The Internal Revenue Service said Friday it would restart issuing its 500 series of balance-due notices to taxpayers later this month after they were paused on May 9 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the IRS continued to issue most of its notices, the 500 series was temporarily suspended because of a backlog of mail that built up at the IRS while many employees were away from agency facilities due to COVID-19. The IRS came under fire earlier this year for issuing balance due notices with the incorrect dates to taxpayers during the pandemic and agreed to stop sending the notices until it caught up with its backlog of unopened mail (see story).
Andrew Roman Wells is the chief executive officer at Aspirent, a management-consulting firm focused on analytics. He has extensive experience building analytical solutions for a wide range of companies, from Fortune 500s to small non-profits. He is also co-author of "Monetizing Your Data: A Guide to Turning Data Into Profit-Driving Strategies and Solutions."
Maria T. Vullo was confirmed by the New York State Senate as Superintendent Financial Services on June 15, 2016. She was nominated for the position by Governor Andrew Cuomo. As Superintendent, she is responsible for protecting consumers and markets in New York State from fraud and financial crises, as well as reforming the regulation of financial services to keep pace with the industry’s rapid evolution.
Prior to joining DFS, Ms. Vullo was a litigation partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, where she led civil, criminal, and regulatory investigations before courts and governmental authorities across the country. Ms. Vullo also served as Executive Deputy Attorney General for Economic Justice Division in the Office of the New York State Attorney General, under then New York State Attorney General Cuomo. There she oversaw the Bureaus of Investor Protection, Antitrust, Real Estate Finance, Consumer Frauds and Internet, leading investigations across New York State to protect investors and consumers from fraud.
Over the course of her career, Ms. Vullo’s specific legal experience has included litigations and investigations involving the financial services sectors and fraud, real estate, health care, insurance, tax, consumer protection, bankruptcy, antitrust, and constitutional law.
An accomplished trial lawyer, Ms. Vullo has also argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second, Ninth, and Tenth Circuits, and the New York State Appellate Division.
Ms. Vullo is a recognized leader in protecting women’s rights, including representing women raped by soldiers during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War – a case in which she secured a $745 million jury verdict for the plaintiffs. Her pro bono work also includes securing a $100 million jury verdict representing abortion providers whose lives had been threatened by an online “hit list” and numerous amicus curiae briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court in significant civil rights cases.
Ms. Vullo was twice nominated by the New York State Commission on Judicial Nomination as a candidate for Associate Judge of the Court of Appeals. She has been named a “New York Super Lawyer” by Super Lawyers Magazine and has been included in numerous leading lawyer lists published by the National Law Journal and other leading publications.
Ms. Vullo recently received the New York Women Making a Difference Award from Eleanor’s Legacy, the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the Interfaith Nutrition Network, and the Distinguished Corporate Citizen Award from A Better Balance, among many other awards and professional recognitions.
Ms. Vullo earned her J.D. from New York University School of Law, an M.P.A. from the New York University Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, and a B.A. from the College of Mount Saint Vincent. She clerked for the Hon. John A. MacKenzie, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, following law school prior to entering private practice.
McGuire is the director of health and benefit insurance operations for the Paychex Insurance Agency, a wholly owned subsidiary of Paychex, Inc.
The IRS said Friday that it has now caught up enough with its mail backlog to account for payments that are mailed on a timely basis. Some taxpayers will start seeing updated 500 series notices with current issuance and payment dates in late October or early November.
The 500 series of balance due notices includes three different types of notices that warn taxpayers about different stages of nonpayment: the CP501, the CP503 and the CP504.
The CP501 notice tells taxpayers they still have a balance due and what their options are, while the CP503 lets them know the IRS hasn’t heard from them yet and they may be subject to a tax lien if they don’t pay their taxes. The CP504 alerts taxpayers they need to pay their balances immediately or face the possibility of a levy of their state income tax refunds. The 500 series of notices are typically sent to taxpayers if they don’t respond to or pay their initial notice and demand on the CP14 letter.
Despite the resumption of the notices, the IRS is still in the process of catching up on millions of pieces of unopened mail, prompting a letter this week from Democrats on the House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee asking if the IRS will be ready in time for next tax season (see story). They also asked the IRS this week about why it was sending out notices revoking the tax-exempt status of over 30,000 nonprofits despite an extension it was supposed to have granted them for filing the Form 990 during the pandemic while it’s in the midst of processing the backlog of unopened correspondence. Earlier this month, IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig told another House oversight subcommittee that the IRS was still processing 5.3 unopened million pieces of mail, including 2.5 million paper tax returns.
The IRS is encouraging taxpayers who can’t pay to consider some of the available payment options while penalties and interest continue to accrue.
The IRS noted that taxpayers who were affected by the pandemic or other circumstances may qualify for relief from penalties due to reasonable cause if they’ve made an effort to comply with the requirements of the law, but couldn’t meet their tax obligations, due to facts and circumstances beyond their control. Taxpayers should call the toll-free number listed on their notice to ask for penalty relief due to reasonable cause if they believe they qualify and have the supporting documentation to prove it. More information on reasonable cause relief can be found on a page at IRS.gov. Payment options and extra information can also be found on another page of IRS.gov.
