A tax practitioner, exasperated by a six-week wait for a Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) response regarding a tax refund, recently voiced their frustration to a federal watchdog.
This complaint, highlighting a client’s financial hardship, prompted an investigation that revealed widespread issues with TAS phone services across the U.S.
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) conducted a thorough review of the phone lines at the 76 local TAS offices.
The findings were concerning: some phone lines were out of service, others had full voicemail boxes, and many featured inconsistent recorded messages and unclear callback time frames.
Only two offices answered the call, TIGTA's report said. Fifty-six calls went to voicemail; voicemail boxes at 16 offices were full; and two lines were not in service.
The inconsistencies in service highlight the need for significant improvements in TAS's phone communication systems to ensure timely and reliable support for all taxpayers. See TIGTA’s recommendations.