The U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provided more details this week on the improvements taxpayers will experience in the upcoming tax filing season.
For starters, the Paperless Processing Initiative is a go, so now taxpayers will be able to digitally submit all correspondence and responses to notices. As of Oct. 27, the IRS has received more than 35,000 responses to notices via the online tool. This initiative will enable up to 125 million paper documents per year to be submitted digitally, however, taxpayers who still want to submit paper returns and correspondence may continue to do so.
The second part of the Paperless Processing Initiative will kick in when filing season begins, as taxpayers will be able to e-File 20 additional tax forms, enabling up to 4 million additional tax documents to be digitally filed every year. This includes amendments to Forms 940, 941, 941-SS and 941(PR), which are some of the most common forms businesses file when amending returns.
Coming up in the 2024 filing season, taxpayers will benefit from important new updates to the Where’s My Refund tool. In 2022, Where’s My Refund was used by 54 million taxpayers and generated 550 million hits. However, the tool provides limited information, often leading taxpayers to call the IRS to inquire about their refund status. The updates will allow taxpayers to see more detailed refund status messages in plain language – and it will work on mobile devices. It will reduce the need for taxpayers to call the IRS for answers to basic questions.
Additionally, the IRS is committed to providing better phone service by working to keep the average call wait time to five minutes or less and offering a call back option for calls with a projected wait time of more than 15 minutes.
Also, the IRS has currently opened or reopened 50 Taxpayer Assistance Centers using Inflation Reduction Act funding. This will increase the hours available at Taxpayer Assistance Centers by more than 8,500 hours. Further, the IRS will set up pop-up Taxpayer Assistance Centers in Ciales, Puerto Rico and Gallup, New Mexico to give taxpayers from hard-to-reach areas an opportunity to meet face-to-face with IRS customer service representatives. Community assistance events have already been held in Paris, Texas; Alpena, Michigan; Hastings, Nebraska; Twin Falls, Idaho; Juneau, Alaska; Lihue, Hawaii; and Baker City, Oregon.
The IRS is also working to increase the number of taxpayers receiving free tax preparation through volunteers by around 50,000 returns.
In addition, the IRS is rolling out a pilot program called Direct File — a new tool that will provide taxpayers with the choice to e-File their federal tax return for free, directly with the IRS. It will be an interview-based service that will work on a mobile phone, laptop, tablet, or desktop computer. IRS expects eligible participants in the pilot to be low- to moderate -income working individuals, couples, and families who take the standard deduction.