Question

I submitted paper return 10 weeks ago (will only e-file in future), no refund. I called to see if return was rec'd but no help. Should I refile? 1040x? wait? IRS terrible

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
May 17, 2021
1 reply
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Every year I've done paper and received refund in a month or so, this year (yes it's COVID) been 10 weeks. I sent certified mail a couple weeks ago to inquire since phone was no help. Wondering if I should e-file my return again or wait/hope it's being processed. Odd that IRS can't even tell you returns been received, just delayed being processed. Today is tax day .. thoughts? Thanks

H

HelenC12

No, don't file another income tax return if your certified letter confirmation shows the IRS received it.

There's not much you can do but wait for the IRS to process your return. You’re not alone. Millions of tax payers are still waiting for their taxes to be processed by the IRS.

Per IRS, they have around 12 million tax returns that have been caught in a processing backlog created by the pandemic, which shut down the IRS for a time. Americans should see their refunds in the coming months. "We would hope to be through this backlog by the summer," said IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig.

The IRS also has millions of returns that have to be manually verified which is also causing a delay.
Keep checking the IRS Where's My Refund page to see if your refund status has been updated.

Other reasons some returns take longer to process are the following:

Perhaps you had a refund offset.
Includes errors
Is incomplete
Is affected by identity theft or fraud
Includes a claim filed for an Earned Income Tax Credit or an Additional Child Tax Credit. See Q&A below.
Includes a Form 8379, which could take up to 14 weeks to process
Needs further review in general
The IRS will contact you by mail when we need more information to process your return.