Practitioner Not a Priority Line

Wait time this morning estimated to be greater than 60 minutes... Uuugggh

Anyone have short wait times at a particular day/time?

I assume from your username that you're in No. California. I usually get in immediately if I wait until an hour before the practitioner line closes, PST, so that means calling between 6-7 pm. I usually get transferred immediately, no waiting, and the IRS employees that work the "late shift" seem nicer and easier to deal with, maybe because they have already had dinner, or a few beers, who knows? I know you probably don't want to work that late, but I just can't stand the aggravation of being on hold for an hour, and plus I do feel like the issue gets resolved in a snap most of the time, if I am calling late. The people working in the afternoon (especially just before lunch time) seem totally pissy and I get hung up on all the time, maybe because they have to clear their queue.

The "late night" people also will take care of multiple issues, (like if I have to call for 3 separate clients), and no one has ever given me grief about that. During the peak hours, on more than one occasion, I've had the operator tell me that they could only take care of one taxpayer issue "per call"-- which is a bunch of crap.

I've also had good luck calling right at 7AM, but it's usually not as good as using the late-night option.

The practitioner line is M–F, 7:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m, and usually gets extended to 9PM during tax season. During tax season, I also like to late, within an hour before the lines close. Just my two cents.

I called a few weeks ago around 4:00 p.m. CST and waited 1 hour, 52 minutes, and 13 seconds. I finally hung up because my wife was texting me to let me know my supper was getting cold. Incredibly frustrating.

Thanks Tax Writer for the tip. I haven't tried in the evening time in awhile so I will give it a go.

taxwriter said: I know you probably don't want to work that late

What? You mean people actually go home at 5? The couple of times I have done it lately felt like I was leaving in the middle of the day or something - so early that I could actually get dinner, clean up, watch TV and get to bed before 9pm. Wish I could do that more often, maybe I could think faster and more coherently if I wasn't so tired all the time.

What? You mean people actually go home at 5?

I work odd hours because I have small kids, so a lot of times I'll take stuff home and resolve it by calling in the garage. I bought a 50-foot phone jack-thingie for $5 on Amazon so I could have a fax machine in there in order to fax over the Form 2848.

I just hate sitting on hold and if I can wait for 5 minutes and resolve everything between dinner and bathtime, that's really preferable to having to wait on hold for 2 hours at the office, listen for the IRS to pick up, and then scream in frustration when they hang up on me again after the transfer.

I'm on the west coast, so that's the last time zone that closes for the practitioner line calls. I wonder if the IRS computers recognize the area code in order to route the call?

The Sacramento, CA area code is 916, so maybe if you get a free Google Voice number with a 916 area code, you can even call from the East coast at 10PM and they might answer and get your stuff done without waiting.

I called today around 11 am and I waited only 2 minutes.

I think it's "luck of the draw" most of the time. However, I've stopped waiting when they tell me "average wait time" is more than 45 minutes. Anyone notice if those wait times are accurate? I get over 15 or 20 minutes, I write a letter.

I always try to call before 9 tues - thurs. Usually before 9 in my experience is less than 15 minutes wait time. I'm in CST zone.

Real early and real late works best.

FWIW, I've pretty much stopped calling the Practitioner Priority Line. Until a few years ago it was absolutely the best way to go, but for the last year or two I never seem to get real help from them. Instead, they invariably transfer me out to another IRS office ... usually another office I already have the number for. That then often means sitting on hold for another 15-30 minutes! The last couple of times I actually tried to argue with them: "I'm a professional, this is the professional priority line, isn't it your job to help resolve issues professionals are encountering?" Nope: off I go to the corporate folks in Ogden (who I generally like dealing with), or the under-reporter unit, or whoever. The last time I called, the woman was quite nice, apologetic, and allowed that they're not allowed to handle the scope of issues they used to. Have I just had some bad luck in recent calls, or have others noticed this change also?

I had 8 or 9 cases last week wherein I had to call the Line. I staggered the calls over the entire week. Some of the folks were good and helpful. But that was the minority. Most had a "could care less" attitude.

A couple of tips from an EA group for trying PPS, neither of these have I tried yet. Sorry...

Tip #1--Opt for Spanish--Supposedly shorter waits and they still speak English, given load balancing will not question why you aren't speaking to them en espanol.

Tip #2--Try calling the International Line--This is effectively a different line serving international call ins, once again, given load balancing, I understand they can get PPS calls. Their hours at 8 a m to 11 pm. 267-941-1000.

Just passing these on.

And yes, have noticed the attitude has gone way down hill

I called several times last week...Once at 5:00 and was told a 30 minute wait, but it was actually 1.5 hours. Called at 10:00 AM one day and was told "more than 60 minutes", but it was actually 25 minutes. Their estimates mean nothing...just be prepared to work on something else while waiting.

Is it an auto disconnect when you hit the two hour hold mark? Just happened. bummer.

Real early and real late works best.

Yes, I set a reminder for myself at 8am when I want to call...I almost always get right in.

Eastern Time here. Before 7:30 AM works here. I don't think late would work for me; it's still prime time out west. Also, 8 AM is when Collections opens!