The 2021 tax season
This year’s tax season coincides with a pandemic-induced economic recession and chaotic delivery of stimulus payments
Antiquated IT systems and staff shortages, mountains of unprocessed returns from last year amid the additional demands of processing stimulus payments. The 2021 tax season is shaping up much like a tornado, leaving some taxpayers unscathed while unleashing turmoil on others.
The storm clouds over the Internal Revenue Service have been building for some time, and have been made worse by the coronavirus pandemic.
“The covid-19 pandemic has presented frustrations and challenges,” Erin M. Collins of the independent Taxpayer Advocate Service, an organization within the IRS that helps taxpayers resolve issues with the agency, wrote last month in an annual report to Congress. “It also has pulled back the curtain on the significant limitations the IRS faces with technology and with its workforce.”
Now that the 2021 filing season has opened, people should be prepared for a tempest of tax issues, Collins said. Here are some resources to help you make your way through to the other side.
What obstacles have you encountered this tax year? Tell The Post.
Featured stories

Tax season 2021: A tornado is coming
A supersize list of some of the issues people will face this year | By Michelle Singletary
Tax season kicks off Feb. 12. Here’s what to expect.
A late start, stimulus payments that still need to be issued, 2019 returns not yet processed. These are just a few of the issues that could make for a stressful 2021 tax season. | By Michelle Singletary
Don’t file a paper 2020 federal tax return if you don’t have to, IRS watchdog warns
The new tax season won’t open until Feb. 12, the IRS said Friday. The agency is still processing close to 7 million returns filed last year | By Michelle Singletary