The IRS wants to serve in every community, and we\u2019re committed to providing the assistance and
\nopportunities to meet the needs of those we serve. Today we are taking a closer look at how we
\nare working to serve residents of Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n
The American Rescue Plan Act was signed into law in March 2021, and one of the Act\u2019s provisions
\npermanently expanded Child Tax Credit eligibility to residents of Puerto Rico with one or more
\nqualifying children. Previously, tax law limited Puerto Rico resident eligibility to those who paid
\nSocial Security or self-employment taxes during the year and had three or more qualifying
\nchildren. The American Rescue Plan further made the credit fully refundable for 2021 \u2013<\/p>\n
temporarily removing the requirement that limited the credit amount to the Social Security and
\nself-employment taxes paid during the year.<\/p>\n
This provision in the legislation has already made a big impact. Last year, nearly 152,000 Form
\n1040 tax returns were filed by residents of Puerto Rico, and as of April 18, 2022 \u2013 the last day of
\nthe filing season \u2013 nearly 240,000, Form 1040 returns had been filed.<\/p>\n
While that\u2019s a good sign that more people have filed this year, we believe that there are many
\nmore eligible individuals who haven\u2019t filed and claimed the credit, either because they don\u2019t
\nnormally file a tax return, have never needed to file a federal tax return, or haven\u2019t heard about
\nthis change. We also know that some island residents have had issues filing their tax form and\/or
\nclaiming the credit. Fortunately, there is a three-year filing statute, so eligible Puerto Rico
\nresidents still have time to claim their money, and we are 100% committed to resolving any issues
\npeople may be experiencing so we can get money into the hands of eligible recipients. To help
\nreach as many people as possible, the IRS has increased our in-person resources and outreach to
\nraise awareness on the island.<\/p>\n
Strategic Approach and Three-Year Plan
\nWe know we must start from the ground up to reach out to Puerto Rico residents who may have
\nlittle or no experience filing a federal tax return or receiving the credit. Not only do we want them
\nto know about the credit, but we also want them to know there is help \u2013 some of it free \u2013 for
\ngetting it. And, if they go to a tax professional, we want them to know the steps for finding a
\nreputable one. Taxpayers should be wary of tax return preparers who promise a larger refund,
\nbase their fees on a percentage of the refund or promise other \u201ctoo good to be true\u201d outcomes.<\/p>\n
We are in the process of launching a phased approach that will run over the three-year filing
\nstatutory window for Puerto Rican residents to claim the 2021 Child Tax Credit. Intensive short-
\nterm actions focus on education and outreach, with in-person engagement and assistance from
\nand with our partners focusing on resolving filing issues for those who have already submitted tax
\nreturns. Next, we will focus on further outreach and education to ensure those eligible are aware
\nof the changes to the credit and to engage them in streamlined filing options. And then we\u2019ll focus
\non continued education, resolution of any additional filing issues for individuals and overall
\nexpanded IRS services in Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n
Lastly, also in development is a partner-sponsored online portal that will allow residents of Puerto
\nRico to file a streamlined Form 1040 for the 2021 tax year. We\u2019ll have more information about that
\nsoon.<\/p>\n
Identity Protection and Verification
\nOne key element of expanding the Child Tax Credit to more Puerto Rico residents is identity
\nprotection. As we have seen with the various rounds of pandemic stimulus payments, scammers
\ncome out of the woodwork quickly when new programs provide money to eligible recipients. So,
\nwhile we want eligible people to get the credit, we also want to avoid scammers stealing their
\nmoney.<\/p>\n
As part of an effort to verify identity and confirm payment is going to the authorized recipient,
\nPuerto Rico residents may receive a Letter 5071C, 5071C\/SP, or 6331C after filing their 2021 tax
\nreturn. These letters request that taxpayers verify their identity with ID.me and validate their tax
\nreturn with the IRS to help ensure that an identity thief doesn\u2019t steal their refund or credit.
\nIndividuals who receive the letter can go to the related Understanding Your Letter page on IRS.gov
\nand at the top of the page choose from eight languages, including Spanish, for more information
\nand instructions.<\/p>\n
One thing individuals can do to protect their identity and track their tax return and credit is to
\ncreate an IRS Online Account. After establishing this account, taxpayers can access resources such
\nas Get Transcript, Online Payment Agreement, Identity Verification Service (ID Verify) and Get an
\nIdentity Protection PIN (IP PIN).<\/p>\n
The IRS uses ID.me, a trusted technology provider, to provide identity verification and sign-in
\nservices. If an individual has an ID.me account from a state government or another federal agency,
\nthey can sign in without verifying their identity again. New users will have to create a new ID.me
\naccount. ID.me offers two options for verifying your identity to access IRS online services \u2013 a self-
\nservice process and a live video chat. Both the self-service and video chat registration options are
\navailable in Spanish, and ID.me offers 24\/7 customer support for both English and Spanish
\nspeakers.<\/p>\n
In-Person Assistance
\nBecause the Child Tax Credit is new to many people in Puerto Rico, we expanded outreach there
\nand will continue to do so. The Taxpayer Assistance Center in Guaynabo is currently available to
\nPuerto Rico residents for assistance with a full range of tax information and issue resolution. The
\nTaxpayer Assistance Center operates by appointment and is open Monday through Friday from
\n8:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. Those requiring an appointment should call (844) 545-5640 to schedule it.
