Rebate Questions Flood IRS Call Center

While their phones never quit ringing, the IRS is answering each and every tax rebate question coming in via their toll-free information line. In his Washington Post column, Stephan Barr reports that the IRS's call center has been taking more than 50,000 calls per day over its normal tax-season load.

Barr reports that the IRS's automated-response phones had taken 1.2 million calls specifically about the rebates, and that the agency has re-assigned some 1,500 employees just to deal with the rebate calls. Because of the rebate questions, it's taking about 71 seconds longer than normal for an actual IRS employee to respond to calls, with average waiting time running about 5 minutes.

On April 29, a week ahead of schedule, the IRS began sending the tax rebates to more than 7.7 Americans who specified that their rebates be sent via direct deposit. Rebate checks to be sent via regular mail will begin going out on May 9, following a schedule based on Social Security numbers.

Rebate Questions? If you have questions about the 2008 tax rebates, you can call the IRS at: Toll-Free, 1-800-829-1040, Monday – Friday, 7:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. your local time (Alaska & Hawaii follow Pacific Time).

More Tax Rebate Resources:
Tax Rebate Information Directory
IRS Publishes 2008 Tax Rebate Check Details
IRS Launches Tax Rebate Information Center
Rebate-only Tax Filers May Now File for Free
Will I Have to Pay Taxes On My Rebate?
To Get $300 Rebate, Kids Must Have SS Number
SSI and the Tax Rebate Checks
What if I Filed Before the Tax Rebate was Approved?
Tax Rebate Checks Become Scammer's "Bait"