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his article provides practical If a Form 941 was filed electronically
Tsuggestions to help practitioners and an acknowledgment was received, Responding to the
navigate the process of resolving issues no further action is needed other than
responding to notices and requests for CP2000 timely by
with the IRS. During the past two
information. The IRS advises taxpayers
years, dealing with IRS Collection, letter only (without a
not to file a second return. The inventory
Examination, and Appeals has been formal written protest
of Forms 941 is being processed at the
especially challenging. The informa-
Cincinnati and Ogden Service Centers. or a Form 12203) will
tion presented here about “working
the system” through knowledge of Status of processing not preserve the right
Form 1139 or Form 1045
processes and procedures is subject to appeal.
to change, and a practitioner should Expect long delays. Mail the Form 1139,
Corporation Application for Tentative
monitor the IRS website to keep
Refund, or Form 1045, Application for reach the e-help desk for tax profes-
up to date on the latest resumptions
Tentative Refund, by certified mail and sionals is 866-255-0654, and hours of
or disruptions of services and other
include a cover letter. A practical way operations are 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET.
developments.
to confirm receipt is to include a check
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic payable to the U.S. Treasury for $1. Practitioner Priority Service
and reduced personnel, practitioners Apply the check to the tax and period of The Practitioner Priority Service (PPS)
should expect continued delays from the amended return and attach a cover will assist practitioners with their clients’
the Service in live phone support, an- letter with the return and check. tax issues, including misapplied pay-
swering mail from taxpayers, reviewing ments, math errors that need correction,
paper returns and (even) e-filed returns, Sending checks to the IRS account adjustments, balances due, and
and processing payments, among other Expect delays in processing checks up to missing returns. Under a recent change,
issues resulting from current challeng- 60 days or more. Fortunately, payments PPS assistors can no longer take ac-
ing circumstances. are applied on the date they are received tions for collection activities, including
and not when they are processed. The short-term payment plans and install-
Status of processing IRS has been forgiving dishonored ment agreements; these matters will
Forms 1040 for 2020 check penalties if checks do not clear require contacting the Small Business/
As of this writing, the IRS is open- because of processing delays. This ap- Self-Employed (SB/SE) Division’s
ing correspondence within the normal plies to payments received from March Automated Collection Service (ACS).
time frames, but processing is taking 1, 2020, through Dec. 31, 2020, accord- To reach PPS during the normal oper-
longer than usual. Practitioners should ing to information on the IRS website ating hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET, call
be patient and follow up with all cor- as of this writing. 866-860-4259. (After hours, try calling
respondence within 60 days. Paper and For checks that were dishonored the Automated Collection Service at
electronic individual Forms 1040, U.S. in 2021, one can, as a practical matter, 800-829-3903 or 800-829-8374.)
Individual Income Tax Return, received request penalty abatement due to pro- PPS will route calls based on call-
prior to April 2021 have been processed cessing delays. Attempt to substantiate ers’ selections:
if the return had no errors and did not that the funds were available in the bank Press 1: General tax law questions.
require further review. The IRS says on the date that the check was mailed to Press 2: Questions about individual
that, as of Nov. 12, 2021, it had 5.9 mil- the IRS. The preparer will need to show accounts not in collection or examina-
lion unprocessed individual returns. The reasonable cause to receive penalty relief. tion status that involve issues concern-
IRS suggests that taxpayers who have ing locating and applying payments,
not received refunds visit “Where’s My e-Services general procedural guidance and time
Refund?” at irs.gov/refunds to check Sign up for e-Services to be able to frames, making adjustments, providing
the status. receive transcripts through a secure taxpayer transcripts, securing taxpayer
mailbox and be able to file a power income verification, forgotten/lost CAF
Status of processing Form 941 of attorney through the IRS’s new numbers, and explaining IRS communi-
As of Nov. 17, 2021, the Service had platform, Tax Pro Account, available cations. Calls are limited to five clients
2.4 million unprocessed Forms 941, at tinyurl.com/3xe8y644. E-Services is and 30 transcripts per client (increased
Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return. available 24/7. The phone number to from 10 transcripts on Nov. 15, 2021).

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