Tax
Many different factors can affect the timing of a refund after the IRS receives a return. A manual review may be necessary when a return has errors, is incomplete or is affected by identity theft or fraud.
Mar. 24, 2022
Even though the Internal Revenue Service issues most refunds in less than 21 days for taxpayers who filed electronically and chose direct deposit, some refunds may take longer.
Many different factors can affect the timing of a refund after the IRS receives a return. A manual review may be necessary when a return has errors, is incomplete or is affected by identity theft or fraud.
Other returns can also take longer to process, including when a return needs a correction to the Child Tax Credit or Recovery Rebate Credit amount, includes a claim filed for an Earned Income Tax Credit or an Additional Child Tax Credit, or includes a Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation , which could take up to 14 weeks to process.
The fastest way to get a tax refund is by filing electronically and choosing direct deposit. Taxpayers who don’t have a bank account can find out more on how to open an account at an FDIC-Insured bank or the National Credit Union Locator Tool.
The IRS cautions taxpayers not to rely on receiving a refund by a certain date, especially when making major purchases or paying bills. Some returns may require additional review and may take longer. Also, remember to take into consideration the time it takes for a financial institution to post the refund to an account or to receive it by mail.
To check the status of a refund, taxpayers should use the Where’s My Refund? tool on IRS.gov. Information for the most current tax year filed is generally available within 24 hours after the IRS acknowledges receipt of a taxpayer’s e-filed return. If they filed a paper return, taxpayers should allow four weeks before checking the status.
The IRS will contact taxpayers by mail when more information is needed to process a return. IRS phone and walk-in representatives can only research the status of a refund if it has been:
- 21 days or more since it was filed electronically (or since the IRS filing season start date – whichever is later),
- Six weeks or more since a return was mailed , or when
- Where’s My Refund? tells the taxpayer to contact the IRS.
Before filing a return, taxpayers should make IRS.gov their first stop to find online tools to help get the information they need to file. The tools are easy-to-use and available anytime. Millions of people use them to help file and pay taxes, find information about their accounts, get answers to tax questions and get tips on filing a return.
2020 tax returns
Still waiting on a 2020 tax return to be processed? The IRS expects to be caught up this year, but people whose tax returns from 2020 have not yet been processed should still file their 2021 tax returns by the April due date or request an extension to file.
Those filing electronically in this group need their Adjusted Gross Income, or AGI, from their most recent tax return. For those waiting on their 2020 tax return to be processed, make sure to enter $0 (zero dollars) for last year’s AGI on the 2021 tax return. Visit Validating Your Electronically Filed Tax Return for more details.
Also, when self-preparing a tax return and filing electronically, taxpayers must sign and validate the electronic tax return by entering their prior-year Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) or prior-year Self-Select PIN (SSP). Those who electronically filed last year may have created a five digit Self-Select PIN to use as their electronic signature. Generally, tax software automatically enters the information for returning customers. Taxpayers who are using a software product for the first time may have to enter this information.
Taxpayers should review the special instructions to validate an electronically filed 2021 tax return if their 2020 return has not been processed or they used the Non-Filers tool in 2021 to register for an advance Child Tax Credit payment or third Economic Impact Payment in 2021.
For most people, their tax refund will be most significant payment of the year – and they rely on that check.
The IRS knows your refund is important to you. It prides itself on paying most refunds within 21 days of filing. But what if your tax refund is delayed, leaving you wondering, “When will I get my tax return (meaning your tax refund)?”
It’s a fact — “Where’s my refund” is a common question we get here at H&R Block. And this post will tell you why you may see a delayed tax refund.
For 2020 tax returns only: The IRS has indicated your refund may take more than the normal 21 days if you:
- claimed a Recovery Rebate Credit and the amount you claimed does not match what the IRS calculates you are eligible for.
- applied the lookback rule to use your prior-year earned income to calculate your Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or the Additional Child Tax Credit.
If your return meets these criteria, the IRS will manually review your return, and it may take an additional 90 to 120 days to receive your refund. The IRS suggests that you continue to check the Where’s My Refund site for updates.
You can find additional details on the IRS website.
Quickly paying out refunds causes concern for the IRS and the U.S. Congress. When the IRS quickly issues refunds, there isn’t always enough time to check returns for accuracy. And rushing this process creates the opportunity for return errors and improper refunds.
EITC/ACTC Tax Refunds Delayed Until Late February
That’s why, starting in the 2017 tax season, Congress gave the IRS more tools to question refunds. Specifically, Congress:
- Moved up the deadline for employers to send Forms W-2, which show taxpayers’ wages and the income tax withholding they paid, and Forms 1099 reporting payments made to independent contractors. The deadline is Jan. 31.
- Delayed refunds containing the earned income credit (EIC) and/or the additional child tax credit (ACTC). The IRS can’t release these refunds before Feb. 15, but the IRS is saying to expect your refund by the first week of March.
Both new rules mean that, for the first time, the IRS will have the information and the time it needs to question more returns before issuing refunds. However, questioning and delaying refunds isn’t a new concept for the IRS. In fact, several IRS compliance programs take or hold refunds for millions of taxpayers each year. Here are some of the reasons why your tax refund may be delayed:
Reason #1 – IRS Taking Your Refund
When the IRS issues refunds, it mainly takes or reduces (offsets) refunds when taxpayers have debts to pay. Here are the two most common situations:
You owe federal taxes, and you haven’t paid:
If the IRS took your refund to pay federal income taxes you owe, you’ll know it a few weeks after you file your return. You’ll get IRS notice CP49,Overpayment Applied to Taxes Owed. If you don’t think you owed what the IRS says you owed, the only thing you can do is file an amended tax return to correct the tax or contest any extra tax the IRS charged you (like a tax bill from an audit or an underreporting notice).
