How Long to Get My Tax Refund & Why Is It Taking So Long? IRS Updates and News

When it comes to tax season I receive a lot of reader questions, many tinged with a hint of desperation, around why IRS tax refunds are taking so long to be processed and what can be done to get their money sooner rather than later.

This was no different in the latest tax season where a number of folks have commented on the extended delays they are seeing with the processing of their tax returns and payment of long overdue refunds. Despite PATH limitations now having lifted, many filers are still stuck in IRS refund processing limbo.

In fact the IRS had already announced that there will likely be longer than usual tax refund payment delays due to processing/validation of past year and amended returns, staffing/budget constraints and the ongoing payment and reconciliation of past stimulus payments and tax credits.

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Those who filed paper based or amended returns, will likely face even longer delays in getting any refunds and will likely see the “Return Processing Has Been Delayed Beyond The Normal Timeframe” WMR message for extended periods and ongoing notices from the IRS around additional 60 day review periods.

For returns that require special handling or manual processing the IRS has said that due to staffing shortages it is taking up to 120 days to complete processing and notify taxpayers of adjustments or adjudications.

Reasons why your IRS refund may be delayed

  • Additional identity or random security checks – especially if fraudulent activities were associated with your filing in the past that means your return gets flagged for further reviews
  • Amended returns require additional, and manual processing, which can see refunds delayed for up to 20 weeks
  • Missing or incomplete documentation or information in your return. This is why you should e-file with leading tax software as most online tax filing software checks for this, which is why manually filed returns are more at risk
  • Incorrect bank details or account numbers provided in your return (see below for how to address)
  • If you are using a pre-paid card for the first time and were using a middleman bank (SBBT, Republic, Bofi, etc), some people have had their refund not deposited because the middleman bank does not test deposits to ensure the account is active and correct
  • Refund claims with an application for an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) attached (see Topic 857 for more information on this)
  • Refund offset (Tax Topic 203) which reduces your payment due to other federal or state obligations. See section below for more on this.
  • If you requested a refund of tax withheld on a Form 1042-S (PDF) by filing a Form 1040NR (PDF), allow up to 6 months from the original due date of the 1040NR return or the date you actually filed the 1040NR, whichever is later, to receive any refund due (see more details in tax topic 152)
  • PATH act delays because you claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC). This constraint was/is normally lifted in mid-February,
  • Manual reviews or corrections are needed to the earned-income tax credit and the pandemic-related stimulus payments (refundable tax credits) claimed in your tax return. You will see this as code 570/971 on your tax transcript.

As always keeping checking the IRS’ Where is My Refund Apps (WMR and IRS2GO) for exact dates on your refund payment.

You can start checking on the status of your refund within 24 hours after the IRS receives your e-filed return or 4 weeks after you mail a paper return.

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The WMR apps displays your tax return processing through three stages: Return Received; Refund Approved; Refund Sent. You can see more on refunds and delayed payments in these videos covering this topic

So what can you do if your tax refund is taking much longer to get than expected?

There are two main categories that cause your tax refund processing to taking longer than expected. Either something is wrong with your tax return filing, e.g. missing information, additional identity fraud/verification, incorrect social security numbers etc; or income information from related sources (employer, ex-partner, IRS notices) do not add up.

For example same dependent claimed in multiple tax returns. So here are a few things you can do to try and figure out why your tax refund is so taking so long to get to you.

  • Check the IRS tax tool, where’s my refund (WMR) or IRS2Go mobile app, to get the official status of your refund (see estimated IRS refund schedule). It is updated daily (overnight) and provides the latest processing status of your tax refund.

    The IRS has announced that it expects to issue more than 90% of refunds to taxpayers in less than 21 days (not business days). So even if you have submitted all your documents you probably need to wait for at least 21 days before taking on more drastic actions.

    And if you paper filed, you may need to wait more than 6 weeks before hearing back from the IRS.

IRS bars offical - Where is My Refund (WMR) Return Received, Refund Approved and Refund Sent
Tax Status and Refund Delays
  • Why is my e-filed tax return in “Pending” status and the IRS has no record of my tax return? TurboTax experts say that after e-filing, your federal return may sit in “Pending” status 24-48 hours before its processing status changes.

    If you contact the IRS or try to look up your return or refund status on their site while your return is in “Pending” status, don’t be alarmed if they tell you they have no record of your return.

