IRS lost my tax return

[Bamaman]

Let's face it. Good help is awfully hard to find in this job market. The IRS is probably worse off than private industry in their job hires.

 

[aja8888]

Thanks all. We get IP PINs and are required to file paper returns. The IRS letter didn’t explicitly say not to include correspondence. Would it be OK to include a cover letter and a copy of my certified mail receipt? Anything else I should/shouldn’t do when I mail them my return?

Yes, one page cover letter, copy of return, copy of both sides of the return receipt. And send this package certified mail, return receipt.

Also include a copy of the notice they sent you.

 

[Involuntary Retiree]

Let's face it. Good help is awfully hard to find in this job market. The IRS is probably worse off than private industry in their job hires.

Why? IRS employees are well-paid, have access to all federal benefits (including health and retiree benefits), and have union representation (to preserve all of the above).

 

[mystang52]

I've been using TurboTax for years. After reading this thread, any chance of me going back to paper filing is nil.

 

[Involuntary Retiree]

I've been using TurboTax for years. After reading this thread, any chance of me going back to paper filing is nil.

My takeaway is simply not to overpay for the tax year, thus triggering payment of a refund. Usually, I send a small check along with our paper return. But, our 2020 tax year strategy changed towards the end of the year based on my DH's extended consulting contract, and it was better for us to itemize rather than to take the standard deduction. My new rule: never overpay; always owe.


If the IRS wants to take issue with my filing of a tax return, well, I can show I mailed it, the IRS received it, and the other three paper returns (two states and one municipality) filed at the same time managed to somehow be processed efficiently.

 

[KCGeezer]

Got a letter from the IRS saying I hadn't filed my 2020 return. According to the letter, I have a credit for a tax payment. The tax was paid by a check I enclosed in the same envelope as the return! They've asked me to file again. Anybody else experience anything like this or have any advice?

I’m in exactly the same situation. Mailed return and check because efile was locking up the last day or two for filing. Check cleared a few weeks later so didn’t give it another thought. Lo and behold, efile won’t allow us to do anything this year because 2020 is not on file.

Well, I finally got through to them and the guy actually did admit they had cashed the check. I offered to send a copy of the return the guy said ‘well we cashed the check so we must have received the return, give it another 12-16 weeks’. That was in early December.

I guess I’ll hear from them at some point.

 

[Badger]

Since I have long since stopped figuring taxes with a pencil and paper. I have been using the free service by AARP that e-files for me and provides copies. I also send checks quarterly throughout the year and try to make sure I owe just a little bit more to send instead of getting a refund. Maybe at some point I may have to do them myself but by then I may not have the mental capacity to file. With problems like this and all the scams via email, phone calls, texts, snail mail, it is getting harder all the time to stay safe.



Cheers!

 

[Gotadimple]

Thanks all. We get IP PINs and are required to file paper returns. The IRS letter didn’t explicitly say not to include correspondence. Would it be OK to include a cover letter and a copy of my certified mail receipt? Anything else I should/shouldn’t do when I mail them my return?

Call them! Talk with an agent who can give you the answer. You can leave a call back number if agents are backed up with calls. The system will tell you how long it will take for a return call.

I am the treasurer of a small condominium and we pay our taxes by EFPTS and are required to mail a return. They can't find the return. I called them when I got the letter, and the agent told me exactly how to fax the return, and how many times, and when to set a follow up call to find out if they had keyed it in (based on her understanding of their work load).

- Rita

 

[Dog]

So, any penalty or issue (other than the trouble to send the return a second time)? I still do paper returns and typically plan to owe a small amount which I always pay by check with the return. I haven't had any lost return letters yet but expect the IRS is not running like a finely tuned machine of late.

I pulled our tax file and it was our 2018 tax return.
We assumed the tax return had been processed since they cashed the check we sent and tax packaged was shown as delivered on 4/8/2019 at 7am per certified mail. It was sent on 4/5/2019.
We received a letter (LTR 418-C) dated 5/30/19 thanking us for our payment. Their records showed receiving Form 1095-B on 4/9/19, but couldn’t find the tax return. It instructed us to send the information by 6/17/19 to an specific address in the letter. We sent another copy of the return on 6/4/19 via certified mail. It was shown as received delivered on 6/7/19 at 6:25am.
We received a letter (LTR 96C) on 8/2/19 to confirm our correspondence had been received on 6/10/19 and no further action was required. Case closed
Your situation sounds similar.

