WASHINGTON, DC-Today, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA) and Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ) requested the Internal Revenue Service respond to their concerns over the agency’s preparedness for the upcoming tax filing season due to ongoing backlogs that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Clearly, the current filing season has been long and challenging for the IRS due to the ongoing pandemic, and we are concerned about another filing season fast approaching," the Chairs wrote. “Millions of taxpayers still have not had their tax returns processed, and we continue to hear from constituents who now believe their returns are ‘missing’ and others who anxiously await needed refunds. With the current backlogs, it appears the processing of 2019 returns likely will extend into 2021."
Neal and Pascrell concluded: “While we remain troubled by the backlogs and issues attendant to the current filing season overflowing into the next year, we also are worried that the next filing season will arrive without the normal IRS preparedness and the necessary pandemic contingency preparedness."
The Chairmen requested answers to the following questions by Oct. 29, 2020:
* Will the 2021 filing season begin on time next year?
* On what date does the IRS expect to open the 2021 filing season?
* Is the IRS prepared for the 2021 filing season?
