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After Spanberger Pressure, IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service Reverses Previous Announcement, Immediately Resumes Accepting New Tax Return Cases

Jul 01, 2022
Good Governance
Press

The Congresswoman has Consistently Demanded the IRS Clear its Backlog, Process Long Overdue Returns for Virginia Taxpayers

HENRICO, V.A.  — Following U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger’s push, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and its Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) announced on Thursday that they will resume accepting new amended and paper-filed tax return cases submitted by congressional offices.

Yesterday, the IRS announced that it will immediately begin accepting amended and paper-filed individual cases through TAS after making some progress in clearing its massive backlog. TAS assists taxpayers with delays that are difficult to resolve through routine IRS channels — but the IRS recently informed Congress that TAS would no longer accept new cases for unprocessed mail returns until October 15, 2022.

In the wake of this original announcement, Spanberger pressed IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig to clear the backlog, so that TAS could resume accepting new cases. She made clear that a delay until October would hamper the ability of Virginia families, seniors, and small businesses to receive timely resolutions for their specific IRS cases — particularly those who filed a paper tax return. Following her push, the IRS reversed course. 

“This announcement means more Virginians will receive the assistance they deserve and finally get the tax returns they are owed. However, I remain focused on making sure the IRS follows through on its promises to cut down on its considerable backlog — because these delays are directly impacting the financial security of many Virginia families and businesses,” said Spanberger. “The IRS needs to keep Congress updated on its progress, and it needs to provide more answers about how the agency can prevent future backlogs, ensure it is properly staffed, and make sure the American people aren’t waiting literal years for their tax returns.”

IRS figures released in April 2022 showed a backlog of more than 2.5 million unprocessed tax returns from 2021, as well as more than 8.9 million from 2022.

Virginians experiencing issues with the IRS or any federal agency can reach out to Spanberger’s office at 804-401-4110 or on her website here.

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