Ringing up the IRS with an urgent question about tax refunds or filing process can prove to be daunting and time consuming because of the number of questions that the automated voice asks. While it is not equipped to answer all the questions a consumer might have, the automated questions and replies often delay the process of getting in touch with a human being, who would be better at assisting consumers.
Since a huge number of people are awaiting their tax refunds and citizens of certain states are still filing their taxes because of the deadline extension, it is only natural that consumers will have questions about the process and other details. However, waiting for long times on the phone before getting to speak with a human executive naturally feels frustrating and causes unnecessary delays.
As reported by The Mirror US, “According to the IRS, this year’s wait time averages 12 minutes while the longest wait time typically falls on a Monday or Tuesday. While that’s a drastic improvement from the 27-minute average over the past few years, it can still be a pain when you’re in a rush and some phone lines could have even longer wait times.”
However, Meredith Dietz at Lifehacker has come up with a solution to this problem. She has shared an easy 1-2-3 hack that has let her get to a human agent at the IRS in a very short span of time. The IRS can be reached on 1-800-829-1040 from Monday to Friday from 7am to 7pm and to talk to a human agent quickly, the following steps need to be followed:
- Pressing 1 for choosing the desired language
- Pressing 2 for the prompt “For answers about your personal income taxes…”
- Pressing 3 for the prompt for all other questions
For best results, one might choose not to listen to the complete sentences before pressing the button 1, 2, and 3. Moreover, not entering an SSN or EIN number can also aid in saving time, as Meredith pointed out.
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Following this 1-2-3 hack will land your call to a human agent, who would assist you better than the automated voice. While some amount of time will be spent waiting for the human agent, it will be less than the time it would have taken if the hack was not followed.
Once in contact with the human agent, any tax related problems can be discussed with them. However, to ensure a swift resolution for your queries, certain details should be present with you, including your Social Security numbers (SSN) and birth dates, Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) for taxpayers without a Social Security number, filing status (single, head of household, married filing joint, or married filing separate), prior-year tax return, and details of the tax return that the call is about.
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Any previous correspondence with the IRS should also be mentioned on the call to make sure no detail gets omitted while fixing whatever issue you might be facing. However, in case the 1-2-3 hack fails for some reason, people who live near to a local IRS office can contact them directly as they would be able to schedule in-person appointments to sort out any issue one might be facing.
