The Best Way to Contact the IRS

If you have a question about your tax return or want to know where your refund is, it is possible to contact the IRS. However, you should be prepared to wait a while before you’re able to speak to a real person (more on that below).

You can contact the IRS by calling the general help line at 1-800-829-1040. However, there may be better ways to reach the IRS, depending on your reason for contacting them.

Calling the IRS

It is possible to reach an actual person by calling the IRS. However, you should be prepared to wait in order to get a hold of someone. According to the 2021 National Taxpayer Advocate Annual Report to Congress, customer service representatives at the IRS only answered 11% of the 282 million calls made. The average hold time was 23 minutes.

While there is a general helpline to call, 1-800-829-1040, you might get a hold of someone more quickly if you try calling a line designed specifically for your question. Reference the chart below to see if your question has a designated line.

IRS Phone Numbers
Reason for Contacting Phone Number
Disaster Victims 866-562-5227
Estate and gift tax 866-699-4083
Excise tax 866-699-4096
Help getting your EIN 800-829-4933
Identity theft 800-908-4490
Innocent spouse relief 866-681-4271
Lost ITIN documents 800-908-9982
Balance due questions 800-829-0922
Tax liens 800-913-6050
Help with self-employed business tax return 800-829-0115
Self-employed taxpayers with an account or a tax law question 800-829-4933

The IRS phone lines are open from 7 am to 7 pm (local time) and are closed for federal holidays. You’re more likely to get a hold of someone if you call early in the morning. It’s also best to avoid the days surrounding tax filing deadlines (if you can).

What You Need to Contact the IRS

The last thing you want is to finally get a hold of someone at the IRS and not have the information that you need in order to proceed. Before contacting the IRS, you should collect the following items:

  • Social Security number or ITIN
  • Filing status
  • Date of birth
  • Prior-year return and/or any year’s tax return that you have a question about
  • Any IRS correspondence that you have received recently

Contacting the IRS Online

While the IRS doesn’t have a customer service e-mail, there are several online tools that you can use to answer some of your tax questions. Some of the most commonly used online IRS tools include the following:

These are just some of the online resources that the IRS offers to taxpayers. For a full list of resources, visit the IRS help page.

Meeting the IRS in Person

Most people don’t realize it, but you can actually meet with the IRS in person. Every state has at least one Taxpayer Assistance Center. You can use the Taxpayer Assistance Center Office Locator to see which office is closest to you. Then call 844-545-5640 to set up an appointment.

Appointments can be hard to come by. Therefore, you should use in-person meetings as a last resort.

Avoiding Scams

The IRS will rarely, if ever, contact an individual taxpayer via phone. Therefore, if you’re having trouble getting a hold of the IRS via phone, it’s important to be wary of any calls that may come from the IRS. The IRS does most of its communication via the US postal service and will never call you demanding payment. If you are making a payment to the IRS, make sure it’s through a verified source like their website and not some third-party app or wire transfer.

How to Get Quick Tax Help

If you’re looking for fast, reliable tax assistance, consider IRS Shield. Our team of tax experts can help answer your questions and walk you through any notices you may receive from the IRS.

Avoid long wait times and get answers quickly with IRS Shield.

How to Resolve Your Debt with the IRS

Falling into debt with the IRS is never a good idea. However, surprises happen, and unexpected taxes pop up. The good news is if you owe a large amount of money to the IRS, you may not have to pay it all!

You can resolve your debt with the IRS in 3 simple steps:

  1. File your taxes
  2. Ask an expert
  3. Consider your options

In this article, we look at each step in detail to help you move forward with resolving your IRS tax debt.

Step 1: File Your Taxes

It is absolutely essential to file your taxes each year! You should file your taxes even if you can’t afford to pay them.

While you do have to pay penalties on unpaid taxes, you’ll pay additional fees if you don’t file your taxes. The failure-to-file-penalty is 5% of the taxes owed per month, up to a maximum amount of 25%. Failing to file can significantly increase your tax debt.

If you’re not ready to file your taxes by the mid-April due date each year, you can file a tax extension to get an additional 6 months to file.

Step 2: Ask an Expert

If you owe a debt to the IRS, you should consult an expert before paying any debt. Depending on your financial situation, there are plenty of options that could help you avoid paying the full amount of debt.

