Duckworth, other congressional lawmakers want answers from IRS on bills being sent for taxes paid

CBS News

2 days ago

Congressional lawmakers are calling out the IRS for notices the agency sent out telling taxpayers they didn't pay their taxes — even though those taxpayers did, in fact, do so.
CBS News Chicago has reported on this problem, and it turns out we are not the only ones having a hard time getting answers from the IRS.
U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) said their offices are also both dealing with delays in responses from the IRS about the issue. Duckworth said cuts made by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, are to blame.
"We are trying to get answers out of the IRS," said Duckworth.
Duckworth spoke on behalf of the people from whom CBS News Chicago has been hearing for weeks — from Illinois and across the country — with taxpayers getting bills from the IRS for taxes already paid.
For one example, South Dakota couple Laura and Dustin Floyd paid $18,000 on the 2025 tax deadline, so when they got another bill this month for the same amount, even though the money had been taken out of their account in April, they were confused.
"It was near-on a panic attack. It was terrifying. I'm still shaky just thinking about it," Laura Floyd said. "You did everything right, you played by the rules, and they come after you saying they lost your money? That you owe the money again? And also you owe fees? That makes for a rough day."
Those people then dealt with a runaround when they tried to get a hold of the IRS to fix the problem.
"Frankly, it's unacceptable that Illinoisans are receiving erroneous notices that their tax payments are late because of IRS delays," Duckworth said.
CBS News Chicago has reported that staffing at the IRS appears to be a part of the problem.
The IRS has refused to address CBS News Chicago's questions about job cuts for weeks. But a newly released report by the Taxpayer Advocate Service, or TAS, is revealing — details that 22%, or 9,000, employees who help taxpayers have been cut so far this year.
A total of 26%, or around 26,000, are gone agency-wide at the IRS just since January.
Duckworth, again, pointed at DOGE.
"This is what happens when Elon Musk comes in and fires a bunch of people without looking to see what job they were doing and how vital it is," she said.
A smaller staff means longer wait times. The TAS report shows a backlog of nearly 3.5 million individual tax returns — and also reveals an internal issue that could explain why those notices were mailed out in the first place.
It turns out the IRS has 60 separate case management systems that do not communicate with each other.
"We are going to see the IRS fall further and further behind, and that's not something we can afford as a nation," Duckworth said.
This is why Duckworth is sending a letter to newly confirmed IRS commissioner William Long — demanding answers and calling out agency failures.
The letter cites CBS News Chicago's reporting. It is signed by Durbin and 12 Democratic Illinois U.S. representatives — Jonathan Jackson, Robin Kelly, Danny Davis, Bill Foster, Jesús "Chuy" García, Delia Ramirez, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Sean Casten, Mike Quigley, Eric Sorensen, Brad Schneider, and Nikki Budzinski.
"We're going to push as hard as we can, and we are going to stay on top of this," Duckworth said.
CBS News Chicago has been reaching out to the IRS with direct questions and requests for weeks. a spokesperson admitted to processing delays, and said taxpayers should reach out if they don't see payments processed by July 15.
The IRS referred questions on staffing to the office National Taxpayer Advocate Erin M. Collins, noting also that the office has issued its mid-year report to Congress.
The IRS released this statement:
"Processing tax payments is a top priority for the IRS. IRS is timely negotiating checks and payments with financial institutions. There is a delay in processing payments that need additional handling to ensure they post to the taxpayers account correctly. Taxpayers may monitor the status of their payments by viewing the payments activity page in their IRS online account where they will be able to view their payment history as well as pending payments that are being processed. If a taxpayer has checked their online account and does not see the payment processed by July 15th, they may call the number on their notice."
There was still no information late Thursday on why the agency hasn't addressed