IRS operations during the coronavirus pandemic – 10 Things You Should Know

This COVID-19 epidemic required the IRS to make significant adjustments to the way it does business. The IRS will be doing its best to conduct business as usual while helping taxpayers by administering many of the recently passed COVID-19 relief provisions.

The IRS is urgently working on building remote work capability for many of its 70,000-plus employees, most of whom usually work from IRS locations and offices throughout the country.

This transition will take some time in order to return to normal operations. In some cases, operations will not return to normal until well after the pandemic is over.

In the meantime, accountingTODAY nicely summarized the current status of IRS operations and list the following topics: that were not doing an extension not to June 15 which could be July 50

1. IRS.gov is the first place to answer your questions.
2. Live assistance is very limited.
3. The IRS will be hard to reach, even after the pandemic is over.
4. You can put that audit on hold, unless it deals with a refund hold situation.
5. If you owe back taxes, you have a temporary reprieve.
6. IRS will not require your monthly installment agreement payment.
7. IRS Transcripts are usually your best method to answer to account-related questions.
8. TAS can be reached if you have a hardship, but you must call your local office.
9. The IRS is still processing tax returns and it is best to file as soon as possible.
10. IRS tax collectors will not grab the stimulus payment to pay past tax debt.