While tax accountants can be very expensive, IRS Shield provides an alternative solution at an affordable price. For a low monthly fee, you can have access to tax professionals throughout the entire year. They can help walk you through your options and potentially save you money owed in back taxes!

If you currently owe a debt to the IRS and want help, you can contact our team here.

Step 3: Consider Your Options

When paying down tax debt, you have plenty of options to help you get out of debt quickly and pay less than the full debt amount. It’s vital to consider all of the options available to you and choose the option that makes the most sense for you.

Installment Plans

Installment plans are a good way to pay down an unexpected tax bill at the end of the year but don’t have the cash on hand to pay the full amount owed. Installment plans allow you to pay the debt in monthly payments set by the IRS.

In order to qualify for an installment plan:

  • Your IRS debt must be less than $50,000
  • You must be up-to-date with filing your tax returns

While installment payments are a great way to break a large debt into manageable payments, you still have to pay interest on the debt. Therefore, it’s better to pay the full amount of your IRS debt upfront if you are able to.

Offer in Compromise

The IRS wants to collect as much of the owed debt as quickly as possible. That’s why if you truly can’t afford to pay your tax debt, even in installments, the IRS may consider agreeing to an offer in compromise.

In order to qualify for an offer in compromise, you have to submit an application to the IRS that essentially details your entire financial situation. The IRS will look at your outstanding debts, income, and investments to see if you truly can’t afford to pay down the debt.

If you are approved for an offer in compromise, then the IRS will reduce the amount of debt you owe based on your financial situation. The full newly agreed-upon balance will be due within two years of finalizing the agreement.

Statute of Limitations

The IRS has 10 years from the date that you filed your taxes to collect any debt, penalties, or interest. While waiting 10 years to resolve tax debt may seem like an easy way out, the IRS will take serious action to collect any owed debt. They can garnish your wages, seize your property, and much more.

Currently Not Collectible Status

Instead of trying to hide from the IRS for 10 years, if you truly cannot pay any amount of the tax debt you owe, you can apply for currently not collectible status. While you still will eventually need to pay your taxes, it puts a hold on tax levies, wage garnishment, and most other actions the IRS can use to collect the debt.

Filing for Bankruptcy

A last resort option to resolve your IRS debt is to file for bankruptcy. Filing for bankruptcy can eliminate any debt you owe, but it comes with serious consequences. It may make it difficult to borrow money ever again, and it certainly will damage your credit rating for an extended period of time.

Choose the Option That’s Best for You

Before picking an option to resolve your tax debt, it is essential to consult a tax professional. We’ve only briefly touched on the options to resolve your IRS debt and each option comes with its own benefits and disadvantages. You need to ensure that you understand the consequences and benefits of each option before attempting to work with the IRS.

 

Need More Time to Pay Your Taxes? Here’s What to Do…

Many taxpayers require an alternative method of payment to pay their taxes.

If you can’t pay the total taxes you owe by April 15th, you have options. 

What to Do If You Can’t Pay by the Due Date

First, pay as much as you possibly can to save on interest and penalties. Then, you can pay the remaining balance over time.

Here are three payment options the IRS offers, if you can’t pay your taxes by the due date:

Installment Agreement

One option is to apply for an installment arrangement with the IRS. This is a long-term payment plan, sometimes considered a monthly payment plan.

To be eligible to apply online, you must owe less than $100,000 for a 90 or 180-day payment plan, and $50,000 or less (including interest and penalties) for a long-term payment agreement.

In order to keep your agreement in good standing, you should agree to a reasonable monthly payment amount you can pay and be sure to pay any future tax liability on time.

This application procedure is fast, and you may do it online or over the phone.

Click here to apply online.

Offer in Compromise

If you are eligible, you may be able to settle your back taxes for less than you owe using an offer-in-compromise (“OIC”). Taxpayers in difficult financial situations may want to apply for an OIC.

If you can demonstrate that you’re experiencing financial difficulties, you might be able to lower your tax debt and resolve it amicably.

To be eligible, you must be up-to-date on all tax return filings and any other tax payments.

You can use the Offer In Compromise Pre-Qualifier tool to determine your eligibility before submitting your application.

Currently Not-Collectible Status

If the IRS determines that you cannot pay any of your tax debt, it may report your account currently not collectible and temporarily delay collection until your financial condition improves.

The IRS won’t demand payment from you (until your situation has improved) if you can demonstrate financial hardship, which means you cannot currently make any payments. Therefore, if you cannot pay your taxes, you may be exempt from doing so until you can.

