Your tax refund could be delayed — possibly for years: What to do if it happens to you
Americans who qualify for a tax refund from the Internal Revenue Service sometimes wait years for the payment to show up in their bank accounts — at times without even receiving an explanation as to why.
Identity theft, an inconsistency or faulty IRS computers could explain why some filers don’t get the promised refund within a reasonable period of time.
Chris Horan, a Virginia Beach, Va. resident who works as head of sales for a financial-services software company, told The Wall Street Journal that he has been waiting for at least 13 months for his $30,000 refund from 2022.
Horan, 42, regularly checks the “Where’s My Refund” site on the IRS’s portal only to find the same message: “We have received your tax return and it is being reviewed.”
When he and his account both call the IRS, they are told to try again in another 60 days.
“In no world would I think I’d be in April 2024 waiting for a 2022 refund,” Horan said.
Meanwhile, Horan has already received the tax refund from his 2023 filing. The refund came through on April 8 — less than three weeks after his account e-filed his returns.
The Post has sought comment from the IRS.
The agency told The Journal that long refund delays are rare and that an increase in the number of delays could be explained by a lengthy backlog that got worse during the coronavirus pandemic.
The IRS said that as of Dec. 21, there were 686,000 individual returns that were waiting to be processed — mostly from last tax season and most due refunds.
Of those, 600,000 require error correction or special handling.
The IRS was also dealing with 844,000 amended returns in the queue.
Tax advisers said that filers like Horan should escalate the issue past the IRS customer service line.
Taxpayers need to first check the “Where’s My Refund” site to see if there is an explanation for the delay. Filers would have to punch in their Social Security number or taxpayer identification number, their filing status and the amount of the expected refund.
If the refund doesn’t show up within six weeks, filers should call the IRS, according to Twila Midwood, an enrolled agent based in Rockledge, Fla.
If that fails, filers should submit a 911 — the IRS form to get assistance from the Taxpayer Advocate Service, a watchdog that helps taxpayers resolve issues with the agency.
The Taxpayer Advocate Service can intervene when the delay of a refund causes a financial hardship to the filer.
John Quilter, a retired Jaguar Land Rover warranty manager based in Eugene, Ore., submitted a 911 form after the IRS told him he owed money when in reality he was due a refund.
An examination of his case found that the IRS failed to recognize an estimated tax payment.
Quilter’s 2022 return showed he was owed a refund of almost $5,000, but instead he got a notice in April of last year that he owed the IRS more than $5,000.
When he mailed in proof that he was due a refund from the IRS, Quilter started getting letters from two different IRS offices saying they needed another 60 days to resolve the issue.
Tax experts also recommend that filers reach out to their congressional representatives.
Sandy Lerner, a Brooklyn resident, contacted Sen. Charles Schumer’s (D-NY) office last year because he had still not received a tax refund of nearly $9,000 for his late mother since he filed an amended return in Nov. 2020.
Schumer’s office has been updating Lerner monthly, according to The Journal. The senator’s aides said that a malfunction in the IRS’s system was causing the delay.
“At least Schumer’s office keeps me updated, with an entertaining message every month or so, even if they, too, are unable to penetrate the IRS bureaucracy,” Lerner said.