    This is normal; once the IRS acknowledges your return, they will update your status to via WMR to Return Received, Refund Approved and Refund Sent. See this article for more details on what the WMR refund status’ mean.

  • What do these IRS refund status’ mean? Return Received means the IRS has your tax return and is processing/reviewing it. Your estimated refund date will be available as soon as the IRS finishes processing your return and confirm that your refund has been approved. Generally it takes just a few days for the status to shift from Return Received to Refund Approved if all is in order.

    But any issues with processing your return will delay things and a refund date will not be provided until your refund has been approved.

    In some cases the refund tracker graphic (shown here) will not be shown if your return is being reviewed prior to step two: “Refund Approved,” and instead an explanation or instructions will be provided by the IRS depending on the situation.

    This can happen even if you previously checked Where’s My Refund? and it showed the status as “Return Received” along with the tracker. If the IRS needs more information specific to your return, they will contact you by mail (be aware of IRS imitation scams). You should follow the instructions in the IRS letter as soon as possible to prevent further delays with receiving your return.

  • Review your tax return and make sure there no obvious mistakes like missing names/SSN or forgetting to sign your tax return. According to the IRS, one of the main things causing people to experience delays in getting their refunds is returns that are not accurately completed. So to ensure you get your refund ensure your return is as accurate as possible.

    You can resubmit an amended tax return entering the changes and explaining why you need to amend your original tax return. You don’t have to redo your entire return, either. Just show the necessary changes and adjust your tax liability accordingly.

    You usually do not need to file an amended return because you forgot to include tax forms such as W-2s or 1099 forms. The IRS normally will send a separate request asking for those documents.

  • Get online help from various articles on people seeing delays with their refunds. On one of my articles covering the IRS refund schedule I got 6000+ comments, with the following useful real life tips you won’t find elsewhere:

  • If you claim certain credits like the Earned Income Credit or Education credits in your tax return, the IRS announced that refunds these returns generate may take longer (under PATH act). So expect your refund to take longer in this case – possibly into April, even if you filed early.

  • Hire an accountant or tax services firm to follow up this issue on your behalf particularly if you have a tax obligation to the IRS. But be warned, these are not the cheapest options and if you refund is less than $1,000 it may not be worth the cost.

  • Calling the IRS is an option, though getting through to someone is a challenge. You can go the IRS resources page to get the latest contact IRS numbers/locations. Here is a way to get a real IRS person:
    • Dial 800-829-1040 – if they say they have high volume calls hang up, you’re wasting your time, call again until it doesn’t say high volume.
    • Then dial 1- for English or 2 for Spanish.
    • Then listen to the options and dial 2 then 1 then 4, then 2 again, until it finally asks for your social… they will try to trick you after that, but don’t dial anything it will take you to an operator. it’s a process but you’ll get to someone as long as you DO NOT say you have questions about your refund, cause then it will tell you to go online. make sure your cell is charge when you call cause you can wait up till an hour. Good luck people, and hope we all get our refund. Heck, we worked for it!!! =)

  • Check with the middleman bank (SBBT, Republic, Bofi, etc) that they received your refund and sent it to your personal account. If filed jointly make sure both names are on your bank account/pre-paid card as this can sometimes cause your refund to be held or rejected.

2022 IRS tax season statistics

The National tax payer advocate services (TAS) released some interesting statistics that confirm the ongoing challenges the IRS is facing in processing returns and paying refunds on time. Especially for paper filed returns. As you can see from the official statistics below, lots of folks are impacting by IRS processing delays.

  • More than 90% of individual income taxpayers e-file their returns (recommended), yet last year, about 17 million taxpayers – about the population of New York – filed their returns on paper because of access or limitations with filing electronically. 
  • It took the IRS on average 251 days (or more than 8 months) to make and respond to proposed adjustments across 5 million affected returns. This is three times pre-pandemic levels.
  • Over 336,000 taxpayers could not file their returns or receive their refunds because identity thieves had already filed a return using their identifying information. It is taking the IRS over 1 year to resolve identity theft cases.
  • While the IRS had reduced the number of suspended returns (those that require manual IRS reviews) to 5.4 million from 15.8 million earlier in the year, it is still taking up to 10 months for manual reviews of paper filed returns.
  • During the 2022 filing season, the IRS received about 73 million telephone calls. However only one out of 10 calls reached a live IRS agent. This is half as much as the prior tax year, despite a lower overall volume. The time the average taxpayer spent waiting on hold rose from 20 minutes to 29 minutes this tax season.

