With Telefile, taxpayers use a touch-tone phone to report their income and withholding amounts, then the IRS figures their tax and any refund or balance due. Refunds are received in about three weeks, while those who owe tax have until April 15 to send their payment. These taxpayers figure only their interest income. The IRS takes wages and tax data from the W-2 forms, computes the tax and notifies filers of the refund or balance due. With the potential to handle 40 million calls this fiscal year, Tele-Tax serves more people than the live assistance lines.
People calling with tax questions are more likely to speak with a subject matter specialist.
Assistors answering the IRS phones handle account questions and procedural matters, but refer most tax matters to experienced workers who specialize in various topics. The Pittsburgh IRS office is testing an automated system in which taxpayers use a touch-tone phone to select their question topic, then are connected to an appropriate specialist.