implement measures to enable the agency to expedite its work, especially as the upcoming tax season looms. The letter comes in response to reports that, as of December 23, 2021, the backlog of 1040 Forms is at over 6 million and 2 million for 941 Forms.

"The situation has deteriorated to a point that the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) will no longer accept cases solely involving the processing of amended returns. This has made it impossible for frustrated taxpayers to find any help. When our constituents cannot get assistance from the IRS and TAS, they contact us, and we have our hands tied at this point as well," the letter says.

The letter makes the following recommendations to bring relief to taxpayers this filing season:

Halt automated collections from now until at least 90 days after April 18, 2022;
Delay the collection process for filers until any active and pending penalty abatement requests have been processed;
Streamline the reasonable cause penalty abatement process for taxpayers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic without the need for written correspondence;
Provide targeted tax penalty relief for taxpayers who paid at least 70 percent of the tax due for the 2020 and 2021 tax year; and
Expedite processing of amended returns and provide TAS and congressional caseworkers with timely responses.
To reduce the likelihood of delayed tax returns, Rep. Crawford recommends folks file electronically and utilize the list of free filing resources available through the IRS. As always, those who need assistance getting in touch with the IRS are welcome to call his Jonesboro office at (870) 203-0540 for assistance. Last year, his office helped over 435 constituents with IRS casework and they anticipate an increase this year.

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