Have A Used Machine To Donate To IRS?

[BobKamman]

From today's TIGTA audit report.  Read it and weep (or laugh?)

Audit teams continue to perform on-site walkthroughs at the Ogden, Utah, and Kansas City, Missouri, Tax Processing Centers to meet with staff to discuss challenges they are facing as it relates to addressing the ongoing backlogs of inventory. A major concern that surfaced during these walkthroughs was the lack of working printers and copiers. IRS management estimated that, as of March 30, 2021, 69 (42 percent) of 164 devices used by the Submission Processing functions are unusable and others are broken but still functioning.

IRS employees stated that the only reason they could not use many of these devices is because they are out of ink or because the waste cartridge container is full. The contract for supplies and service of the printers ended in September 2020. However, due to COVID-19, these printers remain in the Tax Processing Centers, and the IRS is continuing to use them. The employees we spoke with stated that the IRS entered into a new contract in October 2020 to obtain new printers from a different provider. However, they indicated that the new contractor may not have been coming into the sites to replace the old printers due to COVID-19 concerns.

The lack of working printers and copiers affects many different areas of the IRS but has an especially significant effect on the Return and Income Verification Services functions. For example, in Kansas City, Missouri, this function normally has 10 printers and copiers available to use. As of March 22, 2021, only three of the 10 devices were working. These devices are needed to make copies of tax returns to fulfill requests for tax documents from taxpayers and other institutions. The employees we spoke with were concerned that they would have a work stoppage if these remaining devices became unfunctional. This issue has been an ongoing challenge since March 2020.

When we discussed this issue with IRS management on March 30, 2021, they indicated that they are working with the IRS Information Technology organization to resolve the issue, and that organization has started replacing the devices. 

https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/auditreports/2021reports/202140038fr.pdf

Page 8

[sjrcpa]

🤣 and 😭

Today I learn they are losing faxes. They had no record of a letter of disagreement I faxed in December 2020 re: a matching notice. I have the fax confirmation saying it went through. Taxpayer (86  year old woman) got a Notice of Deficiency today. No intervening correspondence. I had expected them to say they got the letter but hadn't gotten to it yet.

4th year in a row the IRS system can't process the Qualified Charitable Distributions from her IRA.

[BobKamman]

I try to avoid faxes, or to follow up with a mailed paper copy, but last year neither method was reliable.  Meanwhile, I'll trade your 86yo client for my 90yo, who just received an IRS notice rejecting her 2019 return, filed more than a year ago, because they say her SSN belongs to someone who is deceased.  This did not come as a surprise to her, not only because she is aware she is still alive but because the same thing happened with her 2015 return.  It took about a year to resolve that one (Taxpayer Advocate refused to help).  She thinks this is probably why she did not receive EIP2 and EIP3, and she's probably right.  But EIP2 simply reduced the balance due on her 2020 return -- and there was no refund on her 2019 return either, so what are they going to do to her if they think she's dead?  

Meanwhile, to continue the IRS copier shortage story, it turns out part of the problem is that they are running their own publishing operation.  They have to print instructions for new employees because they can't afford to issue tablets or laptops with training manuals:

"During our walkthroughs, local management has expressed frustration and concern with the ability to fill needed positions. Furthermore, once a person is hired, additional training needs to be completed before these new hires are able to assist with resolving current and backlogged inventories. It is also difficult to find working copiers (as noted previously) to be able to prepare training packages for the new hires. Many of these new hires are not provided a computer, and hard copies of the training material are the main training resource available."

[qbteachmt]

"they are losing faxes. They had no record of a letter of disagreement I faxed"

It's in the printer's memory; the printer is waiting for an ink cartridge.

[sjrcpa]

After rereading Bob's post, that occurred to me, too.

[Lord Happy]

It is with an urgent tone in my voice and tears spilling from my eyes that I beseech you to find it in your hearts to donate to the IRS.  Perhaps you have an old printer with a serial plug.  Maybe you have a multi-function unit that was just the wrong size for the space you have or, upon a prayer, you have some ink cartridges that you just never threw out and with a squirt of water, could be liquefied again. 

The IRS needs our help.  Your help.  The fate of the industry is at stake.

Help them Obitax Deductme, you’re their only hope.