How I finally got through to speak with a real human at the IRS after countless attempts

Yes, this is actually a known workaround! The collections department typically has more staffing than general customer service. But there's a better way to handle this that won't potentially flag your account in collections unnecessarily. The most reliable method is to call the regular IRS customer service number (800-829-1040) early in the morning (right when they open at 7am your local time) and immediately press 1 for English, then 2 for "personal income tax", then 1 for "form, tax history or payment", then 3 for "all other questions", then 2 for "all other questions". When prompted for an SSN, DON'T enter anything - just wait. After the second prompt for SSN with no response, you'll usually get transferred to a person. Another tip: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings tend to have shorter wait times than Mondays or Fridays.

After my experience trying to reach the IRS for three weeks straight about an audit letter, I finally discovered taxr.ai and it was seriously a game-changer. I uploaded my confusing IRS notice to https://taxr.ai and the system translated all the tax jargon into plain English and even suggested exactly which IRS department to contact with the right extension number! Saved me hours of frustration and helped me understand what I was actually supposed to do next.

Just wanted to update - I tried taxr.ai with my CP2000 notice after posting my question here. The tool highlighted exactly which section of the notice contained the contact information (which I kept missing because it was buried in the fine print) and explained that I needed to prepare my W-2 and 1099 forms before calling. I called the specific department extension it recommended this morning, waited only 12 minutes, and actually got my issue resolved! The agent confirmed there was a reporting error and they're sending a correction letter. Honestly wish I'd known about this weeks ago before all the stress and repeated calls to the main line!

If you're still struggling to get through to the IRS, I was in the same boat until I discovered Claimyr. I had been trying for nearly a month to talk to someone about getting a payment plan set up and couldn't get past the automated system. I found https://claimyr.com and was honestly skeptical, but I watched their demo video (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) and decided it was worth trying. They basically wait on hold with the IRS for you and then call you when they get an agent on the line. I got connected to an actual IRS representative within an hour without having to do the hold music torture myself!

I feel really dumb for doubting this so hard, but I tried Claimyr yesterday after posting my skeptical comment. I was desperate after getting disconnected THREE TIMES after waiting 40+ minutes each time trying to reach someone about a payment issue. Just got a call back this morning after they reached an agent, and I was talking to a real IRS person in seconds. The agent actually helped me get on a payment plan with much better terms than I expected. Never thought I'd be excited about talking to the IRS, but after weeks of frustration, finally resolving my issue was such a relief!

Another trick that has worked for me twice now: call your local Taxpayer Advocate Service office instead of the main IRS line. If your issue has been ongoing and causing financial difficulties, they can often help expedite things. They're technically separate from the IRS but have ways to cut through the red tape when you have a legitimate hardship.

Has anyone tried calling their local congressperson's office? My brother-in-law did this after 4 months of getting nowhere with the IRS about a missing refund, and their constituent services team actually reached out to the IRS on his behalf. Got the whole thing resolved in about 2 weeks!

I'm an accountant (not giving tax advice here) but wanted to mention that using the collections number when you don't have a collections issue might not be the best approach. The collections agents are specifically trained for collections matters and might not be able to help with other issues, potentially wasting your time and theirs. The tricks others have mentioned about navigating the main IRS menu or using services like taxr.ai to find the right department are much better approaches in the long run.

I've been lurking here for a while and finally decided to create an account after reading all these helpful tips! I'm dealing with a really frustrating situation where the IRS says I didn't file my 2023 return, but I definitely did (electronically through TurboTax and have the confirmation). I've been trying to reach someone for weeks to get this sorted out before they start charging penalties. Based on what I'm reading here, it sounds like I should try the menu navigation trick that Omar mentioned rather than just hitting "0" repeatedly like I've been doing. Has anyone else dealt with this specific issue where the IRS claims they never received your electronically filed return? I'm worried this might be a bigger problem that needs the Taxpayer Advocate Service, but I want to try the regular channels first. Also really appreciate everyone sharing these alternative methods - I had no idea about services like Claimyr or taxr.ai existing. The IRS phone system is seriously broken if people need to find workarounds like this just to speak to a human!

Welcome to the community, Dylan! I've dealt with this exact same issue before - the IRS claimed they never received my 2022 return even though I had electronic filing confirmation from FreeTaxUSA. It's incredibly stressful when you know you did everything right but their system shows otherwise. Here's what worked for me: When you call using Omar's menu navigation method, specifically ask to speak with someone in the "Electronic Filing department" or mention that you need to trace an electronically filed return. Have your AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) from your prior year return ready too - they often use that to verify your identity along with the confirmation number. In my case, it turned out there was a processing backlog that caused returns to not show up in their main system for weeks, even though they were received. The agent was able to locate my return in a separate processing queue and confirm it was filed on time. If you continue having trouble after trying the phone methods, don't hesitate to contact your congressman's office like others mentioned. Missing electronic returns that could result in penalties are exactly the type of issue their constituent services help with, and it really does get results fast!