When the IRS Has Questions (And You Have to Wait) — A Survival Guide
I approach taxes like a game. I always want to play by the rules — I don’t want to cheat — but I’m competitive and I like to win. And in this case, winning equals paying what you owe — no more and no less. I like to know all the rules so I can win fairly.
Because I use less common but fully legitimate tax moves, there have been times where my returns required additional steps and scrutiny — which is appropriate given what I was doing. The problem is that those additional steps mean waiting for a human at the IRS to review them. And over the past few years, there have been fewer and fewer people doing that work.
So I’ve had to learn how to navigate the system. Not the easy part — filing your return, getting your refund, moving on with your life. The hard part. The part where something goes sideways and you need someone at the IRS to actually look at it.
Here’s everything I’ve learned.
First, don’t panic
If you get a letter from the IRS, your first instinct will be fear. That’s normal. But most IRS letters are not audits. True audits are rare — the vast majority of notices are automated. Something didn’t match. A document was missing. A number looked off. The IRS relies on matching systems — if your W-2 or 1099 income doesn’t match what you reported, their system flags it automatically and sends you a notice.
Not every letter is equal. Some notices are purely informational. Others are bills. A few require action fast. Your job when you open the envelope is to figure out which one you have, read it carefully, and note the deadline. The worst thing you can do is ignore it. Silence doesn’t make it go away — it makes it worse. Respond by the date they give you, and most of the time, it’s a non-event.
And even if you do get audited — which very few people do — it’s almost certainly not what you’re imagining. In FY2024, about 78% of IRS examinations were handled by correspondence — meaning mail and document requests — while about 22% were field exams, which often take place at an IRS office or through your representative, not necessarily at your home. For most households, an audit means paperwork, not a doorstep drama.
This happened to us. We installed solar panels and took the tax credit. A few months later, we got a letter asking us to verify the installation — basically prove we’d actually done it and what we paid. I put together a package of documentation from our solar installer — receipts, the contract, proof of payment — and mailed it in. A few weeks later, we got another letter: all clear. No one came to the house. No harassing phone calls. No dramatic confrontation. Just paperwork in, paperwork out.
A quick note on scams
During tax season — especially when you’re anxious about a letter — scammers are counting on you to react without thinking. Here’s a simple filter: the IRS generally starts with a letter sent through the mail. They don’t initiate contact by email or social media, and unsolicited texts are a red flag. If you’re ever unsure whether a notice is real, log into your IRS Online Account directly — don’t click links in texts or emails — and call the published IRS number yourself.
Start online: IRS.gov/account
Before you pick up the phone, check whether your answer is already available online. The IRS online portal lets you check the status of your return and refund using the “Where’s My Refund?” tool, view your tax records and transcripts, track amended returns, make payments, and get answers to common questions. It’s available 24/7 with no hold times. For straightforward questions — where’s my refund, did my payment go through, what does this notice mean — start here.
How to actually get a human on the phone
Sometimes you need to talk to a person. Here’s how I do it.
The numbers are 1-800-829-1040 for personal tax issues and 1-800-829-4933 for business tax issues. Both lines are open Monday through Friday, 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM your local time. A tip on the business line: the representatives there tend to be less busy, they’re well-versed on what you need, and they’re used to working with small business people who don’t have a lot of time. If your question touches anything business-related, try that number first.
When you call matters more than you’d think. The best days are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Mondays have a backlog of callers from the weekend. Fridays tend to have fewer workers on the lines. The best time is early morning — when I’m doing it, I start calling at 6:58 a.m. local time, two minutes before the lines open. The worst time is 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, when call volume peaks and overlaps with lunch coverage gaps. And January through April is always the hardest stretch to get through.
Before you call, have three things ready: your Adjusted Gross Income from last year’s return — that’s Line 11 on Form 1040, and they use it to verify your identity. All documents related to your specific issue. And your questions written out. Once you get through, you’re going to want to be able to very clearly state what you need so they can look into it. This is not the time to try to remember.
Your secret weapon: the Taxpayer Advocate Service
The Taxpayer Advocate Service is an independent organization within the IRS that helps people resolve problems they can’t fix through normal channels. I’ve used them, and they’re excellent.
