Congress Asks IRS to Stop Fines for Taxpayers Caught in Backlog

The Internal Revenue Service is under pressure from a large group of lawmakers to stop penalties and pause automated collections from taxpayers whose returns have been caught in a processing backlog.

In a letter signed by at least 216 Republicans and Democrats from both the House and Senate, the legislators urged the IRS to streamline the processes for resolving penalty-abatement issues and amended tax returns. They also asked for a halt in automated collections until the agency could work through some of the backlog and give relief to taxpayers who had already paid at least 70% of their taxes.

The ...