Upcoming IRS improvements for small business owners

FS-2023-13, May 2023 

As part of National Small Business Week, April 30 to May 6, the Internal Revenue Service wants small business taxpayers to know they will soon see changes to help them better interact with the Internal Revenue Service in ways that work best for them. New improvements to phone service, in-person and online options will allow small business taxpayers get the help they need when they need it.

These improvements are a result of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that passed in August of 2022. The Strategic Operating Plan describes how the agency plans to use funding from IRA to improve customer service and other priorities.

These are some of the enhancements to help small business taxpayers in the near future:

Expanded online service tools

Before next filing season, the IRS will launch Business Online Accounts. This tool is designed with small business taxpayers in mind. Additional features are scheduled to rollout in 2024. As the tool evolves through 2024, small businesses will be able to:

• Use their account to see their tax information, track refunds, and schedule and track payments.
• Access business tax transcripts will also be available online in an easy-to-read format.

Additional ability to respond to notices and file documents online

• The IRS recently launched an online portal for businesses to file Form 1099 series information returns electronically. Businesses used to have to submit these forms by mail.
• later this summer, small business owners will be able to respond to certain notices online like LTR0143C, Signature Missing. The IRS will continue to improve and expand these features.
• By 2024, small business owners will be able to respond to the correction of self-employment income, employment-related identity theft notifications and dozens of other online notices. The IRS will also simplify the language in the notices sent to taxpayers. These notices will have clear instructions on what taxpayers need to do.

Simplified, mobile-friendly forms

• Small business owners who file their own taxes will save time with new simplified tax forms.
• The IRS will modernize tax forms that small businesses most frequently use, including Forms 940, 941 and 944. The updated forms will be streamlined, mobile-friendly and available in multiple languages.

Digitization to eliminate paper-based processes

 

Improved processing times and faster refunds are on the way as the IRS automates paper-based processes and makes more forms available online. The IRS is expanding its scanning of paper forms to include the most popular forms, Forms 1040 and 941. The IRS is on track to scan millions of returns in 2023, which will save small businesses time and money by speeding up processing and refund delivery.