IRS saying Dad didn't file last year, even though they cashed his check

[stealth2]

When my parents had a similar problem, we went to the local IRS office with all of the requisite copies. They were really quite easy to deal with. Best of luck.

 

[Subjection1]

People like Dad are the reason IRS is so far behind. 2021AD and mailing in 1040s to process on paper as a choice.

I've tried doing things both online and by paper, and often find the online way to be more complicated. For example, if I don't know the answer to a certain question on a paper form, I can leave it blank and go to the next question. Online, you're usually not allowed to proceed, and then the whole process stops, and sometimes you have to start all over again, and again.
I was actually going to try doing my state return online once, but was prevented because of a certain attachment I needed to include, which forced me to do it on paper as usual.

 

[LdiJ]

My experience, as an employer and as an individual, have been that if you can actually get through (which is a trick, I'll admit) the IRS is among the Federal agencies that are more helpful than others, YMMV

I would have agreed with you 100% pre-pandemic. However, the IRS has been one of the hardest hit agencies where the pandemic is concerned. Not only were they starting to run behind dealing with mail in returns/docs when the pandemic hit, but they got stuck with administering 3 stimulus payments as well as being drastically understaffed. There was also a period of 3 months or so when they were shut down entirely and not opening any mail at all, and that was a serious contributor to the whole problem.

It is so bad right now that the taxpayer's advocate sent out a notice a couple of months past that they will not take on any cases at all that involve anything that was mailed to the IRS. We have also received numerous notices from the IRS encouraging us to encourage our clients NOT to call them. To just sit back and be patient.

One good thing that they did was to expand what kind of information you can get online. It is now possible to set up an online account with the IRS where you can see what is going on with a lot of things. You have to jump through some major hoops to get the account set up, but once it's done, you can see alot.

 

[LdiJ]

Gee, I thought it was Covid that messed up the IRS for the last two years.

I file a paper tax return. A few pages, a stamp, a check, and I'm done. I have no incentive to go through the effort of efiling through an IRS partner.

Efiling really is a lot simpler. Plus, the IRS is no longer equipped, and probably never will be again, to deal with high volumes of paper returns.

 

[LdiJ]

When my parents had a similar problem, we went to the local IRS office with all of the requisite copies. They were really quite easy to deal with. Best of luck.

Yes...a face to face appointment always did make things really easy with the IRS. It is no longer possible to get a face to face appointment unless it is truly dire circumstances, and even then it is difficult. They no longer take walk ins (that ended pre-pandemic) and you must prove to the people making the appointments that you have a legitimate reason where an appointment is absolutely necessary.

 

[cbg]

My experience was all pre-pandemic so I'm not discounting the possibility that it may be different now.

 

[stealth2]

Yes...a face to face appointment always did make things really easy with the IRS. It is no longer possible to get a face to face appointment unless it is truly dire circumstances, and even then it is difficult. They no longer take walk ins (that ended pre-pandemic) and you must prove to the people making the appointments that you have a legitimate reason where an appointment is absolutely necessary.

Yeah, I wasn't thinking pandemic-related issues... Still, better to try and get someone by phone or take the time to set things uponline...

 

[LdiJ]

Yeah, I wasn't thinking pandemic-related issues... Still, better to try and get someone by phone or take the time to set things uponline...

Setting things up online is the best first step in my opinion. You may get enough information to satisfy your questions or to at least make you realize that you need to simply wait and be patient. Yes, you have to jump through hoops to do so, but only the first time.

 

[davew9128]

My experience was all pre-pandemic so I'm not discounting the possibility that it may be different now.

That ended long before the pandemic anyway. There are no more walk in offices.

 

[cbg]

I only used a walk in office once - mostly it was on the phone. But as I said, YMMV.

 

[Subjection1]

I only used a walk in office once - mostly it was on the phone. But as I said, YMMV.

What exactly is defined as a walk-in office for the IRS? There is an IRS office on the other side of my town, but when I do a search for local offices at this link: https://apps.irs.gov/app/officeLocator/index.jsp I don't get any results. It's not until I expand the search to 100 miles from my zip code that I find anything, which doesn't include the one in town. When I do a Google search using the address of my local office (listed as a Taxpayer Assistance Center), it shows it on the right side of the screen with a green banner above it that reads, "Temporarily Closed". If it's only temporary, then it's strange that it doesn't even show up in the IRS's search tool.
Is the Taxpayer assistance center an IRS walk-in office? And does the fact that it doesn't show up in the search tool indicate that it's closed forever?

 

[LdiJ]

What exactly is defined as a walk-in office for the IRS? There is an IRS office on the other side of my town, but when I do a search for local offices at this link: https://apps.irs.gov/app/officeLocator/index.jsp I don't get any results. It's not until I expand the search to 100 miles from my zip code that I find anything, which doesn't include the one in town. When I do a Google search using the address of my local office (listed as a Taxpayer Assistance Center), it shows it on the right side of the screen with a green banner above it that reads, "Temporarily Closed". If it's only temporary, then it's strange that it doesn't even show up in the IRS's search tool.
Is the Taxpayer assistance center an IRS walk-in office? And does the fact that it doesn't show up in the search tool indicate that it's closed forever?

There no longer are walk in offices. You won't find one because they don't exist. There are offices that take appointments, but those appointments are very difficult to get. You basically have to prove to the person taking appointments that you have a situation that is a dire one, and that you have exhausted all other avenues to resolve the issue. You have not done so.

Your dad's solution is to refile the tax return, electronically if at all possible.