In some test calls to public assistance lines auditors encountered recorded messages citing a lack of staffing and another citing high call volume, followed by an immediate disconnection. Image: Tyler Olson/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffWhile the IRS met goals for service levels and waiting time for customer service calls during the 2023 tax filing season, an audit said that problems such as unanswered calls and missing information continue, primarily due to continued understaffing.
Improving customer service, including by beefing up staffing by some 5,000 positions, is one of the main initiatives for the IRS under the additional funding it received under the Inflation Reduction Act, the IG noted. It said that by the agency’s measure of 35 “accounts management” phone lines, it did slightly better than the goal for overall level of service, and went well beyond a goal of decreasing average waiting times from 30 to 15 minutes, cutting it to three minutes.
However, the IG noted that the IRS has 102 separate phone lines the public may access, including 85 for live assistance, on specialized topics such as insolvency, collections, estate and gift taxes, and more.
In test calls to those lines, auditors experienced wait times of more than 30 minutes on 21; two lines had a recorded message advising the caller that assistance was unavailable due to high call volume and the call was immediately disconnected; five had a recorded message saying that live assistance was “not available due to a lack of staffing” and merely referred callers to the IRS website; and four directed callers to leave a message for a call-back, which was made on only two of them.
Other issues included an incorrect phone number, inconsistencies in providing callers the option to hear recorded messages in either English or Spanish, and failure to included required warnings about scams while callers are on hold. The IRS agreed with recommendations to address those issues.
The IG did not make a specific recommendation regarding staffing but said that understaffing “continues to challenge the IRS’s ability to provide taxpayers with a level of service they expect on multiple telephone lines. If the IRS continues to have staffing issues, it may want to consider the cost-benefit of having so many telephone lines available and instead direct callers to a limited number of telephone lines where the IRS can provide an acceptable level of service.”
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