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IRS Refund Problems Cause Delays

Many taxpayers are frustrated by IRS delays and a lack of information from Where’s My Refund

Going into this tax season we knew that refunds were going to be delayed. Right off the bat the IRS increased the time frame within which most people can expect their refund. Instead of the old 8-15 days it suddenly became “under 21 days.”

Then the fiscal cliff nuttiness in Congress pushed the start of the season back two weeks to January 30th. These two changes alone meant that lots of people would be getting their money 2-3 weeks later than usual.

But as the tax season has progressed, the IRS has run into even more problems. Before the start of the season this year the IRS made some changes to its system to try to cut down on instances of tax fraud and identity theft, which affected over a million taxpayers last year. This is a huge relief to anyone who’s had their Social Security number or refund stolen.

Once the season started, however, the IRS discovered some problems with this new system that required a little fine-tuning. These adjustments caused many returns to be delayed for an additional week. Continue reading “IRS Refund Problems Cause Delays”

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Where Is My NY State Tax Refund?

Find out when you should receive your 2012 New York state tax refund

Are you still waiting on a tax refund from New York state? You can check the status of your state refund online by using the Income Tax Refund Status tool on the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance website. If you prefer to use the phone you can also check the status of your refund by calling 518-457-5149.

These days you can expect your federal refund from the IRS in under twenty-one days. In some cases they are even fast enough to get your money out in a week. State operations are not quite so sophisticated.

New York says to expect your refund six to eight weeks after they receive your return. As with federal taxes, the fastest way to get your refund is by e-filing your return and then requesting your refund by direct deposit. Mailing your return in to the tax office and requesting a paper check will both slow down the refund process.

If you really want to know when you’ll get your refund the moment that information become available, you can sign up to receive an email from New York State as soon as they process your return. The message will include the amount of your refund, the expected payment date, and the payment method. In order to receive this email, you have to sign up through the online services. Continue reading “Where Is My NY State Tax Refund?”

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For 2011 Taxes, Avoid the Problem of Unclaimed Federal Tax Refunds

E-File taxes for 2011 and request direct deposit to get your refund faster

One of the perennial tax questions, asked by thousands of taxpayers every year, is “When will I get my tax refund from the IRS?” For most, the refund is just slow in getting to them. But for some, their refund really is lost.

In November, over a month after the final deadline to file 2010 taxes, the IRS announced that it was in possession of $153 million in unclaimed federal tax refund checks.

99,123 taxpayers that were due a refund were without their money, thanks largely to errors on the IRS mailing addresses for the refunds that rendered the checks undeliverable. The average check amounts to the tidy sum of $1,547. Continue reading “For 2011 Taxes, Avoid the Problem of Unclaimed Federal Tax Refunds”