Lawmakers Request IRS Plan for Processing Backlog

January 14, 2022

Commissioner Charles P. Rettig
Internal Revenue Service
1111 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, D.C. 20224

Dear Commissioner Rettig,

Due to the residual effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has been experiencing significant delays in the processing of tax returns and amended returns. As of December 18, 2021, the IRS has 6.3 million unprocessed individual returns and 2.3 million unprocessed amended returns. Additionally, many taxpayers and eligible Americans have still not received their unemployment compensation, Child Tax Credit payments, and Economic Impact Payments.

The delays and an inability to even reach an IRS customer service representative have caused the local Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) to receive a high volume of inquiries. One TAS Office, for example, has had a number of recent retirements and now has only three advocates remaining. Furthermore, we're hearing of workload shifts from other TAS offices in the region, compounding the problem. Considering the time it takes to train new hires and the constant increase in workload, the remaining TAS advocates will have an overwhelming number of cases to manage.

In addition, these delays are causing taxpayers severe financial hardships and loss. Along with the typical financial strain caused by not receiving refunds, there are additional “downstream” consequences from the delays of tax returns. Taxpayers, for example, may not be able to complete the down payment for a mortgage or apply for student loans because they cannot provide the required tax transcript. No taxpayer should have to lose out on the opportunity to purchase a home and or enroll in college because they are waiting for their returns to be processed.

We therefore urge the IRS to create a plan to efficiently and effectively process the backlog in mailed tax returns, as well as to assist TAS in the hiring and training of new taxpayer advocates, and to advise Congress of that plan.

Sincerely,

Eric Swalwell
Member of Congress

Jim Cooper
Member of Congress

Ro Khanna
Member of Congress

Eleanor Holmes Norton
Member of Congress

Barbara Lee
Member of Congress

Jamie Raskin
Member of Congress

Carolyn B. Maloney
Member of Congress

Peter Welch
Member of Congress

Gwen S. Moore
Member of Congress

Bonnie Watson Coleman
Member of Congress

Tim Ryan
Member of Congress

Sharice L. Davids
Member of Congress

Ed Case
Member of Congress

Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr.
Member of Congress

Jim Costa
Member of Congress

Jahana Hayes
Member of Congress

Jared Huffman
Member of Congress

Mark DeSaulnier
Member of Congress

Dina Titus
Member of Congress

Mark Pocan
Member of Congress

Madeleine Dean
Member of Congress

Marilyn Strickland
Member of Congress

Sanford D. Bishop, Jr.
Member of Congress

Deborah K. Ross
Member of Congress

Mike Quigley
Member of Congress

André Carson
Member of Congress

Marie Newman
Member of Congress

Greg Stanton
Member of Congress

Jan Schakowsky
Member of Congress

Mike Levin
Member of Congress

James R. Langevin
Member of Congress

Sylvia R. Garcia
Member of Congress

Jake Auchincloss
Member of Congress

William R. Keating
Member of Congress

Anna G. Eshoo
Member of Congress

Suzanne Bonamici
Member of Congress

Jimmy Panetta
Member of Congress

Lauren Underwood
Member of Congress

Doris Matsui
Member of Congress

Lizzie Fletcher
Member of Congress

Cynthia Axne
Member of Congress

Frank Pallone, Jr.
Member of Congress

Kathy E. Manning
Member of Congress

Joyce Beatty
Member of Congress

Melanie Stansbury
Member of Congress

Salud Carbajal
Member of Congress

Susan Wild
Member of Congress

Jackie Speier
Member of Congress

Pramila Jayapal
Member of Congress

Ilhan Omar
Member of Congress

Lisa Blunt Rochester
Member of Congress

Karen Bass
Member of Congress

Joseph D. Morelle
Member of Congress

Jesús G. "Chuy" García
Member of Congress

Steve Cohen
Member of Congress

David J. Trone
Member of Congress

Grace Meng
Member of Congress

Chrissy Houlahan
Member of Congress

Chris Pappas
Member of Congress

Chellie Pingree
Member of Congress

Antonio Delgado
Member of Congress

Jennifer Wexton
Member of Congress

Jared Golden
Member of Congress

Ruben Gallego
Member of Congress

Mondaire Jones
Member of Congress

Vicente Gonzalez
Member of Congress

Seth Moulton
Member of Congress

Kim Schrier, M.D.
Member of Congress

Ami Bera, M.D.
Member of Congress

David E. Price
Member of Congress

Earl Blumenauer
Member of Congress

Bill Foster
Member of Congress

Tom Malinowski
Member of Congress

Josh Gottheimer
Member of Congress

Mary Gay Scanlon
Member of Congress

James A. Himes
Member of Congress

Hakeem S. Jeffries
Member of Congress

David N. Cicilline
Member of Congress

Tom O'Halleran
Member of Congress

John Yarmuth
Member of Congress

Adam B. Schiff
Member of Congress

Kathy Castor
Member of Congress