Questions About Your Tax Return? Do This Before You Call the IRS

The deadline for getting your taxes filed is approaching quickly, and if you've got questions about your tax return and you call the IRS, you can expect to wait on hold to speak with a representative. 

Last year, only about 13% of callers reached an IRS employee, according to The Washington Post. Knowing that, it's important to keep in mind that the average phone wait time will only get longer as Tax Day arrives next week. 

Raphael Tulino, an IRS representative, underlined the importance of finding answers through online resources: "It's IRS.gov, IRS.gov and IRS.gov first before you call." 

The IRS has about 600 local offices around the country as well as staffing a toll-free hotline. You may be able to answer some of your tax questions with online resources too: The IRS has a tool called the Interactive Tax Assistant that walks you through various inquiries to help you determine whether your income is taxable, whom you can claim as a dependent and what your filing status is. 

If you want to track the status of your tax refund, you can do so by visiting the IRS's Get Refund Status tool. Lastly, be sure to create your own online IRS account -- you can also use that account to get info about your prior year's tax return.

If you've exhausted all the online options and still haven't solved your problem, we'll tell you how to contact the IRS by phone or make an appointment in person at a local office. For more tax info, here are all the tax credits and deductions you can get for your home in 2023. And if you received a tax rebate last year, the IRS says you may want to wait to file.

Call this IRS phone number to ask about tax refunds and more

Before you make a call to the IRS, note that the call volumes are high and you may have to wait a long time to speak with a representative. During April, the IRS says that wait times are higher on Mondays, and the best time to call during the day is before 10 a.m.

To get started, call 800-829-1040 to reach the tax agency about an issue you're having with your taxes. Make sure you have the following information on hand to verify your identification.

• Your Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number
• Your birthdate
• Filing status: single, head of household, married filing joint or married filing separate

Got a specific tax question? There's a hotline for that 

Streamline your call to the IRS by calling one of the many IRS phone numbers that address a specific question or topic. 

Complex tax topics the IRS won't discuss on the phone

There are a few topics the IRS does not discuss on the phone. The list of complex tax topics includes: 

• Business, sale and depreciation 
• Capital gains and losses 
• Commuting
• Corporations, exempt organizations and partnerships 
• Education 
• Health care 
• International 
• Rentals and residential
• Trusts 
• Specific forms 

It might be in your best interest to make an in-person appointment with a representative instead of searching online for your answer to one of these topics. 

How to set up an in-person appointment with an IRS representative

The IRS has many offices across the US, and if there's one near you, you can make an appointment to speak with someone in person. Here's how to schedule a meeting.

1. Head to the IRS Taxpayer Assistance Tool page and enter your ZIP code. Tap Search.

2. Choose the location nearest to you and select Make Appointment.

3. Call the appointment phone number for the office you want to visit.

4. When you go to your local branch, make sure to bring a government-issued photo ID and your ITIN or Social Security number.