If you’ve tried to contact the IRS during tax season, you know it can be a nightmare. There never seem to be enough customer service agents to answer your call.
According to the IRS, the average wait time during tax season (January-April) is 3 minutes and 12 minutes in the post-filing season (May-December). But workforce limitations may result in wait times much longer than usual. And the above averages don’t take into account disconnections, which time studies conducted by the IRS have found to be very common.
Although you may want to avoid the task completely, that may not be possible. If you really need to contact the IRS about a problem, what can you do? Here’s how to contact the IRS with the fastest and best IRS phone numbers to call.
How to contact the IRS online
Before you spend your lunch break listening to IRS music, find out if the problem you’re having can be solved online. You may be surprised at the number of problems that can be dealt with IRS.gov website Within minutes. These include:
If your issue falls into any of these categories, you should save some time and get it resolved on IRS.gov.
How to contact your local IRS office
If your issue is not resolved by the IRS website, your best bet is to contact your local IRS office. Your chances are much higher that you will be able to talk to a live person if you do this.
To contact your local IRS office, you will need:
- Visit your local IRS office locator.
- Enter your five-digit zip code.
- Locate the local IRS office closest to you based on distance.
These IRS offices have Local numbers And you’ll be able to talk to a live person more easily than if you called the main IRS customer service line.
If you need a higher level of assistance, you can make an in-person appointment with the office to speak with someone.
In order for taxpayers to get assistance at these offices, you will need to bring a government-issued ID such as a driver’s license or passport. You’ll also need to have your Social Security number on hand.
How to contact the National Office of the Tax Agency
If your local IRS office is unable to help you resolve your issue, speaking with the main IRS customer service team is the (unfortunate) next step.
Individual taxpayers can reach the IRS by phone Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time. The phone number to call is 1-800-829-1040.
According to A The study conducted by enQ – They’ve already made 10,000 calls to the IRS over 12 months – The best time to contact the IRS is before 9am on the East Coast of the United States and after 5pm if you live on the West Coast.
According to this same study, about a third of calls made to the IRS were dropped. In those cases, when calls dropped, the caller lost his or her place in line. So, if you go this route, make sure you’re in a place with a secure phone connection or use a landline!
IRS phone numbers to know
If you have to contact the IRS by phone and are looking for a specific issue, here are the IRS phone numbers to call.
- Individually: 800-829-1040 (7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time)
- Companies: 800-829-4933 (7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time)
- Nonprofit taxes: 877-829-5500 (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. local time)
- Real estate and Gift taxes (Form 706/709): 866-699-4083 (8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. EST)
- Indirect taxes: 866-699-4096 (8am to 6pm EST)
- Callers with hearing loss: TDD/TDD 800-829-4059
For international taxpayers, the IRS has Special resources To help you pay taxes or access the IRS from an international location.
You can find answers to many of your most common tax questions here at The College Investor. Visit our Tax Center to see if you can get the information you need while skipping stressful IRS wait times.