Good luck

 

[Rocket Man]

I prepare four other returns besides our own. They are mailed in a very timely fashion. One month ago, one person received a letter from IRS that they do not have his 2020 return, however, they had cashed his payment check. Had to send them a duplicate return. Today, another person received the same letter, and they had also cashed her payment check. I have to get another duplicate return sent in tomorrow. These are fairly basic returns. This has never happened before until these 2020 returns. Apparently, the IRS has become a train wreck this past year!

 

[aja8888]

I prepare four other returns besides our own. They are mailed in a very timely fashion. One month ago, one person received a letter from IRS that they do not have his 2020 return, however, they had cashed his payment check. Had to send them a duplicate return. Today, another person received the same letter, and they had also cashed her payment check. I have to get another duplicate return sent in tomorrow. These are fairly basic returns. This has never happened before until these 2020 returns. Apparently, the IRS has become a train wreck this past year!

If you read one of my posts above, you will see that I had a 2.5 year long battle with these IRS folks on a lost return. All this happened during the pandemic. When talking with an agent in the middle of all this as to why no one had answered any of the continuing letters I sent, he said that the IRS had 11 million pieces of mail sent in that had not been opened during the pandemic when all of their folks were "working from home". These people are buried in paper.

 

[RetMD21]

Apparently, the IRS has become a train wreck this past year!

Stimulus checks, retirements etc have taken their toll. Apparently they will be starting the 2021 tax filing season before finishing 2020. Sounds bad.

 

[orchid55]

We paper filed in March of 2021, got the receipt that they received it. Since June we have been getting the same message on "Where's my refund?" - we received your return and it is being processed. They owe us $17,000 - mostly a refund of our ACA premiums.

We paper filed as our 2019 return was e-filed by our accountant and hacked enroute to the IRS. Refund was taken by the hackers as well as the first stimulus payment. Long hours on the phone and my congressman's office helping finally resulted in the money being returned in February of 2021. So in our situation e-filing resulted in being hacked, and paper filing is taking forever.

 

[John Galt III]

Went to my local IRS office. Security guard inside. Sign on door 'Do not knock' and 'by appointment only' and some 800 numbers to call. No paper tax forms. Just empty cubbies with 'out of stock' notices in *all* of them. OK, we get it, you don't want paper forms. Luckily I found a 1040 directions and a 1040 forms packet at my local library. Yay, library! Still have to find 2 more paper forms. Supposedly you can call an 800 number and get forms mailed to you, free, I would hope.

 

[aja8888]

Jan 12, 2022 from Forbes:

The Internal Revenue Service announced this week that the 2022 tax season filing start date—when you file your 2021 tax return—is Monday, January 24. Meanwhile, millions of people are still waiting for their 2020 tax year tax refunds. And the taxpayer advocate is warning of refund delays this tax season.

“I am deeply concerned about the upcoming filing season. Paper is the IRS’ Kryptonite, and the agency is still buried in it,” said Collins. How bad was it last year? Taxpayers faced long processing and refund delays, difficulty reaching the IRS by phone, correspondence that went unprocessed for many months, collection notices issued while taxpayer correspondence was awaiting processing, limited or no information on the Where’s My Refund? tool for delayed returns and difficulty obtaining timely assistance from the Taxpayer Advocate Service, an independent organization within the IRS that Collins heads up. Last year, TAS got more than 66,000 congressional referrals, six times the pre-pandemic level of inquiries.

Millions of e-filed returns were held up as the IRS issued math error notices because of discrepancies related to 2020 tax year stimulus payments. The most common error (11 million returns) was around Recovery Rebate Credit claims by taxpayers who didn’t get stimulus payments. The mismatch triggers a math error notice; a taxpayer’s response go into the paper pile; and any refund is further delayed. Paper returns were taking up to eight months to process, and there were cases where amended returns took more than a year to process.

Besides all this, there is still a backlog of 8 million business returns.

