National taxpayer advocate urges IRS to pause Kwong claims denials

Taxpayers who filed claims tied to ongoing Kwong litigation stemming from COVID-19 disaster relief are receiving IRS denial and “no consideration” letters, prompting the national taxpayer advocate to urge the agency to halt further denials while courts continue to consider the case.

“I am particularly concerned that the IRS is sending letters to some taxpayers declining to process or disallowing their Kwong-related claims based on criteria that may not adequately account for the legal issues still being litigated,” NTA Erin Collins wrote in a blog post last week.

The IRS has received more than 275,000 Forms 843, Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement, asserting Kwong-related claims, Collins said. She noted that the figure represents a small fraction of the tens of millions of taxpayers who could have been affected by the litigation.

As taxpayers begin receiving denial and “no consideration” letters, Collins said they should take the correspondence seriously but also should not abandon their claims. “If you received one of these letters, do not ignore it, but don’t assume it necessarily ends the matter either,” she wrote. Read more.