Learn what to do if you can’t pay your taxes.
You owe other debts, and you haven’t paid:
The Treasury Offset Program (TOP) allows the IRS to take or reduce your refund if you owe other types of debts, including non-tax debts, such as:
- Past-due child support
- Other federal agency payments
- State taxes
- Unemployment compensation repayments
The IRS can’t answer questions or resolve disputes related to TOP debts. Taxpayers should call TOP at (800) 304-3107 for answers.
Spouses who aren’t responsible can get their part of the refund
If you filed jointly with your spouse, and the IRS took your full refund for your spouse’s debts, you can get your portion of the refund. File an injured spouse claim using Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation.
Reason #2 – IRS Holding Your Refund
The IRS can hold your refund and request more information from you in several situations. This doesn’t mean you’re being audited – but it can lead to one if you don’t respond with all the information by the deadline.
Here are six of the most common situations when the IRS can hold your return:
You mailed in your return, and the IRS flagged a “math error”:
When taxpayers e-file their returns, the e-file process catches many return errors and rejects the returns at the time of filing. If you mail your return instead of e-filing it, the IRS is more likely to identify an error after the fact.
The IRS calls most of these errors “math errors,” but they aren’t limited to arithmetic mistakes. If your Social Security Number (SSN) or your dependents’ information doesn’t match IRS records, the IRS can change any related deductions or credits (like the deduction for your dependent, the EITC or the child and dependent care credit). The IRS can also change your return if you forget to include a corresponding schedule or form to support a deduction or credit.
If the IRS changes your return, you’ll get a letter (usually IRS notice CP21) asking you to correct the error within 60 days. If you don’t provide enough explanation and information, the IRS change is final. At that point, you would have to amend your return and follow up with the IRS to get your refund.
The IRS suspects identity theft:
IRS identity theft filters sometimes delay returns and tax refunds until taxpayers verify their identities. If this happens, you’ll usually receive IRS Letter 5071C asking you to verify your identity. Until the IRS reinstates its online identity verification process, you can verify your identity by providing the IRS Taxpayer Protection Program unit with information from last year’s return, your current-year return, and your current-year Forms W-2 and 1099.
The IRS is challenging tax credit(s) you claimed:
If the IRS doesn’t think you’re eligible to claim the EITC, ACTC, advanced payments of the premium tax credit, or American Opportunity Tax Credit, based on its return screening filters, the IRS can delay your refund and ask for more information.
Technically, this is an IRS audit. If the IRS challenges your EITC claim, you’ll usually get Letter CP75, which will ask for proof that you qualify for the EITC. For an example, see Form 886-H-EIC, Documents You Need to Send to Claim the Earned Income Credit on the Basis of a Qualifying Child or Children for Tax Year 2015.
Learn how to handle an IRS audit.
The IRS identified potential ACA health insurance issues:
It’s only been a few years since the start of the Affordable Care Act requirement for taxpayers to get health insurance coverage, and the launch of the health insurance marketplaces where taxpayers can buy insurance and get tax credits to help them afford premiums.
In 2017, the IRS started receiving millions of information statements related to taxpayers’ health insurance coverage (Forms 1095-A, -B, and -C), as well as information about tax credits they may have received.
The IRS can use this information to question the accuracy of tax returns and delay potential tax refunds. If your return has discrepancies or a missing reconciliation of the advance payments of the premium tax credit, the IRS can request more information from you to process your return (Letter 12C), or even begin an audit to charge you penalties for not having required insurance coverage. After you file your return, the IRS may challenge your reporting of insurance coverage if it conflicts with Forms 1095 the IRS has on file.
You need to file an old return:
When the IRS pursues back tax returns, the IRS can freeze any refunds you may be due until you file the old return. The only way to fix this issue and get your refund is to file the past-due return. If you owe taxes on the old return, the IRS will take that amount out of your current-year refund.
Learn how to handle back tax returns.
You’re under audit from an earlier year:
The IRS can delay your tax refund until it completes any audits. This is most common when the IRS is conducting a mail audit on your EITC or ACTC return from a prior year. Normally, you’ll receive IRS Letter CP88 indicating that your refund is frozen until the IRS completes the audit. If you respond with the requested information by the deadline, the IRS will generally finish the audit within six months and can release your refund.
Handling a Refund Delay – Do Your Research and Respond Right Away
If the IRS is delaying your refund, you’ll need to understand why, and navigate the IRS to issue your refund as quickly as possible. This can be a daunting task because refund holds can feel like audits. But, be patient, and don’t worry. If your tax return is correct, it’s just a matter of explaining everything (and maybe providing some documentation) to the IRS.
Best course: If you get a notice from the IRS about your refund hold, immediately investigate the cause. Here’s where to start.
Contact the IRS and research your IRS account.
After you understand more about why the IRS delayed your tax refund, and how to respond to the IRS, do so right away to avoid further problems.
Your H&R Block tax professional can also help you investigate the cause of a refund delay and communicate with the IRS for you. Learn more about H&R Block’s Tax Audit & Tax Notice Services.