Reporter Brian Naylor: Taxpayer service is poor and getting worse, according to the blunt headline of a report written by the Taxpayer Advocate Service, an independent office within the IRS. It calls the declining quality of service the top problem for taxpayers. How bad? The IRS is predicting it will only be able to answer half of the 100 million calls it expects from taxpayers this year, and those who do get through can expect to wait a half hour to hear a live voice.
Nina Olson: You’re going to need to be patient. I’ve joked, bring your knitting – have some project to do while you’re waiting on the phone, and you may have to call a number of times if you need to get through to the IRS.
Read more about declining taxpayer service in the 2014 Annual Report to Congress.