a carryback is when a taxpayer has an unused tax credit or loss in a later year that the tax laws allow to be carried back to an earlier year. so for a carryback to 2020, the loss or credit had to have occurred in the 2021 tax year. to boot, the tax laws bar a carryback of most operating losses from 2021 to an earlier year.
trying to get through on the phone to the IRS is extremely difficult. they are getting more calls than its system and agents can handle. you can continue to try to call.
options:
1) contact the IRS Taxpayers Advocate Service to see if they'll help
877-777-4778. they may decline and tell you to talk to the IRS
2) review the transcript of your 2020 return.
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript
Click the get transcript online icon - you'll need to register. then you'll be able to see what changes the IRS made.
if you don't agree with the changes, you can respond to the notice by citing the changes the IRS made and why you disagree with them. send the notice and response by certified mail or some other method to track it.
3) use The Audit Defense service provided by TaxResources, Inc., also called TaxAudit.com, in partnership with TurboTax. If you paid for Audit Defense and you received a notice, call TaxResources, Inc. at 877-829-9695, or report your notice on their website at http://intuit.taxaudit.com/. Do not contact the tax agency until you have spoken to TaxResources. They may contact them on your behalf.
4) here's from another thread
I have found that for me it was best to call the IRS just before closing time--about 6:50-6:55 PM and go through the steps below. I figured a lot of folks would not call that close to closing, and that if I was one of the last to get into the queue, they would finish off all the people who were in the queue at closing time. I still had to wait about 25-30 minutes.
IRS: 800-829-1040 (7AM-7 PM local time) Monday-Friday
When calling the IRS do not choose the first choice re: "Refund", or it will send you to an automated phone line.
First choose your language. Then listen to each menu before making the selection.
Then press 2 for "personal income tax".
Then press 1 for "form, tax history, or payment".
Then press 3 "for all other questions."
Then press 2 "for all other questions."
It may then ask for your SSN, but do not enter it. Just wait. If it asks for SSN a second time, still do not enter it.
Then it will get "tired", and you'll get another menu. Choose 2 for "personal".
Then in the next menu choose 4 for "all other inquiries", and it should transfer you to an agent but expect a long wait.
I usually use a speakerphone so I can work on something else while waiting.
