One week ago I uploaded Part 2 of my client’s ongoing saga of obtaining his 2020 tax refund. My client, call him John Smith, was supposed to either receive his refund by mid-August or we were supposed to receive a call. Mid-August came, and Mr. Smith had not received his refund (and it did not show as having been issued on an Account Transcript) nor had I received a call from the IRS. On August 16th I again called the Practitioner Priority Service (PPS) to see if there had been any progress. They couldn’t see any, and again transferred me to the Identity Protection (IP) unit.
Call #1 (August 16): After being on hold for just under an hour, the IP Unit agent picked up. I explained the situation, and she investigated through her systems. After another hold-time period of 15 minutes, she said because my Power of Attorney form covered only 2020 she couldn’t talk to me. I explained that Mr. Smith had already verified his identity and we are just trying to obtain the refund. “No. I may need to ask questions about 2019, and without that I must let this call end.” [1]
Call #2 (August 16): Since I knew the IP agent was wrong, I called back. This call is actually three attempts, but all three ended up getting: “We’re sorry, but due to extremely high call volume in the topic you’ve chosen we cannot take your call at this time. Goodbye.”
I did have Mr. Smith sign a new POA covering 2019 (though it wasn’t necessary), and submitted it to the IRS on August 17.
Call #3 (August 17): At 7am PDT I called the IP unit again. I was directed into the callback service (that told me I’d get a return call in 29 minutes, which I did). I explained the issue to the agent, and he said, “If your client is not on the phone with you I cannot help you.” I told him that with a signed IRS Power of Attorney form, I’m allowed to act for my client. “No, you’re not for this purpose.” And he hung the phone up on me. [2]
Call #4 (August 17): I made another attempt. However, “”We’re sorry, but due to extremely high call volume in the topic you’ve chosen we cannot take your call at this time. Goodbye.” I did not have enough time to try again.
Call #5 (August 18): I again called at 7am, and again received a callback (this time in 38 minutes). I again explained the situation to the IP unit agent…and we got disconnected. I’ll be generous and state this was an IRS phone system issue and that I wasn’t hung up on, but I have my doubts.
Call #6 (August 18): The sixth time was the charm (sort-of). I received the promise callback (in 29 minutes), and this agent agreed that I didn’t need a 2019 POA. Unfortunately, he saw nothing having been done. He put another referral into the sub-unit to get the return processed…but with a nine-week turnaround time. He said he did see notes of the previous conversations, but this was all he could do. I also discovered that on April 14th the IP unit supposedly printed my client’s electronically filed return and forwarded it for processing. [3]
That afternoon I spoke with my client and explained what had happened. I told him that besides the IP unit referral, the next step would be to complete IRS Form 911–a request for assistance from the IRS Taxpayer Advocate. I explained that given IRS promises he was likely eligible for assistance. I faxed Form 911 that afternoon.
I’ll be back next week with more, but let’s take a look at some IRS systemic issues that my client ran into.
[1] and [2]. I’ve been calling the IP unit for years, and many of the agents do not want to speak with authorized representatives. When a client grants me an IRS Power of Attorney (POA) form that gives me full rights to negotiate and talk with the IRS on any issues that the POA covers. That includes identity protection issues. The behavior I saw with Mr. Smith is typical:
- Agents say years that aren’t required for my POA are.
- Only the taxpayer, not an authorized representative, can speak to the Identity Protection Unit.
- When notices are sent by the Identity Protection Unit, previously authorized representatives are not copied. For example, let’s say I have a POA on file for Jane Brown for the 2022 tax year. The Identity Protection Unit sends her a notice requesting she verify her identity for her 2022 tax return; I will not be copied. This is especially troublesome when we have clients who are traveling or reside outside the United States and don’t have reliable mail.
[3] Yes, you’re reading this correctly. My client electronically filed his tax return, but the only way it can be processed is paper. It’s not that 2020 returns can’t be electronically filed today (they can, through sometime in November); rather, it’s how the IRS Identity Protection Unit is setup. Interestingly, TIGTA (the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration) issued a report today titled, “The Internal Revenue Service Has Experienced Challenges in Transitioning to Electronic Records.” Boy, is that true.
Meanwhile, my client is stuck waiting. And you and I pay for this: My client will (eventually) be paid interest on the refund. And with his refund being approximately $30,000, that interest will be substantial.
I’ll be back next week with Part 4 of this saga.
Tags: Identity.Protection.Unit