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.

Now the IRS is experiencing even more delays, many of which are affecting the Where’s My Refund tool that millions of taxpayers check obsessively to track the progress of their refund. For many, the tool has been providing absolutely no information about when they can expect their refund. The IRS hopes to have the problem resolved within a few days, but for now, all anxious taxpayers can do is wait.

The message from the IRS reads:

We are aware that some taxpayers who have filed electronically and received an acknowledgement from the IRS are concerned when they visit ‘Where’s My Refund’ and are told that we have no information regarding their return. This is a temporary situation, and we expect to resolve the matter in a few days. At that time, taxpayers will be able to get an expected refund date when they visit ‘Where’s My Refund.’

Here’s what you can do: be patient. Repeatedly calling the IRS and complaining isn’t going to get your money any faster. In fact, it’s probably just slowing the agency down. The same goes for your tax preparer. They are not in control of your return, the do not have any inside information from the IRS, and they cannot do anything to speed that agency’s processing of your return.

If your return was accepted by the IRS, rest assured that they have it and they are working as fast as a massive federal bureaucracy can to get your refund out to you. Keep calm and, well, carry on.

Photo via [ rachael ] on Flickr.