CPA tax professionals greeted the launch of tax season with skepticism that the IRS will be able to contend with its continuing logistical challenges, with taxpayers and their preparers likely to experience more frustration and delays.

In announcing Monday that it would begin to accept and process 2021 tax returns on Jan. 24, the IRS admitted its taxpayer service has been subpar, with a backlog of prior-year returns still to process.

While acknowledging that its performance has caused taxpayer frustration, the Service sounded an optimistic note for the current season, saying that the Jan. 24 date will allow it enough time to conduct programming and testing to “ensure IRS systems run smoothly.” And it emphasized taxpayers’ role in expediting processing, by e-filing with direct deposit or debit and making sure advance child tax credit payments and economic impact payments (EIPs) are properly reconciled with their corresponding full-year credits.