There may never be a good time to draw the IRS’ attention, but this year you really want to avoid extra scrutiny.
The IRS is so understaffed and overwhelmed that even a tiny mistake could delay your refund for months. A return that requires “manual processing”—basically, any action by an IRS employee—could join a massive queue that started building at the beginning of the pandemic and has yet to be resolved. If something goes wrong, good luck getting through to a human: The IRS answered about one in 10 calls last year, down from about one in three before the pandemic, according to the National Taxpayer Advocate.
