Many people are now aware that if they have error-free forms and file online, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) normally sends out tax refunds within twenty-one days of filing.
Some returns, however, may require additional manual examination, pushing them well past the three-week deadline.
And, as personal financial expert Susan Tompor of the Detroit Free Press points out, the IRS has warned Americans not to count on "receiving a refund by a certain date, especially when making major purchases or paying bills" this tax season.
The government-issued stimulus checks and credits, and how they are reported on the returns, appear to be one of the primary sources of the delays. Even a little error can cause excruciatingly long waits.
"The IRS is seeing mistakes in claiming the recovery rebate credit once again this year-and the child tax credit-and continues to warn taxpayers of potential delays. It could take several weeks to resolve some of these issues," Tompor noted.
"It's possible that someone could forget that they received money last year, for example, and then try to claim the recovery rebate credit on the 2021 return," she continued.
If this happens, Mark Steber, chief tax officer at Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, told Tompor that the taxpayer who is due a refund should not take action right away.
"No new tax return, no amended tax return, no paper filed tax return. The IRS is managing these," Steber said, adding that taxpayers should expect to wait six to 12 weeks for the agency to resolve this kind of error.
If the taxpayer is still owed a refund after the IRS corrects the error, the IRS will simply revise the amount due and send out the new refund amount, according to Steber. If the taxpayer still owes money after the adjustment, they may be responsible for penalties and interest. In such circumstances, amending the return and making the necessary payment before the Apr. 18 deadline may be preferable.
Despite the IRS's well-documented personnel and financial concerns, the agency has been paying out refunds at a rather rapid pace this year. Approximately 52 million customers have already received refunds as of March 18. And, with an average return of $3,305 so far, taxpayers are surely pleased with the 13 percent increase over last year's figures.
Nonetheless, the IRS is working hard to get rid of its large backlog of unprocessed tax returns and correspondence from past years. IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig recently informed the House Ways and Means Committee that the agency expects to make significant progress by the end of the year.
