Two House taxwriters are calling for a review of delayed IRS notices after the national taxpayer advocate alerted taxpayers that a second round of notices is delayed and that those being mailed through January 2021 may have due dates that have already passed.
Last month, because of ongoing issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IRS was unable to mail over 11 million notices after they were computer generated, National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins said in a December 22 blog post. The dates on those notices include November 9, 16, and 23 — although not all notices bearing those dates were delayed, she said.
“Similar to the summer, the IRS purged over half of the notices that could not be sent out on time and focused on time-sensitive or statutory notices. The remaining nearly five million notices are being mailed during December and January,” Collins said.
Collins′s blog post caught the attention of Reps. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-N.J., and Mike Kelly, R-Pa., the chair and ranking member, respectively, of the House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee. In a December 22 letter to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the two lawmakers called for a review of the untimely notices.
The letter notes that TIGTA responded to a similar letter from the Ways and Means Committee in June, and it asks the agency to “provide a similar review of the current notice including: TIGTA’s concerns with respect to the mailing of these notices; the number of notices printed and mailed; and who reviewed and approved these notices.”
Pascrell and Kelly asked for recommendations for what the IRS can do to prevent further issuance of untimely or erroneous notices and requested a response from TIGTA by early January 2021.
According to Collins, the December and January mailings of late notices include two groups: those with a Notice 1052-D insert and those without. Notice 1052-D alerts taxpayers that they have more time to respond to the enclosed notice.
Mailings scheduled to include the Notice 1052-D insert are section 6303 notices and demands, section 7524 annual reminder notices, and section 6213(b) math error notices, Collins said.
“The insert provides the taxpayer a new due date, January 29, 2021, to make a payment to avoid additional interest, and additional failure-to-pay penalties, if applicable. The insert also provides taxpayers with math error adjustments until March 9, 2021, to contact the IRS and request the math error be reversed,” Collins said.
The amount stated on the November notice and demand letters is valid and represents the amount to be paid no later than January 29, 2021, Collins said. “If payment is not made by January 29, interest and penalties will accrue as they normally would from the payment due date or return due date (depending on the penalty) until the date of payment, so it is advantageous for taxpayers to pay by January 29,” she said.
The IRS will mail other late notices without including Notice 1052-D, such as correspondence verifying that a taxpayer was a victim of identity theft or to confirm an address change, Collins said, noting that “this category of notices or correspondence does not include balance due notices, and these notices do not generally require a response.”