New IRS Commissioner Releases YouTube Tax Season Video

February 11, 2014, 12:14 p.m. EST 1 Min Read

The Internal Revenue Service’s new commissioner John Koskinen has released a message to taxpayers for this tax season in a YouTube video, urging them to use the agency’s Web site and warning of long wait times on the phone.

The video also provides taxpayers with tips and help for the 2014 filing season. In the YouTube video, now available at IRS.gov and the IRS YouTube channel, Koskinen discusses how the IRS and its employees will approach the 2014 tax season. “I can assure you we are all dedicated to doing whatever we can to help you file your taxes this filing season,” Koskinen said in the video, which runs just under three minutes. “We want to provide you with the assistance you need to get your taxes filed accurately and on time,” he added. “And we will work hard to issue refunds quickly while increasing our efforts to stop tax fraud and identity thieves.”

Koskinen also cautioned taxpayers that the IRS’s phone lines will be busy this year. Given our very limited resources, our phone lines are going to be extremely busy this year—and there will frequently be extensive wait times,” Koskinen said. “We are working to limit these waiting times as much as possible, and I apologize that we can’t do more in that regard this year.”

As an alternative, he encouraged taxpayers to consider the following options:

Visit IRS.gov to find a wide range of information, including the Where’s My Refund? tool to check on tax refund status.

Download the newly redesigned IRS smartphone app IRS2Go to check on tax refund status and get the latest tax news and information, available in English and Spanish for Apple and Android devices.

Visit the IRS YouTube channel to get information from over a hundred short instructional IRS videos. IRS YouTube channels have been viewed more than 6 million times.

The IRS also offers subscription to daily tax tips during the filing season as well as other useful resources year-round through a variety of social media platforms such as Twitter, @IRSnews, @IRSenEspanol and @IRStaxpros, Facebook and Tumblr. For more IRS social media links, go to IRS Social Media.