A call to the IRS is no call that anyone wants to make, especially when you consider the seemingly endless barrage of automated voice prompts that can last minutes or even hours. To be frank, calling the IRS sucks and is something no one wants to do. However, it’s worth noting that while calling the IRS sucks, there are some strategies that can potentially help you get your questions answered sooner. These “strategies” if you want to call them that may help you reach an actual person, instead of hearing a voice prompt that politely tells you to go kick rocks.
Prepare For Your Call With The IRS
Good results never come easy, so in order to reach a human at the IRS, you’ll have to do some homework. But don’t worry you already have all the answers. To prepare for the call and make your IRS call smoother, be sure to have your SSN/TIN number, your filing status, and preferably your prior year’s tax return or a current year tax return in order to answer any qualifying questions that the IRS agent might have. If you have any notices or letters from the IRS from the past year, be sure to have those ready as well.
When To Call The IRS
The IRS like most customer service, services go by a “first come, first serve” basis. If you’re the first person to call a particular department that day, then congratulations! Your wait will be significantly shorter than most. However, most of the time it’s not this way, and you will most likely have a significant wait or will not be able to get a hold of anyone at all. The times of the day that I would recommend calling is either early in the morning or late in the day. The IRS takes call based on your local time from 7:00am to 7:00pm. Also, keep in mind that you cannot call the IRS during the weekend. Well, I guess you can but if it’s not Monday – Friday no one at the IRS will pick up the phone.
How To Call The IRS
- For this example, I am going to use the 1040 phone line for individual taxpayers. The number you will want to call is 1-800-829-1040.
- Then set your language. The two most popular options are English and Spanish. Select your language but keep in mind if you are fluent in Spanish, you will have a better chance of having a really short wait, just due to the low call volume.
- Now select option 2 for “Personal Income Tax” instead.
- Next, press 1 for “form, tax history, or payment”.
- Then, press 3 “for all other questions.”
- After that, you should press 2 “for all other questions.”
- Ignore when the system asks for you Social Security Number or EIN.
- After it asks twice, you will be prompted with another menu.
- Press 2.
- Finally, press 4 for all other inquiries.
And there you have it, that’s how you connect to an IRS agent to hopefully answer your questions about your taxes. Calling the IRS is never fun but with some preparation and know-how, it can be less of an inconvenience. Also, another way to have your complicated tax questions answered simply and effectively, is to get a CPA. It just so happens that I am a CPA and I enjoy helping my clients solve complicated tax forms and questions. If you are looking for a low-cost, high-quality CPA, be sure to contact me at 208-615-5314 or visit WeNeedACPA.com for more information.