The Saturday I Spent Five-and-a-Half Hours in Line Waiting for the IRS

There has to be a better way to help taxpayers with their problems 

By Laura Saunders of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"On Saturday, May 14, I waited 5 ½ hours for a meeting with a courteous and helpful IRS employee. I was at the agency’s Taxpayer Assistance Center in Harlem, one of two New York City IRS offices open that day—along with three dozen others across the country—for walk-in visits. No more walk-in days at any IRS office are scheduled for the rest of 2022."

"Several, like me, needed to verify their identities so the IRS would release 2021 refunds. The agency wants taxpayers to verify IDs online, but that involves turning over personal records to an outside contractor that holds them for several years or longer, which bothers some people.

I also learned that as different as we were, our problems shared a common feature: None of us, despite mighty efforts, had been able to reach the IRS by phone.

“The letters tell you to call on the phone, but then you can’t get through. They don’t want to talk to us on the phone!” said an angry woman, as others agreed.

National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins, who heads an independent group within the IRS that safeguards taxpayer rights, confirms that recently only about one in 10 callers to the agency has gotten through. Many others aren’t even put on hold but are cut off in a “courtesy disconnect.” That’s what happened with my many calls to the IRS before my in-person visit.

Two people in line complained that they had gone to that IRS office during the week and—although the waiting room was empty—were turned away because they didn’t have appointments. But when they called for appointments, they couldn’t get through. There’s no online option for making an appointment."