DALLAS — Last February, Texas was a disaster because of the winter storm and the near collapse of the unprepared electricity grid. As a result, the whole state was declared a disaster by President Biden.
That opened up all kinds of assistance. And still does today.
If you had unreimbursed property losses that weren’t covered by insurance, you can generally deduct those from your taxes when you file this year. If you are using a preparer or tax software, they will be able to guide you through the process.
Speaking of disasters and taxes, if your call was one of the 281.7 million phone calls the IRS received last year, you — like the vast majority of the callers — probably didn’t get to talk to a person on the other end. The IRS is already expecting “enormous challenges” this year as well, because the agency is terribly understaffed.
Funny thing, WFAA's Jason Wheeler found an outdated estimate on the IRS website that the phone “service wait times can average 13 minutes." It’s probably going to take longer than that.
The phones will likely be a disaster once again. But they are there if you need to try Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. our time.
Interesting thing, Barron’s published a report, in which they cite one expert who says your best shot at talking to a person at the IRS is Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday before 9 a.m. Of course, that report is out there, so everyone knows it now.
Also, the IRS has a whole list of things they cannot help you with over the phone.