\nIt will also be open May 14, June 11 and June 25 with no appointments required.<\/p>\n
To give you an idea of how helpful this Taxpayer Assistance Center has been, at a Taxpayer
\nExperience Day event we hosted on April 9, we assisted approximately 500 individuals and<\/p>\n
established appointments to resolve issues for an additional 200 people whose issues couldn\u2019t be
\nresolved that day. Additional events will be conducted this spring and summer.<\/p>\n
To serve other areas of the island, we will also be opening four additional Taxpayer Assistance
\nCenters this calendar year, with two projected for this summer and two in the late fall. Staffing
\nefforts are underway to augment current levels in the existing Taxpayer Assistance Center and to
\nhire new employees for the additional centers we will be opening in Humacao, Ponce, Mayaguez
\nand Carolina.<\/p>\n
In addition to the Taxpayer Assistance Centers, we\u2019ve worked with our partners to expand the
\nnumber of free tax return preparation sites in Puerto Rico from 10 in 2021 to more than 250 in
\n2022. While Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites are traditionally only open February
\nthrough April, a number of partners with a presence in Puerto Rico have agreed to continue
\nassisting local residents with tax filing and with additional outreach activities related to the Child
\nTax Credit. These dedicated volunteers have been trained to assist people with the identity
\nverification processes through IRS portals and will assist with establishing appointments for
\nupcoming Taxpayer Experience Day events.<\/p>\n
Looking long term, we plan to continue leveraging our community and local government partners
\nto reach out to and help individuals in more remote areas of the island.<\/p>\n
Online Assistance Available 24\/7
\nFor those with internet access, the Child Tax Credit information is available any time on IRS.gov in
\nboth English and Spanish. Individuals can also use the very popular IRS app called \u201cWhere\u2019s My
\nRefund?\u201d also available in Spanish, to track their refund.<\/p>\n
To meet the needs of all Puerto Rico residents, communications, tools and tax tips are available on
\nthe IRS\u2019 multiple media platforms, and our Facebook, YouTube and Twitter platforms all provide
\ninformation to Spanish-speaking taxpayers.<\/p>\n
In addition to sharing information directly from our channels, we will provide information to our
\npartners on the island, so they have the materials and social media\/web content they need to
\nsupport their stakeholders in partnership with local government and national representatives. We
\ngreatly appreciate all the local support to help get the word out to as many people as possible.<\/p>\n
Telephone Assistance<\/p>\n
The IRS can provide telephone assistance to island residents via a Spanish toll-free helpline and
\nthrough an Over-the-Phone Interpreter (OPI) service. It\u2019s important to note that these phone lines
\ncan often have long wait times, so I highly encourage starting with our online resources first, and if
\nthey are geographically convenient, visiting a Taxpayer Assistance Center. In the future, to further
\nincrease public awareness of Child Tax Credit eligibility, we are looking into the possibility of
\nworking with local partners to leverage use of community services such as the 2-1-1 capability
\nwhich provides information about local resources and services through United Way Worldwide.<\/p>\n
Career Opportunities for Puerto Rico Residents
\nWhile we\u2019re talking about assistance for island residents, I think it\u2019s also important to mention that
\nthe IRS has positions available to provide career opportunities to those who would like to join our
\nteam in Puerto Rico. For example, on May 17 and 18, there will be an in-person Job Fair at Fort
\nBuchanan for veterans and military spouses to fill Bilingual (Spanish) Contact Representative and
\nSupervisory Contact Representative positions in Puerto Rico. Information about this event, other
\nevents and additional job openings can be found on our Careers page. Please also visit
\nUSAJobs.gov to view and apply for IRS positions.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m very proud of the work we\u2019ve been able to do to make this part of the American Rescue Plan
\nhelp residents of Puerto Rico during this pandemic. We\u2019ve greatly appreciated the support of our
\npartners on the ground in Puerto Rico, as well as organizations with outreach capabilities there.
\nThe White House, the Treasury Department and other federal agencies have also worked very
\nhard to raise awareness of the Child Tax Credit in Puerto Rico. We\u2019re happy to work with national
\nand local stakeholder groups, local media and anyone else interested in helping, and our efforts to
\nbuild those bridges for Puerto Rico residents to get this benefit will continue for years to come.<\/p>\n
More information www.irs.gov<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The IRS wants to serve in every community, and we\u2019re committed to providing the assistance and opportunities to meet the needs of those we serve. Today we are taking a closer look at how we are working to serve residents of Puerto Rico. The American Rescue Plan Act was signed into law in March 2021, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11038,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sin-categoria"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n