Do Tiny Steps Equal Progress?


       As the IRS has dealt with the partial Federal government shutdown, its impact has had a ripple effect. For example, companies who finance or refinance loans have no way of verifying information from potential consumers. So this would stall the application process. Now that they have been ordered to reopen, these services are starting to come back online. However, there is a huge backlog in many cases. The wise course is to understand that the wait will be long, up to 2 ½ months for certain requests.

          There are some free services that Taxpayers have used in the past. However, as of this writing, they are either showing error messages online or recorded messages over the phone saying that no help is available. There is a need to check on a regular basis to see if/when different services are opened up.

          With this being the first year of filing under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, there will more than likely be many questions and a great need for clarification. There are new forms and schedules that are in use. At this point, there is no expectation that guidance will be given. There is a good chance that many will have a tax debt, instead of a refund when they file this year and not understand why. Some in Congress are asking the IRS to waive any penalties that may come up because of TCJA changes for this year, because of the uncertainty provided by the shutdown. This is a fluid situation, and things are changing day-by-day.

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