@mernoyh wrote:
I can't get an answer about my tax return from the IRS. The phone number they say to call is a machine and says that they can't give me any information about my return.
What Can I do?
Did you e-file your tax return and was it accepted?
Only the IRS and your State control when and if a Federal or State tax refund is Approved and Issued.
You complete your tax return by finishing all 3 Steps in the File section. In Step 3, to e-file your tax return, you must click on the large Orange button labeled "Transmit my returns now".
After completing the File section and e-filing your tax return you will receive two emails from TurboTax. The first email when your tax return was transmitted and the second email when the tax return has either been accepted or rejected.
Note - Once a tax return has been Accepted by the IRS or a State, TurboTax receives no further information concerning the tax return or the status of any tax refund. Only the taxpayer listed on the tax return can obtain the status of a tax refund or a tax return.
To check the status of an e-filed return, open up your desktop product or log into your TurboTax Online Account. You can find your status within the TurboTax product.
If accepted by the IRS use the federal tax refund website to check the refund status - https://www.irs.gov/refunds
If accepted by the state use this TurboTax support FAQ to check the state tax refund status - https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1899433-how-do-i-track-my-state-refund
After the tax return has been Accepted by the IRS (meaning only that they received the return) it will be in the Processing mode until the tax refund has been Approved and then an Issue Date will be available on the IRS website.
The IRS is seriously behind in processing 2020 tax returns. This is due to many factors, such as the pandemic, completing processing of millions of 2019 tax returns, stimulus payments, unemployment compensation exclusion tax refunds., changes in the tax code by Congress in the middle of the 2020 tax season and the like.
Millions of taxpayers have not yet received there federal tax refunds.
Go to this IRS website for operational status - https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-operations-during-covid-19-mission-critical-functions-continue
The IRS is opening mail within normal timeframes and all paper and electronic individual returns received prior to April 2021 have been processed if the return had no errors or did not require further review. As of October 2, 2021, we had 6.8 million unprocessed individual returns. Unprocessed individual returns include tax year 2020 returns such as those requiring correction to the Recovery Rebate Credit amount or validation of 2019 income used to figure the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC). This work does not require us to correspond with taxpayers but does require special handling by an IRS employee so, in these instances, it is taking the IRS more than 21 days to issue any related refund and in some cases this work could take 90 to 120 days. If, as a result, a correction is made to any RRC, EITC or ACTC claimed on the return, the IRS will send taxpayers an explanation. Taxpayers are encouraged to continue to check Where’s My Refund? for their personalized refund status and can review Tax Season Refund Frequently Asked Questions.
What you should do: In most instances, no further action is needed but you may check Where’s my refund or you can view your account. If you filed electronically and received an acknowledgement, you do not need to take any further action other than promptly responding to any requests for information. If you filed on paper, check Where’s my refund? If it tells you we have received your return or are processing or reviewing it, we are processing your return, but it may be under review. We’re working hard to get through the backlog. Please don’t file a second tax return or contact the IRS about the status of your return.
