Question: I mailed two federal tax returns separately to Ogden, Utah, each via Certified Mail. I was given two tracking numbers. On the U.S. Postal Service website, the tracker says "in transit" for each envelope. However, per the central USPS customer service representative, tracking will never show delivery to the Internal Revenue Service because the IRS receives too much mail. Could this be possible? It’s tax time, please clear this up. If true, the idea of "tracking" and having to pay for it is very misleading to the public.

Answer: Unfortunately, it’s true that during the tax season the U.S. Postal Service cannot confirm Certified Mail delivery to the IRS because of the sheer volume of mail going to the agency.

Because of this surge in mail, the process of delivering certified mail to the IRS is different from the usual certified delivery process, said USPS spokesman Duke Gonzales.

"During this time, certified tax mail addressed to the IRS is delivered in batches rather than as individual mail pieces," he said. "Likewise, the certified delivery confirmation process is managed in batches rather than individually."

The IRS confirms receipt of the "batched" Certified Mail pieces, but there is no separate confirmation to individual senders.

And, "because they are dealing with incredibly large volumes of mail in a relatively short time frame, the IRS’ confirmation of Certified Mail delivery can take up to six to eight weeks," Gonzales said. He noted that the IRS reported receiving 16 million hard-copy returns during the 2014 tax season.

Asked what the benefit is to send a tax return via Certified Mail if delivery can’t be individually confirmed, Gonzales said, "Certified Mail still provides an essential service to our customers," serving as proof that a customer mailed his or her tax form by a particular date.

"As we near the deadline to submit tax returns, the biggest concern of our customers is getting their federal tax forms in the mail by April 15," he said. "Our Certified Mail service provides the proof that tax returns were submitted on time."

Tracking Refunds

The IRS website, irs.gov, provides a way to track the status of refunds. Click on "Where’s My Refund."

You need to provide your Social Security or Individual Taxpayer Identification number, filing status and exact refund amount.

You can check within 24 hours after you’ve submitted your e-filed tax return or four weeks after you’ve mailed your paper return.

Question: I am a senior citizen who still is able to do my own taxes. However, I forgot to check the box (Line 61 on Form 1040) regarding health insurance coverage. I have been hearing different scenarios about what will occur because of the unchecked box, and some of them are quite upsetting. After talking to several people, it seems many people also missed checking this box. Could you please look into this and tell me what I can expect? Even if I have Medicare, would I be penalized?

Answer: No need to worry.

"Taxpayers do not need to amend their tax returns solely to indicate that they neglected to check the box," said Internal Revenue Service spokesman David A. Tucker II. "There is also no penalty associated with neglecting to check the box."

Following its normal compliance approach to filed tax returns, the IRS might ask taxpayers about a failure to check the box, indicating whether they have coverage, pay an individual responsibility payment or claim an exemption.

"The IRS routinely follows up on the accuracy and completeness of tax returns, and in this situation, taxpayers should be prepared to respond to IRS correspondence," he said.

For information on health insurance documents taxpayers should maintain in case the IRS does follows up, go to 1.usa.gov/1Cbv9B1.

The Affordable Care Act includes tax provisions, and 2015 is the first year taxpayers are asked to report health care coverage to the IRS. Go to 1.usa.gov/1Cj3WOX for information.

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