When to use TAS: your issue is causing financial hardship, you’ve tried to resolve it through normal IRS channels and hit a wall, or something has been sitting unresolved for an unreasonable amount of time. They assign you a single advocate who stays with your case, and the service is free.
My experience? They’re proactive, they communicate well, and they sometimes find issues you didn’t even know about. As embarrassing as it is to admit, one year they actually found an additional refund from one of my companies that had never been processed. I wasn’t even calling about it. I didn’t realize the money was owed to me. That tells you how thorough they can be.
Fair warning: TAS has been hit by the same staffing challenges as the rest of the IRS, so you may experience longer wait times than in past years. The National Taxpayer Advocate’s 2025 Annual Report to Congress specifically flagged high request volumes. But the service still exists and still works. You can reach them at taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov or by calling 877-777-4778. You can also download Form 911 to submit your case.
The tool nobody knows about: your congressional office
This is the one that surprises people. Every member of Congress has a caseworker — often several — who handles constituent issues with federal agencies, including the IRS. They contact the IRS on your behalf and can often move things along faster than you can on your own. This is standard constituent service, not a favor. It’s literally what they’re there for.
I’ve used this. I had a refund that got flagged — it was eventually approved, there was nothing wrong — but in between getting flagged and approved, it got gummed up in the system. Getting somebody to actually look at it was the hard part. I used an online form to contact my congressman’s office. They were very responsive — they have a caseworker who handles exactly these kinds of issues and interacts with the IRS directly. It was resolved within a couple of weeks.
To find yours, go to house.gov and enter your zip code. Most offices have an online form specifically for federal agency issues. You don’t need to be politically connected or know anyone personally. You just need to live in their district.
Using AI for tax questions
This might sound unconventional, but I’d recommend using Claude or ChatGPT for tax questions. Fact-check it like you would anything else, but increasingly these tools are getting better and better. At the very least, they can help you understand and interpret IRS guidance, which can be dense.
Good uses: understanding what an IRS notice means, interpreting tax rules in plain English, figuring out which forms you need, and getting a starting point for a question you’ll then verify with a professional or against IRS.gov. AI is a starting point, not a final answer — but it’s a powerful one that’s available at 2 AM when your anxiety about that letter is keeping you up.
A new wrinkle: refunds are going more digital
The IRS is phasing out paper refund checks as part of a broader move to electronic payments. Practically, if you file without direct deposit information, you may see delays while the IRS requests your payment details — or asks you to request a paper check as an exception. The Taxpayer Advocate Service has warned that refunds can be temporarily frozen in these situations until the IRS gets what it needs.
The cleanest move: include your bank routing and account numbers when you file. If you don’t have a bank account, prepaid debit cards with routing numbers or other electronic alternatives can work — the IRS has information at IRS.gov/refunds. Don’t let this catch you off guard. It’s a new step that could hold up your refund if you’re not prepared for it.
Why all of this matters more this year
I’m not going to get political about it, but you should know the reality. According to the National Taxpayer Advocate’s 2025 Annual Report to Congress, the IRS workforce dropped from about 102,000 employees to around 74,000 over the course of 2025 — a reduction of roughly 27%. On top of that, the new tax law changes from last summer added significant complexity that the IRS is still implementing. The report specifically warned that the IRS is simultaneously confronting workforce reductions, leadership turnover, and the implementation of extensive and complex tax law changes.
What this means for you: most people who file electronically with direct deposit information will be fine. But if something goes wrong — a flagged return, a missing document, an amended filing — it’s going to take longer to resolve than in past years. Having these tools in your back pocket before you need them is the whole point of this post.
The playbook
If something comes up with the IRS, here’s your order of operations. Start at IRS.gov/account — check whether the answer is already there. If you need to call, use the early morning strategy with your documents ready. If you hit a wall through normal channels, file with the Taxpayer Advocate Service. If things are dragging on, contact your congressional office. And don’t pay for those “tax resolution” services you see advertised on TV before trying the free options first.
You don’t need to memorize all of this. Bookmark this post. If the IRS sends you a letter or something feels off, come back and work through it step by step.
If something comes up, you have options. You’re not alone in this.