IRS keeps hanging up - how can I actually talk to a real person?

I worked for the IRS for 15 years, so let me try to help. The disconnections are frustrating but probably not intentional - the phone systems get overloaded, especially during tax season. For an ongoing audit, you absolutely should have an assigned auditor. Look at your initial audit letter - it should have their name, ID number, and direct contact information. If you've lost that letter, call the main audit department at 866-897-0177 (usually less wait time than the general line) and explain you need your auditor's contact information. As for recording calls, even in one-party consent states, federal agencies often have different rules. The IRS generally announces they record calls, but technically you should still inform them you're recording. However, a better approach is to document everything in writing - take detailed notes of all calls with dates, times, and what was discussed. Regarding the in-person visit, yes, the local office can help with audit issues. They can look up your case, see notes, and often contact the audit department directly. I'd recommend making an appointment through the IRS website rather than just showing up. One more tip: send a certified letter to the address on your most recent IRS notice requesting clarification on your audit status and documentation of any alleged balance. This creates a paper trail that can help if you need to escalate further.

After struggling with a similar nightmare situation (audit from 2019 that dragged on forever), I finally discovered taxr.ai and it was a game-changer for my sanity. I uploaded all my IRS letters and audit documents to https://taxr.ai and their system analyzed everything to tell me exactly what was happening with my case. Turns out I had been sending documents to the wrong department for months! No wonder nobody was reviewing them. Their system showed me which specific IRS office was handling my case and gave me the direct extension number for the audit group (not just the general IRS line). When I called that number, I got through to someone who actually knew about my case in under 15 minutes. They also have this feature where they can tell you if your audit is active or just stuck in processing limbo. Mine was the latter, which explained why I kept getting automated notices despite sending in documents.

Just wanted to update everyone - I tried taxr.ai after seeing the recommendation here and I'm shocked at how helpful it was. I've been getting these confusing CP2000 notices that seemed contradictory, and their system explained exactly what was happening and why I kept getting different amounts owed. The best part was they identified that my case had been assigned to the Brookhaven processing center but then partially transferred to my local office, which explained why things were falling through the cracks. They gave me the direct number to the department handling my type of issue, and I was able to talk to someone who could actually see my full case history. Saved me so much frustration compared to the general IRS number where no one seemed to know anything about my situation. Definitely worth checking out if you're dealing with audit confusion.

After reading this thread, I want to recommend a service that saved me countless hours of frustration with the IRS. It's called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) and they basically wait on hold with the IRS for you, then call you when they've got an agent on the line. I was super skeptical at first - like how is this even possible? But I watched their demo video (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) and figured I'd give it a shot after spending over 5 hours on hold across multiple days. My experience was they called me back in about 1.5 hours with an actual IRS agent on the line. I still can't believe it worked! The agent I spoke with was able to tell me exactly what was happening with my audit and confirmed they never received some of the documents I had mailed (classic IRS). I was able to get her direct number for follow-up questions about my case.

I need to eat my words and apologize to everyone here. After being super skeptical about these services, I was desperate enough to try Claimyr for my own audit situation. I honestly can't believe how well it worked. I've been trying to reach someone about my 2021 audit for MONTHS with no success. Used Claimyr yesterday afternoon, and they called me back in about 2 hours with an IRS agent already on the line. The agent actually knew what was going on with my case! Turns out my documents were received but were sitting in a queue waiting for review. She estimated another 6-8 weeks for processing but gave me her direct extension to check in. She also removed a pending collection action since I had responded to the audit request on time. For anyone dealing with the IRS hanging up or endless hold times - this service is legit. Saved me so much stress and probably a day's worth of time on hold.

Just to add to what others have said - definitely check all your audit letters carefully for the assigned auditor's info. I missed mine because it was buried in the second page of the letter. Also, if you're getting multiple different letters, it could mean your case has been moved between departments. This happened to me, and each new department thought the other one was handling my case. Complete mess. I ended up writing a detailed letter, sending it certified mail to EVERY address listed on ANY letter I'd received, and THAT finally got someone to call me directly about my case.

One thing nobody's mentioned: check with a CPA who specializes in audit representation. I did this as a last resort and found out that professional tax preparers often have access to a dedicated IRS practitioner hotline that's WAY less busy than the public numbers. I paid my CPA for 2 hours of time ($350) to handle my audit communication, and she was able to reach my auditor on her first try through the practitioner line. Worth every penny for the stress reduction alone!

I'm dealing with a similar situation with my 2019 audit that's been dragging on for over a year. The phone disconnections are absolutely maddening - I've had it happen 6 times now after waiting 45+ minutes each time. One thing that helped me was finding the "Collections" number (800-829-7650) which sometimes has shorter wait times, and they can often see your audit status even if they can't resolve it directly. When I explained my situation, they were able to confirm that my case was indeed assigned to a specific auditor and gave me some internal reference numbers to use when calling back. Also, I discovered that calling first thing Monday morning (like 7 AM) seems to have better success rates - I think fewer people are calling then. Still took 25 minutes on hold, but at least I didn't get disconnected. Has anyone had success with the "Where's My Amended Return" tool online? I'm wondering if audit status shows up there too, or if it's completely separate from regular return processing. The whole system is so broken - we shouldn't have to use third-party services or wait literal hours just to talk to someone about our own tax situation!