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The IRS still has not processed my mother’s 2024 amended tax return, which they received May 2, 2025. In a few days, they will have had her return a full year.
My mother submitted her 2024 Form 1040 prior to April 15, 2025. It said she owed money, so she paid it. We subsequently found some additional information. She filed an amended return April 30, 2025. According to that return, she is due a refund of $2,161. We told the IRS to apply it to her 2025 tax bill.
This week my mother received a letter from the IRS saying she owed $451, plus $3 in interest and penalties, for 2025.
This morning I called the IRS. I was on hold for an hour but then got a friendly and helpful representative. She did some checking. She said the IRS received my mother’s 2024 amended return on May 2, 2025, but they have not yet processed it. She said most amended returns are processed within four months. She did not say why my mother’s return had not been processed. My brother, Kenyon Sayler, told me that according to an article in Forbes, the number of IRS employees reviewing returns is down 27%.
The IRS representative said she was entering copious notes into the computer, documenting our conversation. She then told me that she was going to transfer me to “account maintenance” and they would be able to help me further.
I was on hold another 45 minutes and suddenly my call was disconnected. They hung up on me?
Just to be on the safe side, I wrote a letter on behalf of my mother explaining everything. My mother signed it and we sent it.
My mother is 98 years old. She worries a lot. I told her the IRS probably would not throw a 98-year-old in jail. To make her feel better, I pointed out the upsides of going to prison – no more having to pay for her apartment in a retirement community, no more medical bills, lots of people to interact with. She told me emphatically she did not want to go to prison. If the IRS does haul her off to jail, I will definitely post an update on Humble Dollar.
My mother died in 2021 and we were due a significant refund on 2020 taxes due to medical expenses. We filed on time but it took two years and mutiple phone calls to resolve it. This was before the Trump cuts. Nothing moved until Biden pumped $80 million more into their budget. Before they woukd not even answer the phone.
my only advice is to call every 2 months, take names and badge numbers and if no result call again.
one agent told me they had everything they needed but nothing happened. Two months later calling back I wastold they needed X form and the lady stood by the fax machine when I faxed it. The refund arrived in two weeks.
oh and keep a joint bank acvout open with mom so they can send the money there even if she passes and you can withdraw it
This is a ridiculous but common situation, I have seen amendments take two years to process. Cutting jobs at the service is costing the government billions in lost revenue. Another way the slow processing costs taxpayers money is the interest the IRS will pay your mom for the delay, I think currently 6%.
I’ll probably get yelled at for bringing this up. While speaking to the IRS, did they happen to suggest that your mom could go ahead and pay the balance due from 2025? Doing so might help your mom to not stress about the situation.
Thanks, but my Mom is not really worried about going to prison. I have told her so many times that the IRS is going to throw her in prison that she now understands I am joking. Rightly or wrongly, she has a lot of confidence in me that I will work this out.
Sorry to hear your 98-year-old mother has to deal with this—that shouldn’t be happening.
One thing that stands out in in our lives is how we’ve normalized dysfunction in a few areas of life: government services, parts of healthcare, and sometimes public infrastructure.
With something like the IRS, the issue isn’t optional. The system requires timely and accurate compliance from taxpayers. It’s reasonable to expect the same in return—processing that’s predictable, communication that’s clear, and timelines that are reliable.
The IRS is the rare govt agency where adding more staff properly deployed can yield more revenue, more than enough to offset their cost. Cutting IRS staff and funding is a wrong headed thing to do, but why am I not surprised.
Sorry that your dear mother has to endure this but reassure her that this will workout. I second the suggestion to contact your senator or congressman. They need to hear from real people about the consequences of cutting the IRS budget and they may get the IRS’s attention in a way that you cannot.
We get what we pay for….
I went through the process of amended returns a few years ago. It took something like 2 years for them to process. In the interim many of my calls were dropped after waiting on hold and having to start over. Eventually after getting nowhere I reached out to the taxpayer advocate service, it took some time but they were able to straighten everything out. I highly recommend you reach to them.
They are not going to put her in jail but the IRS system could go after the low hanging fruit by putting a lien against her bank account or garnishment of her SS benefit so it is good you reached out to the IRS on her behalf.
You have taken reasonable and responsible actions to help your Mom resolve this issue. I suspect if I were in your shoes my next call or letter would be to the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service or my congressional representative.
Oh and if you are really wanting to worry your mom you could also let her know that the Social Security rules do provide that most benefit payments are suspended while an individual is incarcerated. You could also blame your brother for the whole mess. Neither of these thoughts would likely have a good outcome.
I sincerely hope the issue is resolved quickly.
Best, Bill
Great suggestions to contact the IRS Taxpayer Advocacy group and/or her congressional representative. I am assuming (naively?) that it will soon get resolved.
If she agrees with the notice from the IRS, she was told to pay by May 18. But if she disputes the assessment, she has until June 26 to respond. I assume the IRS will not garnish her Social Security payment until some time after June 26. Hopefully it will be resolved before then.
If they do garnish her Social Security, I will certainly contact the the Taxpayer Advocacy group and her congressperson. Thanks for the suggestions. I had not thought of that.