IRS Operations Page

To get the latest update on IRS tax refund processing delays, you can see the IRS operations page which provides information on key functions and causes behind some of the delays when it comes to phone support, paper filed returns and ongoing reviews.

Tax Payer Identify Verification Delaying IRS Tax Refund Processing and Direct Deposit Payments

In a lot of recent cases, it appears that the IRS is delaying refund processing because they are having to spend a lot more time validating tax payer identities given the rise in online tax related fraud over the last few years. In most cases the IRS will notify selected tax filers via WMR or mail (they will never call you) to contact a IRS number to verify their identity. After verification it could take up to 9 weeks for you to get a refund. See more in this article.

Refund Offset – Why Your Refund May be less than expected

Another area of confusion for those expecting a refund is that when they get a refund it is actually less than the amount they were expecting or provided by their tax software provider.

The reason for this is that the federal government has “offset” or deducted monies from your tax refund to cover debts you owe other federal agencies. Under the law, federal payments such as tax refunds can be collected against by approved agencies (e.g the IRS) before being paid to you. 

You will get  a letter from the IRS explaining this offset to your federal refund and why it differs from what was estimated in your filed return. You will generally see a tax topic 203 message or code 898 on your transcript when you have an offset applied to your IRS refund.

They will give you an opportunity to dispute this collection, but you will have to prove you had no federal obligations. If you have questions regarding the offset of your refund you can call the Treasury Offset Program (TOP) on 800-304-3107.

When will I get my paper check if my Direct Deposit is delayed or rejected?

At times people will change their bank accounts after their return is filed or provide incorrect account numbers. In these instances the IRS will issue a paper check when they cannot send by direct deposit.

This will delay your refund, but the actually IRS processing time for a paper check  is only 2 extra days more than direct deposit.

Usually paper checks are mailed on Friday’s and you usually get within 1 week; the following Friday or sooner. The US Postal usually don’t deliver refund checks until Saturday morning to prevent someone watching your mail and stealing the check.

If I can order my IRS tax transcript does it mean I am getting my refund direct deposited soon?

This question used to come up a lot, but is not very relevant since you can request a tax transcript online via your IRS account. The transcript is free and does show processing tax codes related to progress and status of past and current tax returns.

That being said, there is a correlation in reviewing your transcript for current year IRS processing transaction codes. If you see transaction codes (like 846), it means the IRS is or has processed your tax return, and refund where applicable.

But the IRS is very clear that reviewing your transcript does not mean you will imminently be getting a refund and is among the common myths and misconceptions repeated in social media. They still say that checking the WMR website or IRS2Go app is the best and official way to check your refund status.

Tax Topic 151 vs 152 notice

When you log on to the WMR website or IRS2Go mobile app, you may be presented with a message to refer to IRS Tax topic 151 or 152 in relation to your refund. But what do these mean? Tax Topic 151 simply means that you’re getting a tax adjustment due to an offset or IRS proposed adjustment.

You will get an official IRS letter or notice explaining the actual offset and adjustments to your tax return, and details on how to appeal this action – but likely it will delay you getting your refund. While not great news, the silver lining here is that the IRS has processed your return and your adjusted refund (where applicable) should be on its way.

Tax Topic 152 on the other hand means means you’re getting a tax refund in line with IRS processing guidelines (generally within 21 days) and this notice confirm the methods for payment (direct deposit, check).

I know it can be really frustrating to see ongoing delays in getting your tax refund. My answer is be patient, look into the above steps and contact a tax advocate or tax professional if you get nowhere with the IRS.

WMR and IRS2GO Refund Status Error Codes

When you see an error on the WMR and IRS2Go tool you will get an error code and a short description. Sometimes these can tell you the cause (e.g 1161 –  Refund delayed, bankruptcy on account ).

But in many cases this provides no help and in that case you should reference the IRS Refund Error Code list to get more details. You can also see the comments below for more errors people are facing.

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735 thoughts on “How Long to Get My Tax Refund & Why Is It Taking So Long? IRS Updates and News”

  1. It’s been over 21 days and still no updates, tried calling the irs and all it does is give me an automated system. How can I actually reach a person?

