IRS Blames Delayed Tax Returns On Printers Being Out Of Ink

The IRS says that tax returns are being delayed due to their printers not having any ink.

Many American citizens have not received their tax refund checks this year, despite having already filed their taxes. This is exceptionally detrimental since many families are still trying to recover financially from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration released a report on Friday, suggesting that the reason people have not received their money is due to IRS printers simply needing their ink cartridges replaced.

“The Internal Revenue Service is having a tough time processing tax returns this year, potentially delaying refunds for many Americans. Among the many challenges the agency faces: Out-of-order printers and copiers.”

The statement adds that the supply of ink was scarce because their contract for supplies had ended in September of last year. IRS staff has stated that they have been unable to use many machines due to the ink shortage.

In addition to the lack of ink, countless IRS tools are not functioning correctly altogether. A watchdog discovered that sixty-nine of the 164 devices used by the submission processing functions were not operating as of March 30th, 2021. The report also cites a backlog from last year and a late start to the filing season as additional reasons for the refund hold-ups.

The Internal Revenue Service has only issued 36 million tax refunds as of March 5th, 2021. This figure is a 32% decrease compared to the same time last year, which saw 52.7 million refunds processed.