Braindead IRS

[Mr. Bobo]

I just received a letter from the IRS yesterday July 28th. It was a letter informing me that there was some missing information on the W-7 that I filed for my daughter so that I could claim her as an exemption on my 1040.  As I read the letter is said that if the IRS didn't receive a response by July 26th I would have to refile. WTF! I received the notice two days after the IRS deadline! The notice date was June 9th, so I will assume the IRS mailed on or about June 9th. The notice took 7 weeks to reach my home in Nueva Vizcaya. You would think that the IRS would be smart enough to know that there is no way you can mail a letter to the Philippines and expect a response back within 47 days, but no, evidently they are not. Anyway, there is an 800 number that you can call and ask them about your case number which is in the notice. I just called the 800 number at 8:30 pm here in the Philippines, that means it is 8:30 am in the eastern daylight time zone. I got a recording saying that their office was closed and to call back between the hours of 7 am and 8 pm. Hello! it's 8:30 am. The are four difference time zones in the US and there was no mention in the recorded message about which time zone the 7 am to 8 pm window referred to. What a bunch of boneheads. It was 8:30 am EDT when I called,  that means that it was 7:30 am CST, 6:30 am MST, and 5:30 am PST. Evidently the 800 number is in the MST or PST time zone. Needless to say the time zone is IMPORTANT and should be in their record office hours message. It's an 800 number and free to call on Skype so I planned on watching a movie while I was waiting on hold for a couple of hours, that is if anybody bothers to answer. Am I out of line here and overreacting or is the IRS really that incompetent?      

[Old55]

You said...... "You would think" and "IRS" in the same sentence.

Seriously, I hope you can quickly find a simple solution. Let us know how it goes.

[JJReyes]

First thing to do is respond to their letter and make copies for your file. Do this even if the deadline is past. You can include an explanation as why the reply is delayed. What government agencies hate is no response. They think you are hiding.

[Happyhorn52]

I got a similar letter from the IRS this year saying that I failed to complete a newly required schedule pertaining to Obamacare. They gave me 20 days to respond which would not be enough if you are out of the country. My advice would be to respond to the request in a reasonable time frame then explain the reason for the delay in a polite manner.

[earthdome]

This advice doesn't help you now but may help someone in the future.

If you are from the USA you should maintain both a US phone number and US mailing address. You can use MagicJack for the phone number and a mail forwarding service like Traveling Mailbox. This way you maintain US based means for banks, government, etc. to contact you. And can avoid the problems of international phone calls/text messages and the long delays for mail deliveries to the Philippines.

[Balisidar]

That's a good bit of advice there and something I had planned on doing prior to retirement.  We use a magic jack now and bring it with us on vacation.  I plan on buying an extra in case mine fails.  The mail forwarding service we plan on doing it as well.

[Reboot]

8 hours ago, Mr. Bobo said:

Braindead IRS

Redundant....

[scott h]

9 hours ago, Old55 said:

Seriously, I hope you can quickly find a simple solution

If folks are still preparing for the move, I would suggest that they set up with a reliable tax preparer in the states. That's what we did. When I receive my W2's on line, I scan and email them to her, she asks her normal questions, figures our all my legal deductions, does the forms, emails me a form which we sign and email back. And voila! We are done. Sure my refund is $150 or so less, but the stress avoidance is well worth it.

9 hours ago, Mr. Bobo said:

I just received a letter from the IRS

We to receive a letter a couple of years ago. Jumped on the Magic Jack, told our tax lady a letter was in the email for her. The reply? "Ok, I got this, don't worry!"

Good luck Bobo

[AlwaysRt]

11 hours ago, Mr. Bobo said:

Am I out of line here and overreacting or is the IRS really that incompetent?

"The system" is set up for the average American living in the States. You are actually frustrated at a computer, well the programer behind it. The percentage of idiotic, incompetent, head up their but programmers constantly drives me crazy, not just the IRS but almost everywhere. Is it reasonable the computer allows extra response time for overseas addresses? Yes. Is it reasonable to for an organization the covers the entire country to include time zone in its operating hours? Yes. Is it a waste of time, energy, and stress getting frustrated with something we can't change? Yes.

I agree with the best way of managing government and banking issues (time sensitive) is to maintain a US phone number and address. I use Google Voice and Traveling Mailbox.

Edited July 30, 2016 by AlwaysRt

[Mr. Bobo]

1 hour ago, AlwaysRt said:

 The percentage of idiotic, incompetent, head up their but programmers constantly drives me crazy, not just the IRS but almost everywhere.

AlwaysRt,

As a retire IT professional I have to take offense with that statement. I was a computer programmer for a large defense contractor for many years. It's not the programmers fault. It is the fault of the "higher ups" that design the entire system. The programmer merely codes from specifications provided to him or her by a "systems analyst", who usually has no actual computer programming experience, you are directing you frustration at the wrong group of people.