The average person will not be able to use this phone number for anything, as this is one of two numbers the Internal Revenue Service offers to help people who have received Form CP504 notifying them of a tax levy against them. Given that a levy is only assessed to people who have amassed at least $50,000 in monies owed to the IRS, most people will not find themselves in this situation.
That makes this number of no use to many because the IRS has set up a block point with its automated system that requires people to enter their Social Security number to proceed. When I called this number, I received the standard welcome message confirming that I had reached an official IRS number, as well as asking if I would prefer to proceed in English or Spanish.
I opted for English, and the system informed me that if my call had anything to do with stimulus payments regarding COVID-19, I could call a dedicated number for stimulus payments or send an e-mail to a specific address. I continued navigating the automated system as neither of these situations applied to me.
However, I hit the block point of having to enter my Social Security number. The IRS has this set up to confirm that only people who genuinely need assistance handling a tax levy use this number. As such, the SSN entry allows the automated system to instantly check if the person calling actually has a tax levy against them on their account.
There is no option to transfer to another service that the IRS offers; your only options here are to enter your SSN or end the call. Not wishing to enter my SSN when I didn't need this particular service, I opted to end the call here.
As such, I cannot give a complete picture of what it's really like to call this number. I do appreciate the IRS segmenting its automated system to limit wait times. One of the best things about calling the IRS' helplines is that it consistently offers callbacks if you face long wait times, which almost every caller to the IRS does.
However, this is an effort to help limit wait times, which is quite appreciated. Given that the callers for this number need specific assistance and are facing a stressful situation, anything that can be done to minimize wait times is a good thing.
I do not recommend calling this number unless you know you face a tax levy or have received Form CP504. Given that you must enter your Social Security number to proceed, it's not recommended to do so with the IRS for unneeded assistance.
This IRS phone number is ranked #5 out of 10 because 2,306,316 IRS customers tried our tools and information and gave us feedback after they called. The reason customers call 800-829-3903 is to reach the IRS Collections Department department for problems like Track My Refund, Setup Payment Arrangement, Ask For Tax Help, Order a Transcript, Missing Refund. As far as we can tell, IRS has call center locations in Utah or New York or Tennessee and you can call during their open hours Mon-Fri 7am-7pm EST. IRS has 10 phone numbers and 11 different ways to get customer help. We've compiled information about 800-829-3903 and ways to call or contact IRS with help from customers like yourself. Please help us continue to grow and improve this information and these tools by sharing with people you know who might find it useful.
Calling IRS at this number should be pretty straightforward. Also important is what you do once you call, or what your other phone number options are. First of all, we strongly recommend using our free call-you-back tool. Essentially, we navigate their phone menu for you, wait on hold, and then call you when a representative from IRS Collections Department can talk. Generally, it saves you at least 27% of your wait time. So it's faster and you don't need to listen to bad hold music. Once on the phone with IRS's Collections Department department, you may need to provide them with information that identifies you as a customer, like your full name (or name on the account), email address, phone number, or an account number. It's usually worthwhile to gather this information before you call.
While 800-829-3903 is IRS's #5 most popular phone number, it's not the only way to get a hold of their customer care team. You already know from reading above that 800-829-1040 is their best customer phone number overall, and we have put together a comparison of their 11 total ways to contact support for you to look at as well. One thing to keep in mind as you try to reach IRS help by calling them, is that other customers give their customer support at this number a 33% score for their communication skills and a 67% score for the overall help they received. That could be indicative of their abilities to help you resolve your problem overall, regardless of whether or not you call this number.