New Improvements for Taxpayers: IRS promises better customer service and long-term changes

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that it will begin accepting and processing 2022 tax returns on January 23, 2023. The agency predicts that over 168 million individual income tax returns will be filed this year. The IRS is also promising better customer service, with thousands more phone representatives and in-person staff to help taxpayers with their questions, according to a report by Yahoo on January 13, 2023.

Acting IRS Commissioner Doug O’Donnell stated that the agency expects people to experience improvements this tax season, with long-term transformation efforts to make things even smoother in future years.

The IRS is facing challenges due to the pandemic, including multiple rounds of stimulus checks and an expanded child tax credit, based on the report of the Government Accountability Office on October 11, 2022. In 2023, the agency is working to clear any unprocessed returns and has a new commissioner who will lead the agency in spending $80 billion in the next decade. Tax returns will not be accepted until January 23^rd, 2023, and will be held by tax preparers until then. Forms like W-2s and 1099-NECs are supposed to be sent out by January 31^st, 2023, but may not be received by that date.

The 2023 tax filing deadline is April 18^th, with an option to request an extension to October 16^th, but it doesn’t give you more time to pay any money you owe the IRS. Tax refunds are usually issued within 21 days, but may take longer if filed on paper or if the return requires extra attention. Expect a smaller refund this year due to no federal stimulus checks being given out in 2022.