IRS practice & procedure

Kenneth Corbin, commissioner of the IRS Wage and Investment Division, said calls are being answered in under 10 minutes as a result of more staff and stifling the “voice bots.”

The IRS said that most electronic filers will receive their refund within 21 days if they choose direct deposit and there are no issues with their tax return. The deadline to file is Tuesday, April 18.

Erin Collins mentions improvement in her annual report to Congress, but she says the IRS still needs to deal with the unanswered phone calls, including the 16% answer rate at the Practitioner Priority Service line.

A TIGTA audit report says the IRS wrongly included over 14,000 low-income taxpayers among those subject to private collection agencies. The IRS disputed the report, saying those taxpayers aren’t protected by the Taxpayer First Act.

The standard mileage rate for business use of a vehicle has increased, the IRS announced, effective as of Jan. 1.

The IRS announced late in December that it is delaying the new, lower $600 reporting threshold for third-party settlement organizations so that it will not apply to transactions in 2022.

The IRS and a possible new commissioner have until Feb. 17, 2023, to advise Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen how they plan to spend $80 billion that Congress budgeted for the agency over the next 10 years.

In the wake of adverse decisions in the Sixth Circuit and the Tax Court, the IRS announced it is issuing proposed regulations, which it intends to finalize in 2023, that identify certain syndicated conservation easement transactions as listed transactions.