 

[ocean view]

Went to my local IRS office. Security guard inside. Sign on door 'Do not knock' and 'by appointment only' and some 800 numbers to call. No paper tax forms. Just empty cubbies with 'out of stock' notices in *all* of them. OK, we get it, you don't want paper forms. Luckily I found a 1040 directions and a 1040 forms packet at my local library. Yay, library! Still have to find 2 more paper forms. Supposedly you can call an 800 number and get forms mailed to you, free, I would hope.

You can download any form you need from the IRS website and print it from your home computer (or the library’s computer). Just enter the form number or form name in the search box. Be sure to pay attention to the tax year on the form and use the most current version. Some forms are updated every year, others don’t change as frequently.

https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions

 

[Involuntary Retiree]

For the past couple of years, the IRS is dysfunctional and nonfunctional, yet it expects all taxpayers to toe the line and file/pay when expected. What a joke.

 

[John Galt III]

....snip We paper filed as our 2019 return was e-filed by our accountant and hacked enroute to the IRS. Refund was taken by the hackers as well as the first stimulus payment. Long hours on the phone and my congressman's office helping finally resulted in the money being returned in February of 2021. So in our situation e-filing resulted in being hacked, and paper filing is taking forever.

Sounds awful. I think I will continue to paper file for 2020 tax year. Not expecting a refund, anyway. So I can wait.

 

[RetiredAt55.5]

My takeaway is simply not to overpay for the tax year, thus triggering payment of a refund. Usually, I send a small check along with our paper return. But, our 2020 tax year strategy changed towards the end of the year based on my DH's extended consulting contract, and it was better for us to itemize rather than to take the standard deduction. My new rule: never overpay; always owe.

Meanwhile, in an Ibond thread, some people plan on overpaying estimated payments by $5k, so they can get an extra $5k of paper Ibonds as part of their tax refund.

https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/i-bond-rate-11-2021-a-111509-14.html

E.g., see post #269

 

[Involuntary Retiree]

Meanwhile, in an Ibond thread, some people plan on overpaying estimated payments by $5k, so they can get an extra $5k of paper Ibonds as part of their tax refund.

https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/i-bond-rate-11-2021-a-111509-14.html

E.g., see post #269

Yes, so not only are these taxpayers counting on the IRS to refund their overpaid tax liabilities timely and efficiently, they are also taking on the responsibility for keeping up with paper bonds. Nope for me.

 

[Involuntary Retiree]

Yes, so not only are these taxpayers counting on the IRS to refund their overpaid tax liabilities timely and efficiently, they are also taking on the responsibility for keeping up with paper bonds. Nope for me.

Having said that, I have bought my quota of I bonds through Treasury Direct both for 2021 and 2022. They are currently a great deal (I think). But, not sure I want to keep up with paper bonds or relying on the payment of a refund to purchase them.

 

[Koolau]

You make a mistake and it's your problem. They make a mistake and it's your problem. What's wrong with this picture?

I now e-file through my CPA. But back when I mailed my return, I always sent it registered/signature returned. Never had a problem but I was as prepared as possible though I'm sure I would be the one doing all the work if a return were lost. YMMV

 

[lizsallen]

Hi, I got the same letter. After spending an hour on hold, I finally got a live person. He verified my check was cashed. He said they are very back logged because of Covid. Said to call back in May if I haven't heard anything. He specifically said not to file another return right now. Did make a note in my file that I called. I would suggest calling so they can document things.

 

[cathy63]

In today's news: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/01/28/irs-backlog-taxpayer-notices/

...the IRS announced it was suspending the mailing of certain automated notices because of a backlog in processing returns...

Many taxpayers have been receiving what’s called a “CP80 Notice.” Taxpayers who had already filed a return are told to send a newly signed copy to the address listed in the notice.

Perhaps finally the IRS realized the absurdity of the request for more paperwork.

“In many situations, the tax return may be part of our current paper tax inventory and simply hasn’t been processed,” the agency statement said. “Stopping these letters — which could have otherwise been sent to thousands of taxpayers — will help avoid confusion.”...

 

[Taxman59]

They cashed my check, but didn't log in the return. Same for my sister and a charitable trust I am trustee of. I believe they are understaffed and solve their problem by "losing" the returns so that they can catch up. I have been preparing tax returns for over 40 years, and this is the worst its ever been.