As the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) re-opens, it has some catching up to do: The estimated backlog of unopened IRS mail stands at 11 million.
According to the Taxpayer Advocate, during the shutdown, the IRS generated more than 20 million notices; however, these notices were not mailed to taxpayers.
Think about that number for a moment. Let’s assume that each notice is only two pages long (although any taxpayer or tax professional who has ever seen one knows that it’s typically much longer). One ream of paper holds 500 sheets and weighs 7.25 pounds. If we assume two pages per notice, then forty million pages is 80,000 reams of paper. That’s 290 tons of paper. If they were piled on top of each other, it would reach over 13,333 feet (one ream = approx. 2 inches tall), or 2-1/2 miles. That’s quite the pile of paper.
What this means, realistically, is that getting all of those notices to taxpayers is going to take some time. And – it will come as no surprise to you – that some of the notices sitting in those piles are old, and may include deadlines that already have passed.
It can be frustrating and scary to get a past due notice at the best of times – and again, these are not the best of times. But there is some good news: The IRS is providing additional time to respond before interest or penalties apply.
To make sense of this for taxpayers, the IRS will be sending notices, like Notice 1052-A, Important! You have More Time to make Your Payment, along with the other notices. (I know, it’s sounds very meta.)
You can see a full-sized version here.
The IRS sometimes puts so many notices together that you may be tempted not to read them. I would encourage you to take the extra time to look over your entire mailing, and pay particular attention to due dates (including the extra time allowed to respond).
If you have any questions, be sure to check with the IRS or your tax professional.
