On June 1st the IRS opened offices in Kentucky, Texas, and Utah. That’s important for those of us in the tax professional community as two of the major IRS Service Centers for processing returns are in those states (Austin and Ogden). Austin also includes the unit that processes ITIN applications (a news report said there’s a backlog 250,000 applications). Ogden has one of the three CAF units (the unit that processes power of attorney and tax information authorization forms); that was backlogged even before the shutdown.
The IRS is opening more offices later this month:
- Georgia and Tennessee: June 15th
- Missouri and Michigan: June 15th
- Indiana and Ohio: June 29th
- California, Oregon, and Puerto Rico: June 29th
This includes the Atlanta and Memphis Service Centers on June 15th and the Fresno Service Center on June 29th. Atlanta and Memphis are not used for processing returns but are used for numerous other IRS operations including correspondence audits, offers in compromise, and automated underreporting unit notices. Fresno is a major processing center for returns.
This is good news for everyone (taxpayers, tax professionals, and IRS employees). Unfortunately, it is going to take many months for the paper backlog to be resolved.
Tags: 2020.Tax.Season