    Reply
  2. Filed the 14th, accepted the 19th and mine still says processing. I’d love to know what’s going on…everyone seems to have gotten there money or at least know when they are getting there refund. I am supposed to have mine by the 9th but it’s not looking that way :/

    Reply
    • I myself was accepted the 19th. My 21 days is up tomorrow on 2/9. The where is my refund tool still says my refund is being processed. I was succesful at ordering both tax transcripts last week and thought i would see a DDD but never did. I know a few people who filed the beginning of February and already have direct deposit dates.Seems like all the ppl who were accepted Feb 19th are still waiting so i wonder Whats the hold up?? It’s beginning to annoy me that there are still no updates to my refund.

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      • I agree! My app still says processing and will provide an update when available. Got ahold of someone today and they said if I didn’t get my refund this week try calling next week. Are you serious? No help!

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  3. I filed 2/1 so far still on accepted. Checked to see if I have offsets and luckily I don’t, but can’t order my transcripts yet so that’s probably not a good sign. Been following a group on Facebook and last night almost half of them received their second bar and DDD today. A lot of them filed in January so I understand they have been waiting a long time but a lot of them also filed on 2/1, 2/2, and 2/3 and received theirs as well. I just don’t get it. I know they tell us not to depend on our refunds but we do. I was let go from my job on Xmas Eve and thankfully I had enough in saving to cover January’s bills but I was expecting my refund in a timely manner so I wouldn’t have to stress in February. This is just such complete Bs. At least process them in order or let us know what the damn hold up is. Ok just needed to vent.

    Reply
    • Per the IRS – Will ordering a transcript help you determine when you’ll get your refund? No, a tax transcript will not help you determine when you will get your refund. This is among the common myths and misconceptions that are often repeated in social media. The codes listed on tax transcripts do not provide any early insight into when a refund will be issued. The best way to check on your refund is by visiting “Where’s My Refund?” IRS transcripts are best and most often used to validate past income and tax filing status for mortgage, student and small business loan applications and to help with tax preparation.

      Reply
    • The offset number isn’t always correct i called several times with it saying i had no offsets then my refund got approved with a offset of 1700 and the offset number still says i don’t have any offsets

      Reply
  4. I have seen where people have stated wmr told them their refunds were being used to satisfy a debt but they still received there refund dammit I hope I get lucky like that I say that because the irs took my refund last yr which was supposed to cover it..I do owe workforce but the letter I received in Dec stated the dept of finance would take state refund to apply…

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  5. People must have they ddd because no one is complaining about they taking to long. But anyway they are releasing dates all this weekend. Keep checking back

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  6. As previously stated, I also filed very early and was finally approved last night with a DDD of 2/10. Not sure why it took so long, but I think next year I’ll wait to file a bit later that way I don’t have to wonder why it’s taking so long.

    Reply
  7. Filed 1/31 and accepted the same day. Ordered my transcripts yesterday and woke up this morning and it was approved…DDD is set for 2/10.

    Reply
  8. Accepted the 1-12 went from one bar to none to prossessing for weeks now is there some kind of delay or explanation?

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  9. I call the irs today, accepted on 1/20 still processing it said and no bar for last week.. All they told to wait until Wednesday are they kidding.. I have a sick family and they are in there death bed.. Don’t have money to travel, I’m so piss because I did my taxes early.. I did the taxes early this year because I know my family need me there.. If my uncle pass way I can’t go because the irs playing games I’m going to go off them. All that I want to know that if there a problem so it can be solved early.. I already call the offset number, no offset as of today.. Irs get off your butt and send people there refunds because a lot of people there need there refunds.. For bills, rent, car, and other things.. I hope everyone getting there refunds soon..

    Reply
  10. Per turbotax people who’s returns were accepted the same day as mine, already have their refund. Why is it taking so long to get mine?

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    • Wow! I dont know how you guys filed but I filed on a site that has no fee. So is this a punishment for not going to Turbo Tax or the overly priced tax companies?

