IRS returns tax returns

Buffalo, NY (WBEN) If you mailed your return and payment to the IRS this year, it's likely the IRS sent a message: return to sender. The envelopes went back to taxpayers unopened.

This is concerning to The Tax Lady Esther Gulyas. "People during the tax season, they were mailing in their payments on a balance due, and there was no problem. Actually the address that is on the IRS website that if you did AI, it was the address that AI gave. But then towards the end of tax season, they were rejecting the payments and sending back the payments in the original envelope and leaving it to taxpayers then to come up with the registering with id.me with the federal government and sending in their payment electronically," says Gulyas. She says a lot of people who aren't electronically inclined may not know exactly what to do with this kind of a conundrum. "What we're saying is you have to go to maybe the library that would help you to set up id.me or can come to EGTtax or another tax professional, but they're rejecting the payments," says Gulyas. She says make sure you keep that envelope, though, because if you finally do get your payments sent in electronically, which ultimately, that's what the IRS wants., you want to make sure you keep that envelope. so when they bill you for penalty and interest, you can prove that you had timely filed the return.

Gulyas says she's been in touch with the ISS. "Somebody at the IRS said that the edict is that within six months, they weren't going to take any more paper checks. So whether this is a way to kind of poke people to comply, so that they get electronic and can do this, id.me, so that they have an account with the IRS, and then they can set submit checks electronically, as opposed to paper," notes Guylas." She notes it's an effort to head off identity theft, but this doesn't make taxpayers feel very good to think they sent the balance due back in the original envelope, saying it's non deliverable. "We wanted to make sure people understood that you have it. This doesn't mean that they don't want your money, believe me, they want your money, but they're, they're going to give you penalty and interest for filing late. So that envelope showing that your timely mail that is so important," adds Gulyas.

Gulyas says you go to id.me, and you set up your account, you pay your balance due. "Then the next step that the IRS will do is say, 'Gee, did they timely pay it? No', so they're going to send you probably penalty and interest on that balance due. And then it's up to you to then send a letter or call them and say we will send proof that it was timely filed," advises Gulyas. "If you're somebody that is not electronic, you just really have to buckle down and say, I have to comply, because this is the way of the future, better now than next tax season."