Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. In general, the Internal Revenue Service IRS says that nine out of 10 taxpayers who file electronically can expect their refunds within 21 days. But what if that much time has elapsed and your refund is still missing in action? Here is what you need to know and do. To do that, the IRS says you will need:. Unfortunately, this tool does not provide much detail about why your money may be delayed. It may advise you to call the IRS, from which you should be able to learn more details.
However, the IRS says you should not call unless one of the following two things is true:. Many things can hold up the processing and delivery of your tax refund. For example, it could be delayed if you filed your return too early or waited until the last minute. If you tried to file in January, for example, a last-minute change to the tax code could have triggered an error on your return that slowed down the processing.
Similarly, waiting until the very last minute to get your return in can mean a longer wait for your refund if the IRS is backlogged with a larger-than-usual volume of returns. Also, keep in mind that filing a paper return can slow things down. The fastest way to file—and to get your refund—is to do it electronically online. Here are some of the most common causes of delay:. Numerical errors or other mistakes on your tax return can slow the pace of your refund.
When an error is detected, your return is earmarked for human review, meaning that an IRS employee must comb through it to find the mistake. That can add days or weeks to the processing time. Having an incomplete return can also trigger an IRS review, which could mean a longer wait for your refund.
One type of tax fraud involves someone using your personal information to file a fraudulent tax return and claim a refund in your name. For the tax-filing season, the IRS identified more than , fraudulent refund claims, with more than 44, of them tied to identity theft.
That assumes, however, that you plugged in the right numbers for your bank account. Tax credits reduce your tax liability on a dollar-for-dollar basis.
Certain tax credits—including the earned income credit EIC and the additional child tax credit —often draw scrutiny from the IRS due to taxpayers claiming these credits fraudulently. Amending a tax return can also create a delay. In , the IRS changed the rules to allow for electronic filing of amended returns , though it only applies to and returns. In that situation, it can take up to three weeks for it to show up in the IRS system and another 16 weeks to be processed, meaning that you may be waiting several months for your refund.
If you owe certain debts—including unpaid child support , unpaid state taxes, or delinquent federal student loans— the IRS can offset your refund by the balance owed.
You have the right to dispute the debt with the agency that received your refund. In addition to the seven reasons listed above, one of the significant reasons for slower processing times during has been the impact of the COVID pandemic. In particular, if a taxpayer filed a paper return, the processing time may be slower due to limited staffing as a result of the pandemic.
This is causing refund delays. Taxpayers who have already filed a paper return should know that the IRS is processing paper returns in the order in which they are received.
The problem is ongoing. Tax-related identity theft occurs when someone uses a stolen Social Security number to file a tax return and claim a fraudulent refund. A taxpayer may not know this has happened until they file a tax return and find out someone else used their SSN.
Using Direct Deposit is the safest and easiest way to get a refund. Direct Deposit is the electronic transfer of a refund from the Department of Treasury to the financial account of choice.
Eight out of 10 taxpayers use direct deposit for their refunds. This is the same method used by 98 percent of Social Security and Veterans Affairs beneficiaries. It is easy, safe and secure. It also saves money for all taxpayers. All that is needed is an account number and a routing number to get a refund faster.
Splitting a refund is easy and can be done electronically if using IRS Free File or other tax preparation software. Form is not required for the IRS to direct deposit the refund into a single account; use the direct deposit line on Forms , A or EZ. With split refunds, taxpayers have a convenient option for managing money — sending some of the refund to an account for immediate use and some for future savings — teamed with the speed and safety of direct deposit. This cannot be fixed by filing a tax amendment.
Be sure that, at the very least, your address is current and accurate when you submit your return. If your direct deposit is failed for any reason, they will issue you a paper check to the address on record.
This is also the information that will remain on IRS record until it is changed either by updating your address or filing a tax return the following year. Only the IRS - not eFile. If you received a smaller refund amount than what was on your return, the most common reason for this is a refund offset. All or some of your refund may have been used to pay any past-due federal tax, child support, alimony payments, state tax, or other federal debts.
For Returns, taxpayers who claimed an inaccurate amount of the first and second stimulus payments would have seen their refund adjusted to the correct amount. Generally, you will receive an IRS notice informing you of these changes. If you received a raise or higher salary during the year, your income may have moved you up to a higher tax bracket. As such, if you did not adjust your income tax withholding , then this would effectively lower your refund since your withholding is based on a smaller salary.
If your income situation changed during the year, utilize the free W-4 tools on eFile. That is an estimated 1. In addition, these taxpayers will most likely also not claim a large amount of state tax refunds. You had until May 17, to file a claim these refunds.
Still, it is recommended to file the return regardless. Since it cannot be e-filed, see previous year tax forms you can fill out and mail. Maybe you thought your income was so low that you did not have to prepare and e-File or file a tax return. Even if this was the case, did you know that you still might be eligible for a tax refund? For example, you might have had a job and taxes were withheld every month, but you did not file a tax return because you had too little income.
You might still be able to claim this money in form of a tax refund. All these might mean a tax refund for you! See if you should or may want to file a tax return. In addition, the IRS has estimated figures for those who failed to file a previous year state tax return , accounting for millions of dollars worth of state tax refunds.
File your previous federal and state tax returns before you no longer have access to your hard-earned money. Generally, you have three years from the original tax return deadline to file the return and claim your refund.
After three years, the refund will go to the government, specifically the U. Don't miss out on the refund that is due you!
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