Tax issue becomes battle to persevere

We fought the IRS, and got results after 2 years

My wife and I have experienced an IRS miracle – actually, maybe two.

We recently got our first pandemic stimulus payment, the one authorized by Congress in March 2020. The tale of our two- year battle says a lot about the state of the IRS and the frustrations experienced by millions of Americans.

Here’s what happened: We moved from Detroit to Omaha, Nebraska, a few months before COVID- 19 hit. We had just closed the bank account the IRS had on record from our 2018 tax return when Congress approved stimulus payments.

The timing couldn’t have been worse.

Congress instructed the IRS to send those “Economic Impact Payments” to taxpayers as quickly as possible. This happened during the heat of income tax filing season, with the IRS having just shut down its centers because of COVID- 19. But 160 million payments went out. In our case, the agency tried to deposit the stimulus payment in the closed Detroit account.

Recovery Rebate Credit rejected

The IRS had a website to check on the payments but didn’t offer taxpayers the option of changing a bank account or mailing address. At the time, that seemed like nonsense because millions of Americans move each year, but it was later pointed out to me that one of the IRS’s big challenges is combatting identity theft. It can’t make it

too easy for people to change such sensitive information.

OK. Fine. Weeks later, the website said that the agency sent a paper check to our old address. It, of course, was returned to the IRS and lost in the bureaucracy.

And it was impossible to reach anyone by phone, so our tax guy told us the thing to do was claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on our 2020 return. It wouldn’t be quite as much money, but that seemed like the best alternative.

Then the IRS rejected our credit and said we owed taxes. Still unable to reach an IRS worker by phone, we paid. Now, rather than being merely frustrated, we were steamed.

We were among 11 million Americans whose recovery credit was “corrected.”

‘ We need you to call us’

At some point around this time, we reached out to our congressional office and were connected with an aide who’d had some success in resolving various issues. He soon gave up and suggested we, ahem, reapply for the

Recovery Rebate Credit. Where’s the face palm emoji? The fun continued on June 28, 2021, when we received Notice CP32A. “We previously sent you a refund check ... You didn’t cash this check, so it expired on April 28, 2021. We need you to call us before we can send you a replacement check.”

The notice included a phone number. It seemed like a path forward.

Between us, my wife and I spent hours on hold. We left our numbers for return calls. At one point, a worker actually answered. But, despite my having called the number on our notice, she said I had to phone a different number.

I gave up. My wife, Angelyn Frankenberg, refused to yield. In early April, seeking to set up an in- person appointment at the local IRS office, she reached a human being who solved the issue. ( This was the other miracle.) The money was deposited on April 18.

What to do if in the IRS maze

I’ve since looked at data from the Taxpayer Advocate Service, an independent organization within the IRS.

Last year, still working remotely, the IRS got 282 million phone calls, up from an average of about 100 million the previous three years. Only 11% of those calls actually reached a human being. That’s 31 million calls but just 11%! It points to the agency’s dramatic understaffing and the impact of COVID- 19’ s three stimulus payments along with other tax issues.

The IRS is trying like crazy to hire, but you still are clearly very unlikely to reach an IRS worker to help resolve a problem. My wife had “luck,” eventually, by calling our local taxpayer assistance center. The IRS has 359 such centers.

My top takeaway, never unwise, is to follow my wife’s advice and refuse to give up no matter how deeply you find yourself in the bureaucratic thicket.

Additionally, after a period when it could not help with Recovery Rebate Credit issues, the Taxpayer Advocate Service now can assist in some cases. The service says if an eligible taxpayer didn’t receive an Economic Impact Payment, claimed the Rebate Recovery Credit, but then ran into problems, the taxpayer should feel free to reach out to the advocate service.

It has a toll- free national number, 877- 777- 4778. One tiny caveat: The service’s calls are initially answered by IRS call centers, so taxpayers may have to call a few times to get through.

So be like Angelyn.