IRS SUSPENDS PAPER RETURN PROCESSING

[Lee B]

"The Internal Revenue Service has stopped processing paper tax returns, with much of its staff now working remotely because of the novel corona virus pandemic, and is encouraging taxpayers to file their taxes electronically during the three-month extension period for this year’s tax season."

With the focus on stimulus rebates, everything else is on the back burner!

[DANRVAN]

9 hours ago, cbslee said:

"The Internal Revenue Service has stopped processing paper tax returns, with much of its staff now working remotely because of the novel corona virus pandemic, and is encouraging taxpayers to file their taxes electronically during the three-month extension period for this year’s tax season."

With the focus on stimulus rebates, everything else is on the back burner!

That is wonderful for taxpayers who cannot e-file because ex-spouse wrongfully claimed dependent and related tax benefits.

[Lee B]

"The IRS is holding mail in trailers during the pandemic

Due to shelter-in-place orders, the Internal Revenue Service has shut down all of its processing centers and has stopped processing paper returns.

This means that many unopened business tax refund requests have been moved into trailers.

“There is so much mail that the Post Office can’t hold it,” said Sunita Lough, deputy commissioner for Services and Enforcement at the IRS during a panel webcast by the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center last week. 

“So we are literally holding it in trailers until our employees can get back,” she said."

[Lee B]

In Payroll News today, the IRS announced the paper processing suspension also includes all Employment Tax Forms i.e. 94x etc.

This will be interesting since less than 30 % of all Forms 941 are actually efiled .

[cred65]

If client has already mail filed 941 for 1st Q would it be wise to use ATX PR and e-file?  Our would that make the situation worse?

[Lee B]

Given the software I am using, all of my 941s are paper filed. The IRS will have records of all the EFTPS payments made by my clients,

so it will all sort itself out eventually. Frankly, I am not concerned, since none of my clients pay by check.

[JohnH]

Several people on an investing forum I participate in have been posting that they filed paper returns within the past few weeks, and of course nothing is happening since IRS isn't processing those returns now.  So what would happen if the taxpayer e-filed a return now?  Presumably it would have processed and the refund would have been issued by the time the IRS gets around to processing the paper return.  Would the taxpayer be in any sort of trouble in that situation?

IRS should create a check box to enable those e-flinging their return to notify them that it is intended to replace a previously paper-filed return.  That would clear things up considerably, although I don't know how many taxpayers might potentially be involved.

[Max W]

On 4/25/2020 at 12:20 PM, JohnH said:

Several people on an investing forum I participate in have been posting that they filed paper returns within the past few weeks, and of course nothing is happening since IRS isn't processing those returns now.  So what would happen if the taxpayer e-filed a return now?  Presumably it would have processed and the refund would have been issued by the time the IRS gets around to processing the paper return.  Would the taxpayer be in any sort of trouble in that situation?

 

If the bottom line on both returns is the same. the IRS will treat it as a duplicate return.  If the numbers are different, because something was changed to allow efiling, it would most likely be treated as an amended return.    Although, the IRS says "don't do it", I know of no penalty, or consequences resulting from doing so.

[Lee B]

I wouldn't do it

[Lion EA]

I wouldn't do it for a client or a non-client. Too much risk that something goes wrong and it's my fault. I wouldn't try to stop someone from doing it himself, because it just might work out fine for him.

[Christian]

It would have been nice to have had prior notice of this and not get these " Where is my refund. I mailed my return two months ago." calls from clients. 

[FDNY]

I hope they secure these trailers and there isn’t a fire.  Those fires get very smoky and paper doesn’t like water.   Sorry, that’s how I think, but on the positive side I’m sure the firefighters will save what they can if adequately notified.