05/01/2024
This tax season has been difficult. My dad died 1/25. On 1/26 we were informed that there was fraudulent tax returns being filed for some of our clients. Through weeks of figuring out what happened and how, it was discovered that the IRS had a data breach that has affected over 1 million people. During this period, we upped our security, and thought maybe the breach was with our software. It was not us or the software! The breach caused us to have to rerun over 300 tax returns and file everything on paper. Paper filing causes delays in refunds by itself, but the IRS breach also is causing major delays on its own. Clients are calling, texting, emailing, and sending FB messages asking for refund status and/or status of tax completion constantly. We also had equipment hiccups that didn't help. The equipment has now been replaced, but the IRS is still very behind in processing returns and refunds. I don't work for the IRS so I cannot get your refund status any faster than you. I have worked 13+ hours/day since this all started and the only day I didn't work was the day of my dad's funeral. There are only so many hours in a day, which makes it impossible to return all of the calls, emails, texts, and messages. Please understand that this is not a problem that I created or could have avoided. I'm not the only accountant dealing with these issues. I am doing the best that I can. Please stop texting me during non-business hours (I received texts at 5:48am and as late as 10:45pm). Call the office and leave a message. We will call you when your tax returns are complete. Taking time out to answer multiple emails/calls/texts from the same person takes time away from getting actual returns done. We will all get through this together, but respect and patience is needed from everyone. Like you, I am a victim in this IRS breach, and will do my best to help you through it. I have eaten the thousands of dollars in additional postage/paper/toner etc and not raised my prices. The least you can do is try to not be crabby at Penny & I, as we are only trying to help you get through this the best we can. We are just as frustrated as you are, if not more, as we are trying to help almost 1,000 of you through this. We will help all of you ASAP.
