As with most things with dealing with the IRS, learning your accurate balance owed is a tedious pursuit. However, we hope to provide an easy roadmap of options you can take to help guide you. There are four different ways that you can find out your IRS balance, listed below, and based upon the longest to shortest time frames for results:
Send them a Form in the Mail:
You can mail in a request for your transcript which will show your balance. If you owe for multiple years you will need to send them a request for each year. This process is lengthy and penalties and interest will continue to accrue while you are awaiting their response. When you do get a response from them, they will do their best to post-date the letter to show the accrual of interest and penalties and the future balance owed.
Call them to ask of your IRS Balance:
Giving the IRS a call used to be an easy wait time, however a lot has changed. It’s now a very lengthy process. Current wait times are in excess of three hours, if you’re able to get through. A lot of people are complaining they only get a response of “all agents are busy, please try again later.” Covid has created a log jam at the IRS, and it was compounded with new covid tax laws and stimulus. The IRS was not equipped to handle all these changes so quickly and it created unbearable wait times. If you want to give it a try, you can reach them at 1-800-829-1040.
Register on the IRS online tool:
The online tool can be an easy way to see your IRS balance, and pay off amounts. The obstacle is in the registration process. It is robust to prevent identity theft. Because of that you will need lots of personal information like: bank account information, auto loans, past filing statuses, and provide a soft credit check in order to verify your identity. Once registered it can be a great tool.
Hire a tax professional:
This is by far the easiest as you can sit back while someone else does the work for you. A tax professional that is registered with the IRS accesses a practitioner priority line with the IRS. The wait times are significantly less. In addition, the information accessed will give the tax professional everything they need in order to put a customized plan for dealing with the tax debt. The cost is low and the work can be completed quickly, and accurately.
There are many ways to get your balance with the IRS. Some are easier and faster than others, but don’t forget that once you have that information you will still need to find a solution. Knowing the debt is a good first step, but you need to have a plan to deal with the debt.
Please contact us if you are having trouble finding your IRS balance or if you’d like one of our tax professionals to review your situation and give you professional advice. You can reach us at 1-800-822-4122 or visit our website at www.taxdebtservices.com.