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  11. It does look like there\’s a delay to people who filed early. I filed on the 14th and was accepted on the 15th, yet I don\’t even had a DDD yet and i\’m without any bars. According to Turbo Tax, only 49% of people who filed the same day as me have received their money which is far below the 90%. 21 days comes on the 8th and it\’s not looking like 9 out of 10 people will make that deadline. I\’m not in any desperate need for my refund, but some communication in the mail or an email from the IRS would definitely be appreciated.

    Reply
    • I filed the 14th, then mine was accepted on the 19th…. my wmr bars disappeared for a week, then it finally updated today saying I will get my $ on February 10th. Alot of my friends have been waiting awhile

      Reply
  12. I am happy to see a deposit date for Monday. After our experience last year (didn’t get refund till end of September) I was dreading filing this year.

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    • I filed and was accepted on 1/27. No movement, but others who were accepted same day already have their refunds. Makes no sense! I have never had a delay like this.

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      • i filed 1/22 and was accepted, i lost my bars and tax topic 152 on 1/30 and since then it states still being processed and a ddd will be provided when available.

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  13. My husband and I filed on 1-20 thru turbo tax accepted the next day and has been processing since I don’t even have a bar. I have people who filed on the 29th get theirs today? What could cause the delay? Should I be worried?

    Reply
      • Me and my Wife are having the same issue we filled on the 20th and got accepted on the 21st as well.. I was starting to get worried but know that I see we are not the only one’s with this issue it makes me feel a little better about things.

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        • I filed on the 21st was accepted an hour later and was told via TurboTax I would have mine by Feb 11th the latest but here it is 2-8 and still stuck at accepted!! I never had this problem and the worst part is there is no way to find out what is going on!!! Same thing with my daughter she filed on 23 and was accepted right away but still stuck on accepted!! Don’t know what’s going on but we need our money this is crazy!! They didn’t wait to take the taxes why do we have to wait so long!!And the worst part is most people I know filed after me and got theirs already!!! What is going on it would be nice to know!!!

  14. I filed on the 15th and accepted on the 20th, today it says I can order my return transcript. Does that mean I should be getting a DDD soon because WMR is still at one bar.

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  15. Here’s one for you. My husband and I filed a joint return. When I check wmr under his social, he has no bars and the still processing message. Under my social, I have 1 bar for the same tax return. Either way, still no refund and we filed on 1/18 and supposedly the return was accepted on 1/20.

    Reply
  16. Filed the 19th. One bar. I filed with my sisters. They both received theirs yesterday. I think my frustration comes from being kept in the dark. The IRS made it very clear by saying that their computers were down yesterday, yet DDD were made and bars were moved. I understand that things come up but this is beginning to look like a cover up for something else. It is very aggravating knowing that you are sitting at one bar when a person who filed days after you are already receiving their money. We will get it , yes, but just like they expect all the answers when we send in our returns, I think it’s only fair that we receive answers about when we will get ours back.

    Reply
    • Omg, this is so frustrating. I’m relieved that someone else understands how I feel, I’m still stuck on 1 bar….my sanity is being tested. My brother who filed after me received his refund and I’m still on 1 bar

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      • Hate to say I’m your not alone i filed 1/17 and NOTHING still 1bar. My co-worker filed 1/29 and got hers today and her return was much more than mine.. NERVE WREAKING

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    • Man I’m so glad to hear I’m not the only one but sorry for everyone else’s misfortune! Idk what’s going on but I was supposed to get mine today and its still on accepted!

      Reply
  17. I just can’t anymore I lost my one bar 4 days ago, it still saying processing for last two weeks since I filed and received.. Now this computer glitch, this is just the irs buy time to get the money to send the refunds.. I know people that filed a week after me they already have received there refund.. First and last time I will filed early.. I was accepted on 1/20/2016..

    Reply
    • A friend of mine did hers on the 24 and she received her refund on feb 3. i filled mine on the 21st and it shows one bar. So aggravating but your money is being taken before the paycheck hits your hand or companies are fined for sending taxes in late.

      Reply
  18. Hello,
    Everyone i submitted my refund thru taxact on 1/19 and i owed a debt for a student loan and my refund was approved on yesterday with a deposit date of feb 5th.

    Reply
  19. I filed my taxes on 1/12 was accepted on 1/14. I still haven’t heard anything No bar , No DDD , No date. Today is the 21 days for me and I try calling and can’t get a hold of anybody. This is crazy I need my money.