Please note that even if your request is granted, your unpaid debt would still be subject to fines and interest. The IRS may also use any upcoming refunds you’re owed to make up the difference. You’ll also need to pay any future taxes you owe on time.

To prove your financial difficulty and inability to pay, you may be required to complete a Collection Information Statement (Form 433-A, Form 433-F, or Form 433-B) and provide proof of your financial status.

In Summary

It’s never fun to owe money to the IRS and be unable to pay it, but it only becomes an issue if you do nothing. The IRS offers multiple options if you can’t pay your taxes on time.

If you need help resolving your tax debt, click here to learn more about IRS Shield and get the help and support you need from our team of tax professionals.

What is a CP14 Notice?

Receiving a notice from the IRS can be extremely stressful. However, receiving a CP14 Notice can be particularly taxing as it indicates you owe money to the IRS.

The CP14 Notice informs a taxpayer that there is an overdue unpaid balance of taxes to the IRS. In addition, it outlines the fees and penalties assessed for failing to pay a tax balance on time.

As with receiving any notice from the IRS, it’s essential to take action before the due date listed on the CP14. This article examines what a CP14 notice means and your options moving forward.

Why am I Getting a CP14 Notice?

The CP14 Notice is an initial notice letting you know that you owe unpaid taxes, penalties, and/or interest to the IRS. It is an automated notice that goes out to anyone with an unpaid tax balance.

The Notice contains:

  • Billing summary of the money owed to the IRS
  • Due date of the balance owed
  • Payment options (including what to do if you can’t pay the balance in full)
  • Consequences for ignoring the Notice

You have 21 days from the notice date to respond to the Notice or pay the balance. Note that the notice date may be different from the date that you receive the Notice.

What Should I Do If I Receive a CP14 Notice?

When you first receive a CP14 notice in the mail, you should review the contents of the Notice in detail. Pay special attention to the amount owed and the due date of the balance owed.

The actions you should take following the receipt of a CP14 notice depend on the accuracy of the Notice and your financial situation. However, the key is that you take some sort of action. Ignoring the Notice will only worsen the situation, and the IRS can take serious action to collect outstanding debt. Let’s look at the next steps you should take depending on the abovementioned factors.

What if My CP14 Notice is Inaccurate?

The CP14 Notice is an automated notice from the IRS if you have an outstanding unpaid balance. The automated system does make mistakes, so it’s important to look over your tax return and see if you actually should owe money.

While you have a copy of your tax return out, you should also check to see if you missed any deductions or credits that may be able to cover the balance owed. If you find a deduction or credit you overlooked, you should file an amended tax return.

If you plan to file an amended tax return, you should notify the IRS of your intentions and file the amended return before the balance due date listed on the CP14.

What If I Can’t Pay the Balance Due on My CP14?

If you can’t pay the balance due on your CP14 by the due date, you should contact us to discuss your best option. You must reach out as soon as possible so that you can contact the IRS prior to your payment due date. In general, you have three options to either delay the payment or work with the IRS to reduce the amount owed.

  1. Request an extension. If you need some extra time to collect the balance owed, you can call the IRS and ask for up to an additional 120 days to pay. At the end of the 120 days, you must pay the entire balance in full.
  1. Reduce or erase the penalty. If this is the first time you’ve been assessed a failure-to-pay penalty in the past three years, you can request a first-time penalty abatement. If you call the IRS directly, they may waive the penalty, given that you can pay the taxes owed. If this is not your first time, it’s best to work with an IRS Shield tax expert to asses other potential avenues for removing the penalty.
  1. Work out an agreement with the IRS. If you truly can’t pay the balance within 120 days, you should not just ignore the Notice. The IRS offers several tax debt relief options so they can collect at least part of the balance. Some more common solutions include installment agreements or an offer in compromise.

Should I Ask for Help If I Get a CP14 Notice?

If you receive a CP14 notice, it’s best to contact us before paying or responding to the Notice. The IRS does make mistakes, so it’s essential to have your tax return reviewed by a professional to ensure that you do owe taxes to the IRS.

In addition, there are several ways to reduce the amount owed to the IRS. For example, if this is your first time with an overdue balance, you can have the IRS waive your failure-to-pay penalty. Reaching out to IRS shield helps you pay the IRS less and gives you the comfort of having experienced individuals who know what they are doing and walk you through your next options.