IRS Operations During COVID-19: Mission-Critical Functions Continue

If your client mailed a check with or without a tax return, it may still be unopened in the backlog of mail the IRS is processing due to COVID-19. Any payments will be posted as the date IRS received them rather than the date the agency processed them. To avoid penalties and interest, taxpayers should not cancel their checks and should ensure funds continue to be available so the IRS can process them. To provide fair and equitable treatment, the IRS is providing relief from bad check penalties for dishonored checks the agency received between March 1 and July 15 due to delays in IRS processing. However, interest and penalties may still apply. Due to high call volumes, the IRS suggests waiting to contact the agency about any unprocessed paper payments still pending. See www.irs.gov/payments for options to make payments other than by mail.

Updated notice on IRS functions during COVID

Updated August 13 2020

The Internal Revenue Service reminds taxpayers and tax professionals to use electronic options to support social distancing and speed the processing of tax returns, refunds and payments.

To protect the public and employees, and in compliance with orders of local health authorities around the country, certain IRS services such as live assistance on telephones, processing paper tax returns and responding to correspondence continue to be extremely limited. Any tax return which requires review, whether it was filed electronically or on paper, may also take longer because many review processes cannot be done virtually. While some volunteer tax preparation sites are operating at a reduced capacity, most remain closed until further notice.