Is Practioner Priority not working until this is over?

[Roberts]

Need to call someone at the IRS and the number says no live service is available.

Is there a number for anyone to call? Or do I need to pull their transcripts?

[Margaret CPA in OH]

I'm thinking they have gone home, too.  I called about 10 days ago and was really helped by PPS then the Lien unit and got the POA in the pipeline.  When I call again a couple of days later to check the status, got the no live service message.  Since my client needs  a specific payoff amount and payoff letter, I/we can only hope it will come faxed to me or mailed to client by closing date.  Then again, I'm not sure the closing can take place now. 

If you have the option, I think pull transcripts.  Even if my POA has gone to CAF unit by now (takes a few days after faxing to agent), I don't think a payoff amount or letter would be available in e-services. 

 

[Roberts]

My tax rep informed me that all personal contact via the phone is essentially done for now. They closed all the offices and until they can either return the employees or set up "work from home" solutions for the employees, they are done. I don't know how the IRS can securely allow work from home on such data. Just my opinion.

[Lee B]

Copied from IRS eNews:

 

"IRS mission-critical operations continue; no face-to-face assistance

To protect employees and taxpayers, the IRS has scaled back our operations to focus on mission-critical activities for the nation. We continue to follow guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) as well as state and local officials to ensure the safety of IRS employees and the public we serve.

Many IRS offices in areas hardest hit by COVID-19 are closed or have reduced operations on mission-critical items. Telework-eligible employees across the IRS continue to work during this period.

The IRS emphasizes it is assessing its operations on a daily basis. The following is an overview of various operations of interest to taxpayers and tax professionals:

In-person assistance. The IRS has temporarily suspended almost all face-to-face contacts with taxpayers. All Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs) are closed and face-to-face service discontinued throughout the country until further notice. For taxpayers with TAC appointments, every effort to resolve the taxpayer's assistance needs by phone will be made.

Automated applications. IRS.gov and many automated applications remain available, including such things as Where's My Refund, the IRS2Go phone app and online payments and online payment agreements.

Telephones. Limited live telephone customer service assistance is currently available, but local office closings, limited call site staff and high demand means that there is extremely high call volume. Wait times will be lengthy. The IRS strongly urges people to use IRS.gov for information.

Practitioner Priority Service (PPS) – Practitioners are reminded that, depending on staffing levels going forward, there may be more significant wait times for the PPS. The IRS will continue to monitor this as situations develop."

Taxpayer appointments. During this period, all face-to-face appointments at an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center are cancelled. Taxpayers do not need to call to cancel their appointments.

Taxpayer correspondence. While able to receive mail, the IRS will be responding to paper correspondence only to a very limited degree during this period. Taxpayers who mail correspondence to the IRS during this period should expect to wait longer than usual for a response. Even after normal operations resume as it will take the IRS time to work through any correspondence backlog."

[Max W]

"Practitioner Priority Service (PPS) – Practitioners are reminded that, depending on staffing levels going forward, there may be more significant wait times for the PPS. The IRS will continue to monitor this as situations develop."

The IRS has no phone service.  I use enQ, a service that connects to PPS, Collections, AUR and a few more, withing less than 3 minutes. All I get now is a message that that these service are not available.