    Reply
  20. Me and my mom are both tired of waiting this is all insane. We have NEVER waited this long before. Really hope they get the computers back up and have our taxes soon. Filed on 1/27/16 and accepted on the 29th. Trying to be patient because i know others have been waiting longer but they need to fix all of this mess!

    Reply
  21. I filed early got accepted on the 14 of january but my thing still say processing. I heard theyre having a problem with the system. Hope i get it soon coz its taking forever.

    Reply
  22. My tax laid texted me today she told me the where’s my refund system is down so people aren’t getting dates or the bars are just gone just check ur account daily. I did my tax return on the 14th n yet gotten anything back … So I hope I gave y’all some good info……

    Reply
  23. Me and my wife filed through turbotax on 1/22 we always filed separately. turbo tax stated it got accept by IRS. when i look at their website mines still shows pending, her already says sent for deposit. why s mines taking so longer than usual

    Reply
  24. I’m so nervous…. I filled my taxes Jan 14th and its still not saying approved…. My bars dissapeerd today so I hope that means they will be approved soon I don’t care hw long it takes for me to get them I just want to know that they will get approved and there is no issues!

    Reply
  25. I filed 1/19 and was approved the same day. I’ve got two bars and it is supposed to be in my bank TODAY 2/3- WHERE IS IT?- my bank dosent even say pending!

    Reply
  26. Frustrated again can’t call can’t chk status it said I exceeded my daily limit. If u call it hangs up on u. Wats really goin on?

    Reply
  27. I think they’re updating now, both phone number and site are unavailable. Filed on the 25. I had two deductions, one was there last year and the year before, one new because I had my daughter in March 15. Used TaxAct.

    Reply
  28. Its been almost two weeks since I filed wmr still saying return accepted I filed on January 21st

    Reply
    • The exact thing is happening with me….im getting so nervous. ..i filed mine and my sister’s on the 22nd and she has hers mine is still saying accepted

      Reply
    • I am in the same boat and am getting a bit anxious since more and more people are getting approved and I’m still sitting at “processing” and my bar recently disappeared. It’s never taken me this long to get approved and if something was wrong, I figure I would have heard something by now.

      Reply
  29. Ok I was able to order both transcripts yesterday, today I got an update saying take action and code 151. Everyone says its EIC, but we haven’t changed anything for years. But we did forget to file unemployment that caused us to get more refund then we should, we called turbo tax and they said to wait until we get our refund and then do an amended return and send the difference. So could it just be the unemployment causing this or is it for sure the dreaded EIC proof thing?

    Reply
    • and filling an amended return is no big deal, u just have to send in the paperwork, u cant file an amended return thru on line..k i did it last year, no problems at all. very easy.

      Reply
    • I covered it in this article, but When you don’t have any bars on the WMR it usually doesn’t mean anything is wrong. Sometimes when you check your tax refund status and the bars are missing, they reappear as soon as the next day so you can relax. As you will see with a lot of the comments here there are lots of others who have no bars. Give it a few days, even a week, before you throw yourself into a frenzy — because your WMR bars might reappear quickly and mean nothing. Just a few users see a change in the way their tax return is being processed and often the Where’s My Refund Status will update with other instructions if you need to do anything.

      Reply
      • Well Help me out…..I filed 1/19 my bars have been gone since 1/22….ive called they keep saying nothings wrong…..what do you thinks up?

        Reply
  30. Makes me wonder about the people that are working at the IRS. We hear something different from someone different every time we call. At least if you could get a straight answer (or a truthful one or an educated one) from the same person each time you call it would help. Still waiting! :(

    Reply
  31. Where is my refund ! H.R.Block agent sent a letter to the IRS of 6/26/2015 for the refund of $1,143 for
    2013. I have called many times and latest info was that the case # 1068623 had arrived for audit 6/2015
    My wife has passed 12/1/2015 and I NEED this money, please give me the latest on this grossly overdue
    return —-GCZ

    Reply
  32. Here it is Jan. 8th and still haven’t received our income tax refund for 2014 that we filed last year in Feb. Did finally get a letter from the IRS in the mail last week after talking to them in Dec. Said we should get the refund soon. Well, I won’t hold my breath. Been fighting the IRS about this for almost a year now. Don’t know if we should file this year till we get back refund for last year. I wonder if anyone else has had this kind of trouble for this long? Also wonder if we ever do get our refund if interest will be added to it?

