You know it's bad when an accounts payable issue makes the news. This time it's an article in the Washington Post poking fun at the phone wait times for people attempting to have the IRS answer their tax questions.

The comments in response to not only the article, but on Linked In (where it was shared in a 90,000 member tax professionals group) are equally brutal - with CPA's and others offering examples of phone wait times ranging in the hours for the answer to a single question. One CPA even recommended physically going directly to a local IRS service center as the only workable option.  Do you have hours to sit on the phone at work and wait for an answer, or hop in the car and leave work to get an answer?

Even if you have the time to wait there is another issue - the answer you get will not help you at all if you are subsequently questioned by the IRS through audit, or receive a proposed penalty notice on the same issue you are asking about. That's because you must be able to document in writing your due dilligence/compliance efforts under the law.

Worse yet, the answer you get may not be the right one. With recent budget cuts the IRS has been pouring money into enforcement efforts. The IRS does not have the resources to have tax attorney's or CPA's just sitting around waiting to answer your calls and provide you not only a timely, but audit responsive written answer to your 1099/1042-S related tax questions.

But we do.