Duckworth asks IRS why on-time taxpayers are getting late notices

You filled out the tax forms and wrote the Internal Revenue Service a check by April 15. Painful, but done.

Not so, apparently for some Illinoisans who’ve received late notices and been assessed fees even though they paid their taxes on time.

The glitch is causing “confusion and panic throughout Illinois,” U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth and colleagues wrote IRS Director William Long on Friday.

“To make matters worse, the late notices also include penalties and fines, which further heightens the urgency for taxpayers to resolve the issue,” the Hoffman Estates Democrat said.

Duckworth noted the mistake coincides with an increase in scams by criminals who send out phony messages purporting to be the IRS to taxpayers.

“Not only is it unacceptable that the IRS has failed to process tax payments in a timely manner — the failure to prevent erroneous late notices from being sent is incredibly damaging to taxpayers’ trust in the IRS,” she said.

Amid oversight by DOGE, more than 7,000 probationary IRS workers were fired and about 20,000 left via deferred resignation programs, Duckworth said.

“We also look forward to a comprehensive plan to address this issue moving forward,” the senators wrote.

IRS responds

IRS officials said the agency is aware of a delay processing some electronic payments and that some taxpayers who paid on time are receiving notices about overdue taxes.

“The notice may have been initiated before the payment was processed on the account, or the payment may have been processed but contained errors and requires additional handling to address the error before updating the tax account,” officials said.

Individuals who have received a notice but paid taxes on time do not need to respond, the agency said. Payment status can be monitored on the IRS online account website. If your payment has not been processed by July 15, call the phone number on your notice, officials advised.

Penalties and interest will be automatically adjusted.

“The IRS apologizes for the inconvenience this delay in processing your payment has caused,” administrators said.

Bigger Supreme Court and Senate?

Proposals from Democratic U.S. Rep. Sean Casten of Downers Grove to expand Congress and restructure the jurisdiction of the U.S. Supreme Court are being criticized by a Republican candidate for his 6th District seat.

Casten announced the legislative package last week. It consists of two traditional bills and a proposed constitutional amendment.

One bill would limit congressional districts to 500,000 people, which could — based on the 2020 census — create more than 200 new representatives. The number of congressional districts now is capped at 435.

A second bill would create a 13-judge, multi-circuit panel to hear cases in which the U.S. or a federal agency is a party.

The proposed amendment would increase Senate membership to 112 by establishing 12 at-large senators to be elected through a national popular vote.

“These are bold but necessary measures that seek to change the norms of modern American politics to remedy long-standing problems in our institutions and return power to the will of the people,” Casten said in a news release.

Casten introduced similar proposals in 2023. They didn’t progress.

The proposals were criticized as “nonsense” by Republican candidate Niki Conforti of Glen Ellyn, who is making her third bid for the 6th District seat.

“Democrats are losing power. When that happens, their answer is not to propose real solutions, it is to change the rules,” Conforti said Monday in a news release.

Casten defeated Conforti in 2024. She also unsuccessfully sought the GOP nomination for the seat in 2022.

The 6th District includes parts of Cook and DuPage counties.