    Reply
    • Having the exact same problem. I’ve received two notices in the mail, both saying that my return was under review. The last on I received on March 24th, 2015, said that the review would be completed by May 04th, 2015. Okay, so here we are in 2016, and I still haven’t received mine. I’ve tried calling the IRS countless times, but I can never seem to get through to anyone. I often here a previously recorded message that says no one is available to take my call.

      This is a HUGE pain in the ass. Especially since now the online “where’s my refund” tool no longer even finds my return. I’ve decided to go to H&R Block tomorrow with the hopes that they will be able to help me locate my missing return. I’m more than frustrated at this point. If I owed the IRS the amount of money they owe me right now, they’d be all over me about it, hounding me, or garnishing my wages. Sickening.

      Reply
        • Contact your local text advocate for help. We spent months with our advocate helping us. They can get information that we cannot get and they can put a rush on things. Our problem was that the company my husband worked for wouldn’t verify his employment without his concent. Of course no one told us that the IRS and the employer were not getting anywhere and that they needed his concent. I really hope this will help you all.

        • H&R Block, will do absolutely NOTHING to help you.
          I know this from EXPERIENCING the same thing, that all of you, on this website have.
          I spent over “3 & 1/2” weeks on the phone, with the IRS… all while H&R Block claimed they would do NOTHING, to help me.
          NEVER AGAIN, will they do my taxes.
          To make matters worse… H&R Block CONTINUALLY harassed me, for THEIR outrageously HIGH fee, to be paid PRONTO.
          All, while NOT GIVING A S***, that my taxes were NO WHERE close, to being distributed to me.

  33. Well, commented back Sept 2nd because hadn’t received refund. Now it is Dec 3 and still haven’t received refund. Have called several times since Sept. Last call waited forever to get someone and they looked into it and said they would call us within two weeks. Been almost a month since that call. Still haven’t received call or refund. This is absolutely the most ridiculous thing I have ever encountered. It is crap and I think the IRS is crap and crooked to boot. It needs to be abolished!

    Reply
    • Wow, Connie! Completely unacceptable. I would be storming into that I.R.S. office, if I were you.
      I would also, be trying to contact “news media outlets”, to bring this subject, to light.
      I think WAY, WAY more people, are experiencing this problem, than most are aware of.
      This is just ONE of FEW sites, that was created, for people to vent. But, I would guess that there are THOUSANDS of people, just like you, who STILL have not received their refund.
      Scary. Scary world we live in, nowadays. Government, are flat-out thieves. No other explanation.

      Reply
  34. Irs tax advocate can only help you if you are about to go dumpster diving for food, or if you are having to live in a tent due to hardship from not getting your refund. I just wanted some answers like what is holding my refund up? What do they need to complete it? Wouldn’t even look into it. That’s our tax dollars at work. I only called since it’s been over 8 months since I filed, and no one has any answers.

    Reply
  35. My 92 year old mother had her accountant file her taxes online in March. She received a letter from the IRS two weeks later asking her to verify her SS# and personal info. It is now October 13th and every day I check that stupid “Where’s My Refund” website that says the same thing, Your refund is still being processed!! This is bullshit!!!!! There’s no one to call and it seems none of our elected officials actually give a crap. What if my mother had no family and needed this money desperately to live on. There is something so wrong about this agency. Why isn’t something being done??

    Reply
  36. The wait for my Federal refund is finally over. After speaking with a Tax Advocate on 9/8/15, I had my deposit (with interest) by 9/18/15 after waiting for almost 6-months. I believe that had I not contacted her I would still be waiting. I think anyone caught up in this excessive delay should think about calling the number: 877-777-4778. I should have done it months ago. Good luck to everyone!!!

    Reply
    • Thank I for this info. I called and found out ours is being held due to we have to prove our kids live in the house with us. What a load of crap

      Reply
  37. Finally! Update time. Filed April 14th and received September 8th. Filed joint and I got a letter from the IRS months ago saying there was a problem. The wife only just got her letter saying the same thing a couple weeks ago so (Sep 1st or so). Despite being told that I would be refunded by the direct deposit when I was in the IRS office (see about 10-15 comments below) I received a check in the mail for the amount plus interest (about 1% of the amount owed). Annoying as hell but there is a finish line out there folks.

    Reply

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