Lawmakers Urge IRS to Resolve Relief Payments Before Year's End

Ways and Means Democrats Demand IRS Resolve All Outstanding EIP Inquiries Before the End of the Year

The Committee Members also requested IRS keep the EIP mailbox for congressional offices open through next filing season

December 3, 2020

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Ways and Means Democrats, led by Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA) and Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ), demanded that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) resolve all remaining inquiries on economic impact payments (EIPs) before the end of the year. In their letter to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, the lawmakers also requested that the IRS keep the EIP mailbox for congressional offices open through the end of the next filing season. The tool was created after congressional offices were inundated with requests from desperate constituents seeking a more direct pathway to IRS assistance during the COVID-19 crisis.

“Though the Committee appreciates the IRS's belated efforts to address constituent inquiries, we were very troubled to learn that, in a matter of days, the IRS will shut down the mailbox, a vital resource for congressional offices to communicate with the IRS,” the Ways and Means Democrats emphasized to Commissioner Rettig. “The IRS abruptly announced that it would stop accepting new inquiries on Monday, November 30 and would cease work on all open inquiries by December 10. Constituents with unresolved issues, including non-filers, will be forced to file a 2020 tax return to claim a Recovery Rebate Credit. For some constituents, the unresolved issues may well continue to impact their claims next year, and they will have to start over with the IRS from scratch. This is not right.”

“An EIP of $1200, $2400, or more can be a lifeline for a family in severe financial distress, especially at this time of year,” the lawmakers stressed. “Therefore, we urge the IRS to keep the EIP mailbox open through the end of the 2021 filing season. This not only will enable the IRS to continue addressing existing constituent inquiries and making payments through December 31, 2020 but will also allow the IRS to assist additional constituents who encounter issues when trying to claim a Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2020 tax return.”

In conclusion, the Ways and Means Democrats cautioned the IRS that: “Based on lessons that should have been learned this year, the IRS should foresee that constituents' issues will not vanish when the new filing season starts.”

The full letter is available HERE.

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December 3, 2020

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

Dear Commissioner Rettig,

We write today to urge the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to resolve all outstanding constituent inquiries related to economic impact payments (EIPs) before the end of the year. As Members of the Committee on Ways and Means (Committee), we are deeply concerned that the IRS will leave vulnerable Americans behind unless it continues working open EIP cases and issuing payments through December 31, 2020. Further, we respectfully request that the IRS keep the EIP mailbox for congressional offices open through the end of the next filing season, as we anticipate that our constituents will continue to encounter issues when claiming their Recovery Rebate Credit next year.

As you know, earlier this year, the IRS established an EIP mailbox through which congressional offices could submit constituent inquiries. For months prior, congressional offices had been inundated with requests from desperate constituents. The IRS had provided only very limited, generalized assistance to congressional offices and constituents alike and even canceled an EIP webinar meant for the general public. Accordingly, upon launching the mailbox, the IRS received a predictably massive volume of constituent inquiries from congressional offices. Inexcusably, the IRS was ill-prepared for this expected caseload, and the mailbox was thus largely unresponsive to distressed constituents seeking resolution of their months-old inquiries.

Though the Committee appreciates the IRS's belated efforts to address constituent inquiries, we were very troubled to learn that, in a matter of days, the IRS will shut down the mailbox, a vital resource for congressional offices to communicate with the IRS. The IRS abruptly announced that it would stop accepting new inquiries on Monday, November 30 and would cease work on all open inquiries by December 10. Constituents with unresolved issues, including non-filers, will be forced to file a 2020 tax return to claim a Recovery Rebate Credit. For some constituents, the unresolved issues may well continue to impact their claims next year, and they will have to start over with the IRS from scratch. This is not right. When over 80 million Americans received their EIPs automatically in early April, it should not be this difficult for constituents who diligently escalated their claims to the IRS to receive that very same emergency assistance.

An EIP of $1200, $2400, or more can be a lifeline for a family in severe financial distress, especially at this time of year. Therefore, we urge the IRS to keep the EIP mailbox open through the end of the 2021 filing season. This not only will enable the IRS to continue addressing existing constituent inquiries and making payments through December 31, 2020 but will also allow the IRS to assist additional constituents who encounter issues when trying to claim a Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2020 tax return. Based on lessons that should have been learned this year, the IRS should foresee that constituents' issues will not vanish when the new filing season starts.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

The Honorable Richard E. Neal, Chairman
Committee on Ways and Means

The Honorable Bill Pascrell Jr.,
Subcommittee on Oversight

The Honorable Lloyd Doggett

The Honorable Mike Thompson

The Honorable Earl Blumenauer

The Honorable Ron Kind

The Honorable Danny K. Davis

The Honorable Brian Higgins

The Honorable Judy Chu

The Honorable Brendan F. Boyle

The Honorable Dwight Evans

The Honorable Tom Suozzi

The Honorable Stephanie Murphy

The Honorable Steven Horsford

The Honorable Terri A. Sewell

The Honorable Suzan K. DelBene

The Honorable Daniel T. Kildee

The Honorable Don Beyer

The Honorable Bradley S. Schneider

The Honorable Jimmy Panetta

The Honorable Jimmy Gomez

cc:
Erin M. Collins, National Taxpayer Advocate