The IRS is making progress on its backlog of individual returns for 2020, but not enough. As of November 5th, IRS has 6.8 million individual returns for 2020 requiring manual processing. That number might seem high, but it is going down. Compare it with the 7.8 million unprocessed individual returns as of September 18th.

There are also big delays in other areas of IRS operations.

For instance, it is taking months to process W-7 forms requesting individual tax ID numbers. It is now working on W-7 forms it received in early July. Resolving identity theft cases reported by individuals on Form 14039 is taking 250 days… up from the IRS’s 120-day goal. And businesses still awaiting their money after applying by fax for quick refunds on carrybacks of net operating losses (NOL) are realizing the process is not that quick at all.