On January 11th National Taxpayer Advocate Erin M. Collins released her annual report to Congress detailing IRS activities (this report is for 2022). The big takeaway is that if you think you can call the IRS and get help with your 1099 filing questions, then think again.

According to the report customer service representatives (CSRs) only answered 13 percent of those calls coming in seeking help with caller's filing questions. As a result, most callers could not obtain answers to their tax law questions, get help with account problems, or speak with a CSR about IRS notices received. “Among the lucky one in eight callers who was able to reach a CSR, the IRS reported that hold times averaged 25 minutes,” the report says.

Of course, telephone delays place Accounts Payable and Tax professionals in the difficult position of wasting time trying to find answers to your 1099 questions. Or, you could end up hiring a third party that bills by the hour and then pay for the time spent trying to reach the IRS or writing off that time. As Collins writes in last week's report: “The challenges of the past three filing seasons have pushed tax professionals to their limits, raising client doubts in their abilities and creating a loss of trust in the system.”

If that isn't bad enough, note that though the IRS is finally ramping up hiring (thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law in August 2022) these are new hires with all that entails. That means if you even do get through to a CSR, the odds of them being able to provide you with 1099 guidance that is actually helpful to your particular facts and circumstances is next to non-existent. 

Though the IRS is not offering meaningful help - we are. We not only answer all of our subscribers 1099 questions in two business days or less (providing written answers from actual tax attorneys that you can also use to help show reasonable cause), but we do something as well. We educate our subscribers. We do this via providing access to thousands of questions previously answered, hundreds of articles and tax tips, as well as attendance for all of our subscribers at educational webinars (where you can also earn 2.0-3.0 CPE credits from our NASBA certified CPE providers). And we do it all for as low as $49 per month, regardless of how many questions you ask or how long it takes us to find your answers!

The best thing we do is help you get smarter. Not only will you be able to handle more issues as you learn, but you can rely on us to assist you not only when you just want an answer but also in solving the really tough curve balls ever-changing federal due diligence and filing regulations throw at you!