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IRS Backlog Update

A recent post to IRS’s Mission Critical site shows the inventory of unprocessed forms as updated on September 16:

  • 2 million unprocessed individual returns received in calendar year 2022. These include both 2021 returns and late filed 2020 returns. Of these, 5.6 million are paper returns and 1.6 million are e-filed returns that require error correction or other special handling.
  • Aside from returns that require special handling there are no unprocessed e-filed or paper returns received before 2022 if the return had no errors or did not require further review.
  • 7 million amended individual returns (Form 1040-X).
  • 2 million Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Returns.
  • 207,000 amended payroll returns (Form 941-X). These returns are being processed at two sites (Cincinnati and Ogden) that have staff trained to work the ERC and other COVID-legislation credits.

As with previous updates, the IRS asks taxpayers not to submit a second original or amended return or contact the IRS about return status.