You may think you don’t want an IRS online tax account… but you definitely do. The IRS is seriously messed up right now – worse than I’ve ever seen. They’re hard to reach. Many agents aren’t helpful… and some are downright nasty. So having an Online Tax Account will make your life easier… especially at tax time.
Right now, the IRS tax processing backlog is truly mind-blowing with around 10 million returns from 2020 still lying around unopened. The agency is making tons of mistakes, including sending out payment due notices to people who paid their taxes through the IRS website.
And the team in charge of letting accountants talk to the IRS on behalf of taxpayers isn’t taking calls. At all.
But they have made one thing easier: Accessing the tax records they have for you. Right now it take days of calling and hours of sitting on hold before you can actually talk to a person at the IRS. But you can do a lot of DIY stuff once you get your IRS Online Tax Account up and running. Here are 4 key reasons you want to set up your account.
1. Get Tax Notices in Your Online Account
Spotty mail service has been a huge issue for taxpayers for more than a year. And since the IRS sends their notices through the mail, that causes a lot of problems. Notices have been arriving late, when they even get delivered at all. And the IRS has sent nearly 11 million of them in 2021 alone.
Sometimes they come so late that the IRS deadline has passed and it’s too late to respond. That can put taxpayers like you in a very frightening position. Because if you don’t respond – or they don’t get your response by the deadline – that means you agree with them. Even if you don’t.
Your online account contains pdf copies of “select” (their word) tax notices. But from what I’ve seen, those have been showing up on time for me and my clients. Having access to notices lets you clear up problems and dispute IRS mistakes while you still have time.
2. IRS Offers DIY Payment Plans
If you can’t pay your whole tax bill by the filing due date, the IRS offers a bunch of options that let you pay over time. When you have an online account, you can:
- Set up a payment plan
- Change your payment plan
- Check the current status of your payment plan
All without having to deal with an IRS agent. You can do it on the spot.
3. Tons of Info in Your Online Tax Account
Your online account includes all sorts of information that the IRS has about you. That can help you make sure your own records match up… and prevent problems if they don’t.
The information you can view includes:
- The remaining balance due for any year you owe taxes
- Your payment history
- Copies of IRS notices
- The amount of stimulus payments you received
- The current address they have on file for you – especially important if they’re mailing payments to you
- Details from your most currently filed tax returns
- Tax information sent by 3rd parties, like W-2s and 1099s
4. Tax Transcripts
You know all of those tax documents you get every year? The ones you use to prepare your income tax return? Well the IRS get them, too. That’s how they can tell the income you report matches the info they received for the people who paid you.
All of the info they get goes into your tax transcript. And between messed up mail delivery and email avalanches, you could easily be missing a tax form here or there.
Checking out your transcript helps you make sure you aren’t missing any crucial documents. That’s why many tax preparers – including me – are adding those to the list for next tax season. It’s an easy way to avoid a mismatch notice from the IRS.
Simplify Next Tax Season with an IRS Online Account
If you’re like most people – including me and many of my clients – you don’t remember every bit of income you earned in 2021. You don’t remember how much you got for the 3rd stimulus payment, or if you even got one at all.
Instead of racking your brain trying to remember it all and worrying because you’re not positive that you do, check your IRS online account. You’ll be able to see everything they have – right or wrong. And if it’s wrong, you have time to proactively fix or dispute the issue. Before it turns into an anxiety-causing tax notice.