The Internal Revenue Service is bringing in 3,500 telephone operators to deal with the flood of calls about economic impact payments from taxpayers waiting for their money from the IRS.
The $2 trillion CARES Act that Congress passed in March included provisions to give individual taxpayers $1,200 each, $2,400 for couples, plus an extra $500 for each of their dependent children to help them get through the economic fallout from the novel coronavirus pandemic. While 140 million of the 150 million payments have been sent oiut, according to figures from the IRS on Monday, numerous problems quickly emerged.
Kelly Grace, director, advisory – ECS – motor fuels and excise tax at Weaver, has more than 14 years of experience in professional accounting with a focus on complex fuel excise and sales and use tax matters, with experience building, testing, and implementing tax logic for Avalara, IGen, Sabrix, SAP and Right Angle. She is well-versed in planning and directing federal and state motor fuel and sales tax audits. She manages co-sourcing tax compliance projects for companies in all 50 states and researches and advises clients (refineries, fuel terminals, pipeline operators, retail stations, end users) on new and updated state and federal tax laws affecting clients' businesses. She is a CPA in Pennsylvania, a member of the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs, the Pennsylvania Bar and the Federation of Tax Administrations, Motor Fuel Sections. She earned her bachelor of science in accounting and economics from the University of Delaware and her Juris Doctorate from the Temple University Beasley School of Law.
Bob Donnellan is a motor fuel and excise tax expert at IGEN with more than 40 years of industry experience, specializing in compliance, reporting, audit defense and tax system strategy. Over his career, he has advised companies across the fuel supply chain on complex state and federal motor fuel tax issues and helped shape industry best practices through leadership in the Federation of Tax Administrators. He has trained over 1,000 tax professionals and state auditors, served as an expert witness, and played a role in developing innovative tax reporting systems and resources that are still used today. Today, he continues to share his deep industry knowledge as motor fuel tax subject matter expert at IGEN.
Stacey Mennillo Dieterle is a healthcare strategist and women's health advocate focused on advancing comprehensive, evidence-based approaches to women's care delivery, workforce health, and healthcare innovation. A former senior health insurance executive at Cigna and Evernorth, Stacey works with employers, health plans, providers, and innovators to address gaps in women's health through policy, care model transformation, and outcomes measurement.
The IRS relied on direct deposit information from taxpayers’ 2018 and 2019 tax returns, when it was available. But many bank accounts were temporary ones set up by tax prep chains for doing refund transfers, and there was no record of the taxpayer’s own bank account. Taxpayers were asked to enter their own direct deposit information online in such cases, and many are still awaiting their checks. The paper checks only recently started being sent out, and in some cases the IRS didn’t have the most up-to-date addresses for taxpayers. In some cases, payments were mistakenly sent to deceased taxpayers and people living abroad.
Much of the IRS workforce has been working remotely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, although some have been called back to work to deal with the voluminous unopened paper correspondence that has piled up in trailers outside the IRS offices. Now it is starting to bring back employees to answer the phones and answer questions from anxious taxpayers about the status of their payments, although presumably these employees could work remotely.
The IRS warned Monday that telephone assistance and other services will nevertheless remain limited. The agency expects to bring back additional telephone helpers as state and local advisories allow.
In any case, answers for most of the common questions related to the economic impact payments can be found online on IRS.gov. The IRS regularly posts new and updated responses to the most frequently asked questions about economic impact payments here and in the FAQ page for its Get My Payment tool. Taxpayers who want to know about the status of their economic impact payment can check the Get My Payment page regularly. The information is updated as the IRS continues to process the rest of the payments for delivery.
Answers for most questions about the stimulus payments are also available on the automated message for people who call the phone number provided in the letter they receive about their economic impact payments, known as Notice 1444, a letter signed by President Trump informing them their payment has arrived (whether it has or not). Those who need more assistance at the end of the message will have the option of talking to a live representative.
