Treasury Department officials said Monday that the Internal Revenue Service will face so many challenges this year that tax refunds could be delayed.
In a call with reporters, Treasure Department officials said spring 2022 will be a “frustrating season” for taxpayers because of delays from the pandemic, according to The Washington Post.
- Americans are constantly facing shortages and delays because of supply chain problems and the pandemic. This will now apply to tax returns, too.
The IRS has faced more issues because of budget cuts and more workload because of the federal stimulus checks from the last two years, The Hill reports.
- The IRS is dealing with a 25% decrease in staff size, according to The Hill.
- And the IRS ended 2021 with more than 25 million individual and business tax returns that hadn’t been processed yet.
John Koskinen, the former commissioner of the IRS, commented on the staff shortages, according to The Washington Post.
- “By definition, no matter how much more efficient you are, you can’t lose 25 percent of the workforce and assume you can do the same volume of work. It’s a problem across the board — information technology; revenue agents; people answering the phones,” said Koskinen.
IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig wrote in a statement that the pandemic “continues to create challenges” for the IRS. He said the IRS “reminds people there are important steps they can take to help ensure their tax return and refund don’t face processing delays.”