The Internal Revenue Service announced that during its modernization efforts in the past year, it has made significant progress, including scanning 225 times more forms than in 2022 and enabling taxpayers to reply to an additional 51 forms and letters online.<\/p>\n
In a press release Wednesday, the IRS claimed to have delivered dramatically improved service in Filing Season 2023. IRS achieved an 87 percent Level of Service on its main taxpayer help line. Through the end of Filing Season 2023, IRS answered 3 million more calls, cut phone wait times to three minutes from 28 minutes, and served 140,000 more taxpayers in-person.<\/p>\n
Also, IRS digitized 80 times more returns than in 2022 through the adoption of new scanning technology<\/span>; cleared the backlog of unprocessed 2022 individual tax returns with no errors; launched two new digital tools; and enabled a new direct-deposit refund option for taxpayers with amended returns.<\/p>\n Under the Paperless Processing Initiative it launched this year, IRS made significant progress scanning and e-filing paper returns. The IRS has scanned about 849,000 forms this year, which is 225 times more forms than were scanned the previous year. <\/p>\n The IRS announced it has expanded the availability of its customer callback option to cover up to 95% of callers seeking live assistance. <\/p>\n Taxpayers are now able to respond to notices online and have new online filing options. IRS said it is now providing this capability to an additional 51 notices and letters it sends.<\/p>\n During Filing Season 2023, IRS also launched an online portal to allow businesses to file Form 1099 series information returns electronically.<\/p>\n IRS offered new voice and chatbots to help taxpayers with a wide range of issues, including securing account transcripts, getting answers to questions about balances due and getting help from the Taxpayer Advocate Service. <\/p>\n IRS enabled a direct-deposit refund option for 1040000 amended returns. These refunds were previously only available by paper check, delaying taxpayers’ receipt of their refunds.<\/p>\n IRS has hired nearly 700 employees to open or reopen 42 Taxpayer Assistance Centers across the country, while also starting a special series of events to help taxpayers living in areas far from the agency’s in-person offices.<\/p>\n In recent months, IRS Criminal Investigation has closed a lengthy list of cases in which wealthy taxpayers have been sentenced for tax evasion, money laundering, and filing false tax returns. Instead of paying taxes owed, these evaders spent money owed to the government on gambling, vacations, and luxury goods, according to IRS.<\/p>\n In recent months, IRS closed about 175 delinquent tax cases for millionaires, generating $38 million in recoveries.<\/p>\n The IRS said it continues to intensify cracking down on millionaires who do not file tax returns. <\/p>\n