According to a new report, the IRS is expected to fail to reach its goal of catching up on the millions of unprocessed returns, a number that is expected to rise exponentially next year.
The Report
Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration reported Thursday that 9.6 million returns remained pending processing or other resolution as of the week ending Oct. 28, 2022, compared to 10.8 million for the week ending Oct. 30, 2021. It is unlikely that the IRS will be able to catch up on the backlog by the end of the year as originally planned by former IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig.
“The delays in processing backlogged tax returns continue to burden taxpayers,” said the report. “Our assessment of the remaining inventory and increased production levels indicates that the IRS will not meet all of its goals by the end of the calendar year 2022 and will continue to have a backlog into the 2023 filing season.”
Get Healthy Plan
In March of 2022, the IRS announced an initiative known as the “Get Healthy Plan”. This plan was put in place to address the massive amounts of backlog that plagued the IRS during the pandemic. The plan aimed to return the IRS to “healthy” inventory levels by the end of 2022 in preparation for the 2023 season. During the 2022 filing season, the IRS took many steps in addressing staff needs at its tax-processing centers and Accounts Management function. These efforts have resulted in a recent uptick in productivity levels in terms of the number of returns processed.
“However, our assessment of remaining inventory indicates that the IRS will not meet all of its goals by the end of the calendar year 2022,” said the TIGTA report. “As a result, the IRS will continue to have a backlog into the 2023 filing season.”
Wrap Up
It is disappointing news to hear that the IRS has to go back on its promise that most unprocessed returns were going to be dealt with before the 2023 season. However, the agency has noted they are working hard to get as much done as they can before the start of the 2023 season.