You have heard the horror stories about mail sent to the IRS that remains unanswered for months. Reportedly, the IRS has mountains of unanswered mail pieces in storage trailers, waiting for IRS employees to process them.
Because the understaffed IRS is having so much trouble processing all the documents it receives, you need to protect yourself when you send an important tax filing due by a specific deadline.
If you can file a document electronically, do so. The IRS deems such filings as filed on the date of the electronic postmark.
If you must file a physical document with the IRS, don’t use regular U.S. mail, Priority Mail, or Express Mail.
Why not?
When you mail a document with these methods, the IRS considers it filed on the postmark date, but only if the IRS receives it. What if the U.S. Postal Service doesn’t deliver it or the IRS loses it? You’ll have no way to prove the IRS got it—and the IRS and most courts won’t accept your testimony that it was timely mailed.
Don’t take this chance. Instead, file physical documents by certified or registered U.S. mail, or use an IRS-approved private delivery service (generally, two-day or better service from FedEx, UPS, or DHL Express). When you do this, the IRS considers the document filed on the postmark date whether or not the IRS receives it.
As an added step, you can also mail your document with a return receipt. A return receipt is a pre-filled postcard you will create with your address, and the recipients address. Once received the IRS will sign and date the post card, and the postal delivery person will take the post card, and you will receive it back in the mail.
If you need any help regarding these issues, please reach out to Corridor Consulting, my firm would love to assist you in any tax planning issues you may have. If you’d like to schedule a consultation you can do so here.
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This article is not professional tax or legal advice for your specific circumstances. Consult with your professional adviser to better understand how these items may impact you, or how they’ve changed.
