Press Release

December 10, 2021
Maryland Delegation Urges IRS to Process Returns, Communicate with Public Amid Backlog
Congress has provided the IRS with funds to modernize the processing system

WASHINGTON – Today, the Maryland Congressional delegation including U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and Congressmen C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, Steny H. Hoyer, John Sarbanes, Kweisi Mfume, Anthony G. Brown, Jamie Raskin, Andy Harris, M.D., and David Trone (all Md.) wrote to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig and National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins regarding the national backlog of amended tax returns.

The IRS is currently unable to expedite any amended returns – which taxpayers file to correct errors or claim tax benefits that were omitted on their initial return – and the National Taxpayer Advocate has stopped accepting inquiries from Congressional offices when the sole issue is the processing of an amended return. Members of Congress are hearing from dissatisfied constituents stuck in the backlog and are unable to provide them with updates or even assurance that their returns are in the queue to be processed.

The members begin, “While we understand the COVID-19 pandemic has created extraordinary challenges for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate (TAS), we write to you on behalf of our constituents who are rightfully frustrated by the nationwide amended tax return backlog.

“The intent of this letter is to conduct oversight on the ongoing processing delays and further encourage TAS to provide periodic updates to our constituents. Ultimately, we would like to understand how we can assist your organizations in both the short-term and moving forward.”

The delegation expressed concern with a series of sweeping policy changes that were made without reasonable notice to Members of Congress. During the height of the pandemic, for example, Members were told that taxpayer advocates would not accept inquiries regarding stimulus payments. Members remain unable to submit inquiries regarding advanced child tax credit payments as well.

Currently, the IRS is not allowing teleworking employees to process amended returns – a policy that is exacerbating the backlog. Earlier this year, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan, which provided the IRS with more than $1.8 billion in additional funding for expenses such as advance payments, taxpayer assistance and for modernizing and securing IRS systems to enable virtual processing. Much of this additional funding will remain available to the IRS through the 2023 fiscal year. Additional funding through the regular appropriations process and via the Build Back Better Act is under Congressional consideration.

The full letter is attached and below.

December 10, 2021

The Honorable Charles P. Rettig
Commissioner
Internal Revenue Service
1111 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20224 

Ms. Erin M. Collins
National Taxpayer Advocate
Internal Revenue Service
1111 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20224

Dear Commissioner Rettig and Ms. Collins:

While we understand the COVID-19 pandemic has created extraordinary challenges for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate (TAS), we write to you on behalf of our constituents who are rightfully frustrated by the nationwide amended tax return backlog.

The intent of this letter is to 1) conduct oversight on the ongoing processing delays and 2) further encourage TAS to provide periodic updates to our constituents. Ultimately, we would like to understand how we can assist your organizations in both the short-term and moving forward.

After reviewing correspondence from TAS last month, it is our understanding that the IRS is unable to expedite any returns at this time. As such, the National Taxpayer Advocate has stopped accepting cases where the sole issue involves the processing of amended returns. On paper, this policy change makes sense. However, in practice, we are shortchanging taxpayers in our state. Periodic updates have proven to be reassuring to our constituents. Providing timing estimates gives them the peace of mind that their returns are in the queue. As such, we are asking TAS to reconsider this blanket policy and allow us to make inquiries for amended returns that meet hardship criteria so we can adequately assist constituents in dire need.

While we appreciate advanced notification in this instance, the IRS has failed to provide reasonable notice in the past when sweeping policy changes have occurred. During the height of the pandemic, our offices were told, after the fact, that TAS would not accept inquiries regarding Economic Impact Payments (EIPs). This year, TAS told us we could not inquire about Advance Child Tax Credit payments (AdvCTC) and, now, amended returns. We do not believe the IRS has provided us with comparable resources or contacts to properly assist our constituents with EIPs or AdvCTCs. Our inquiries are rarely resolved or acknowledged. The deflection of responsibility by TAS and the IRS is unacceptable.

As both appropriators and authorizers, we want to continue to work with the IRS and TAS. Earlier this year, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan which provides the IRS with more than $1.8 billion in additional funding for expenses such as advance payments, taxpayer assistance and for modernizing and securing IRS systems. Much of this additional funding will remain available to the IRS through Fiscal Year (FY) 2023. Further, Congress is currently considering providing significant additional funding to the IRS, and the TAS specifically, through both the regular appropriations process and the House Passed H.R. 5376- Build Back Better Act.

We have outlined what Congress has enacted and what we seek to accomplish in the upcoming months to make clear that we stand ready to support your organizations. Again, we are sympathetic to the constraints the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on the entire federal workforce. However, we still need to find a workable solution to increase communication and deliver acceptable service to our constituents.

As such, we are requesting a briefing with relevant leadership so that we can better understand the issues faced by the Taxpayer Advocate Service in Maryland. It is our hope that we can address and resolve the issues the IRS is facing related to severe backlogs.

During the briefing, we are seeking answers to the following questions:

1)         What is the extent of the amended return backlog?

2)         What is the primary cause of these delays?

3)         Can you confirm that amended returns cannot be processed virtually? 

4)         Is it possible to alter standard operating procedures to allow this work to be done remotely?

5)         While we have no desire to compromise the safety of any federal employee, are there steps that can be taken to allow more employees to safely return to the office?

We appreciate the hard work of both the IRS and TAS. We look forward to meeting with your agencies to discuss how we can best serve our constituents.

Sincerely,

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