When the IRS Doesn't Move, Tax Professionals Take the Heat

Every tax professional has heard it.

"Why hasn't the IRS responded?"

"Why is my refund taking so long?"

"Why hasn't my amended return been processed?"

Unfortunately, many taxpayers direct their frustration at the one person who is actually trying to help them: their tax preparer.

The reality is simple.

Once a return, amendment, abatement request, penalty appeal, or correspondence is submitted to the IRS, the tax professional has no control over how quickly the IRS processes it.

Yet we are often expected to provide answers that the IRS itself cannot provide.

The IRS Has Made Progress, But Significant Delays Remain

The IRS processes millions of returns each year. During the 2025 filing season alone, the agency processed more than 78 million tax returns by March.

For electronically filed returns that are accepted without issue, taxpayers typically receive refunds within about 21 days.

But that is where the good news often ends.

The National Taxpayer Advocate reported that during fiscal year 2025:

• The IRS processed approximately 3.7 million individual amended returns.

• The average processing time exceeded 5 months.

• The IRS processed approximately 1.6 million business amended returns.

• The average processing time exceeded 13 months.

Think about that for a moment.

A business can wait more than a year for the IRS to process an amended return that was properly filed.

Millions of Returns Are Still Being Delayed

According to the National Taxpayer Advocate, the IRS suspended more than 13 million returns during the 2025 filing season for additional review. Those reviews frequently resulted in delayed refunds and delayed resolution for taxpayers.

Many of these reviews are triggered by:

• Identity verification requirements

• Credit verification

• Income matching issues

• Fraud prevention programs

• IRS processing filters

Even when a taxpayer has done nothing wrong, the return may sit in review for weeks or months.

Correspondence Backlogs Continue

One of the biggest frustrations for taxpayers and tax professionals alike is IRS correspondence.

When a letter, response, penalty abatement request, or supporting documentation is mailed to the IRS, there is often little visibility into when it will be reviewed.

Recent reports from both the Government Accountability Office and IRS watchdog agencies found that taxpayer correspondence backlogs remain above pre-pandemic levels and that the IRS still lacks a formal plan to fully eliminate those backlogs.

In practical terms, that means taxpayers may wait months simply for someone to review documents that were submitted long ago.

Staffing Challenges Are Adding More Pressure

The IRS has also faced significant staffing reductions.

Reports indicate the agency lost approximately 19,000 employees during 2025, including thousands of employees involved in return processing and taxpayer service functions.

Fewer employees means:

• Longer processing times

• Longer phone hold times

• Slower responses to correspondence

• Increased delays on complex cases

For taxpayers waiting on answers, the experience is frustrating.

For tax professionals trying to help, it can be equally frustrating because we often have access to the same limited information as the taxpayer.

The Tax Professional Is Not the IRS

This is the message taxpayers need to hear.

Your tax professional can:

• Prepare the return correctly

• File documents timely

• Respond to IRS notices

• Follow up with the IRS

• Monitor case progress

• Advocate on your behalf

What we cannot do is move your file to the front of the IRS line.

We cannot force the IRS to open your correspondence.

We cannot speed up an amended return.

We cannot make an IRS employee review a penalty abatement request tomorrow instead of six months from now.

Once the documents leave our office and enter the IRS system, the timeline becomes largely outside our control.

A Better Partnership Between Clients and Tax Professionals

The best client-preparer relationships are built on trust and communication.

Most tax professionals care deeply about helping their clients solve problems. We spend countless hours on hold with the IRS, submitting documentation, checking statuses, and following up on unresolved issues.

When delays occur, we are not the cause of the problem.

In fact, we are often just as frustrated as our clients.

The next time you are waiting on an IRS response, remember this:

Your tax preparer is not the obstacle.

Your tax preparer is the person standing beside you, trying to navigate the same IRS system that everyone else is struggling with.

Patience may not make the process faster, but understanding who controls the timeline can make the process far less stressful for everyone involved.